Vintage is not an unfamiliar concept to the lively neighborhood of St. Anthony in Northeast Minneapolis. Home to The Golden Pearl Vintage, FindFurnish, and Twelve Vultures, the area is already a thriving center for vintage fashion, and it recently scored its newest addition.
Olio Vintage opened its doors to the neighborhood for the first time on Oct. 1, and in celebration offered refreshments and snacks to the waves of vintage lovers who descended upon them throughout the weekend.
A quick walk through the store will reveal its unique collective style. Olio hosts four pre-existing vintage brands under one roof, as well as one additional vintage vendor that rotates monthly. With the shop sectioned off to exhibit each brand’s individual style, shoppers will be able to comb through and enjoy its featured collectors one at a time, including Olio Vintage, Rosella Vintage, Black Nvni, and SALTY Vintage.
Set up closest to the shop’s entrance, Olio Vintage will likely be what visitors encounter first; it’s the brand for which the shop is named. Founded by Carrie Martinson in 2022, Olio reflects its owner’s taste. “I’ve always been attracted to things that are more eclectic and funky,” explains Martison, “but at the same time, traditional.” For Martinson, achieving this tricky balance is one of the most fun parts of being a vintage and antique collector.
Shoppers can tackle their next brand a few steps onward. Arranged against the far left wall is Rosella Vintage, owned by Jahna Peloquin, a former style editor for Minnesota Monthly. Peloquin’s love for vintage lies in both its durable quality as well as its ability to be made new again, even decades later. “Things just aren’t made as well as they used to be,” she says. “There is a quality to vintage that is hard to find elsewhere.”
When seeking out this superior quality, Peloquin doesn’t mind mixing different styles and decades. In fact, she believes this blending of old looks leads to the creation of new, modern looks, and gives the clothing new life.
Just across the store, against the far right wall, shoppers can find Black Nvni, owned by Kenosha “Kenny” Washington. Black Nvni’s diverse blend of couture and statement pieces nod to Washington’s earliest connections to fashion. “I used to go shopping with my Grandma a lot and she would tell me that I had ‘Champagne taste on a beer bottle budget,’” Washington laughs.
This memory became the kind of shopping experience that Washington hoped to share with the world: accessibility to high-end, unique pieces at affordable prices. Washington searches far and wide to curate this kind of collection, and recently returned from some serious hunting at London Fashion Week.
A move toward the back left of the store will lead shoppers to SALTY Vintage, founded by Ian Szymczak, and while the brand may be located the farthest from the shop’s entrance, it holds the power to project. A unique piece of art bearing the brand’s name, “SALTY,” is likely to catch visitors’ eyes from any spot in the room.
“I actually found it in an alley somewhere,” Szymczak revealed when asked about the piece. “I just liked it and decided to put my name on it.”
This affinity for making ordinary things beautiful is apparent when combing through the racks of SALTY Vintage. Szymczak emphasized that he never wastes an opportunity when collecting, and that he finds his pieces “anywhere and everywhere.”
Olio Vintage exuded a friendly spirit and tight-knit connectedness that Carrie Martinson said is unique to the Twin Cities vintage community. Olio’s core values of community, inclusivity, diversity, individuality, and sustainability make the new storefront a welcoming environment for vintage lovers everywhere.
