Growing up in London, Hayley Matthews-Jones became accustomed to combing through racks at markets for vintage finds.
“I had a bunch of really cool leather jackets when I was a teenager,” Matthews-Jones said.
Inspired by the markets she grew up with, Matthews-Jones launched the Minneapolis Craft Market, a hub for craft fans and makers, in 2015. She also experimented with other vintage markets, thanks to interest from vintage vendors.
After being approached by three shops in March — Moth Oddities, Tandem Vintage and The Keep — Matthews-Jones set out to organize a monthly gathering with some of the Twin Cities’ finest vintage treasure troves. This became The Minneapolis Vintage Market, which launched on Sunday.
“I’ve lived in Portland, Oregon and Boston, and I feel like Minneapolis was ripe for this,” said Latricia Askew of The Keep. “There’s a lot of people interested in shopping vintage and secondhand.”
University of Minnesota alumni Yana Pietras and Ian O’Neill of Moth Oddities source their vintage picks from across the United States and Italy.
“These types of [large scale vintage markets] can be found all across the US… During our road trips around America, we participated in many of these markets,” Pietras said. “What we found was, when we came home, there wasn’t really something significant [and comparable].”
Vintage sellers have thrived on sites like Instagram, expanding their reach with follows and likes. But the community can still feel disconnected — individual pop-ups, for example, make it difficult to consistently find your favorite sellers.
“A lot of vendors… get the complaint that customers don’t know where to find them [and that] there’s not a lot of consistency to it,” Matthews-Jones said. “I hope we can put in place an infrastructure [so] some of those smaller businesses [can say], ‘Hey, follow this page. I’ll always be at this one this month.’”
Sunday’s Vintage Market launch at Sociable Cider Werks offered cool cider on a humid afternoon and racks of colorful sundresses, silky tops, denim shorts and bright swimsuits.
“I just bought this red windbreaker that I’m super pumped to wear,” said Bridget Nath, a University senior studying entrepreneurial management. “I’ll probably wear it to class with skinny jeans, this jacket and a tank top.”
The market was not limited to clothing, either. Solid State Vinyl Records sold vintage records and multiple vendors offered vintage home goods.
“I think clothing gets a lot of love, and it’s amazing and I love shopping vintage clothing,” said Libby Hegtvedt of Rank and File Vintage. “But I want to get housewares out there and let people know that it’s fun to have really unique items in their homes. It’s better than shopping at Ikea.”
Far from the traditional Ikea offerings, Hegtvedt’s favorite market items included a light-up globe lamp, coral jewelry and turquoise fiberglass chairs.
The next installment of the Minneapolis Vintage Market is scheduled for July 15 at Sociable Cider Werks. Matthews-Jones and the collection of vendors will continue to offer consistency to a growing network of vintage lovers.
“With that consistency, and us trying to have as many premiere vendors as possible, we have the ability to make it more accessible to the entire Twin Cities,” O’Neill said.
