Vintage collectors Yana Pietras and Ian O’Neill have spent the past several years transforming their passion for vintage collecting into their living. Now, they’re transforming their digital vintage shop into a physical space.
What began as an online shop in 2014 evolved into a physical storefront in Northeast Minneapolis with a grand opening on June 12.
After watching Moth Oddities grow from a website to a traveling pop-up shop, Pietras and O’Neill are beyond excited that their baby has now found a permanent home.
“It has always been a goal of ours to open a brick-and-mortar,” said co-owner Ian O’Neill. “Our favorite part of Moth Oddities is meeting our shoppers, engaging face-to-face and seeing their reactions when they find that perfect vintage piece. Plus we are designers by trade, and we enjoy the process of creating a feeling and experience within a space.”
Walking through the front door, you are immediately surrounded by a plethora of unique sights — garments hanging from the racks, walls and mannequins, and friendly faces thumbing through the variety of vintage items. The store’s charming back room, referred to as “The Den,” houses changing rooms, couches and a map illustrating the many places that the couple has sourced vintage from around the U.S. The shop is open every weekend.
Co-owner Yana Pietras expressed her thrill following Moth Oddities’ opening weekend.
“The first week has been so fun and busy as heck,” Pietras said. “We have been visited by so many familiar faces and friendly new ones. The community, their adorable pups and sweet kiddos have made us feel right at home. It’s like we have already been there for years. This feeling reassures us that we are exactly where we are supposed to be.”
Pietras and O’Neill first met in college and spent many weekends scouring the racks at local thrift stores. For them, date nights were vintage hunts.
This love of collecting quickly evolved into the idea for their online vintage shop which they eventually launched together. Over the years, the two have acquired large portions of their collections whilst road tripping across the country in their Jeep Wagoneer (a.k.a. Eleanor.)
When Moth Oddities was solely an online pop-up business, they sold their vintage goods at the storefront of lifestyle and grooming product shop, Duke Albert. In the last year, however, the two shops have gone through somewhat of a switch. As Moth Oddities has been opening their brick-and-mortar store, Duke Albert has transitioned to online-only, with their products also available for purchase in the Moth Oddities shop.
“Yana and Ian are the most honest authentic kind people, and you can see that reflected in their new shop and with their selection of vintage. They are all in,” said Sarah Dwyer, co-owner of Duke Albert.
Community and sustainability are at the center of the Moth Oddities mission.
The shop offers local BIPOC- & LGBT-owned products and brands, and the owners plan to continue to include more and more local names to their inventory. The owners also have plans to host workshops in the space that promote sustainable practices of upcycling, mending and generally caring for clothes in eco-friendly ways. During their Grand Opening Weekend, the shop donated 10% of sales to OutFront Minnesota in honor of Pride Month.
Pietras and O’Neill look hopefully to the future as they begin this next chapter of their business. While they look forward to continuing to fine tune the store, they still plan to find the time for their clothing haul road trips.
“Traveling and collecting will always be a part of Moth Oddities, we plan to keep that up even with the addition of the storefront,” O’Neill said. “It is exciting to have a hub to bring all the goods home to.”
