Shoppers climbed the escalator of Monroe Convention Center on Saturday for Indiana Vintage Market’s first event in Bloomington.
The market was started in December 2023 by Sam Brann and Brandon Douthitt. The business partners wanted to provide a space to connect other vendors in Indiana. The market has popped up in Evansville, Fort Wayne and other cities throughout the year.
Vendors who sell at the market come from across the Midwest. Most vendors sell vintage clothing, but some had vintage jewelry, toys and art prints. Multiple booths had mystery bags with an assortment of sealed items for a set price, and concessions were available near the entrance. While the first hour of early bird admission, which required a $10 ticket to gain early access, was quiet, the room quickly became crowded once $5 general admission opened at noon.
IU alumna Camryn Zapinski and her partner Mason Horner run Bizarre Vintage in Indianapolis. The pair started selling clothing online, primarily on Depop, in 2019. They previously sold their items during events at Dunn Meadow and across the Chicago area. Zapinski said she likes creating relationships with other vendors and customers.
“We sell women's clothing, men's clothing, accessories, sometimes decor,” Zapinski said. “We do vintage ranging from, like, the ‘50s to the early 2000s. Usually we have a lot more, but we both work corporate jobs now, so this is kind of like just a side gig now.”
Zapinski said the first step she takes when looking for items is checking that it is in good condition. She said the pair also try and figure out what is low in stock and what they know sells the best.
“Of course, when you're a vintage seller, it's hard to not want to keep everything that you curate or that you source, so, I guess it's really just having the will power to find good vintage and want other people to experience it,” Zapinski said. “Helping people find what makes them comfortable in their own skin and it being cool and unique. Every item here, for the most part, could be the last of what it is, so I think I like the mystery of it too.”
Liv Nicoloff owns Creations by Livv. She reworks and upcycles thrifted clothing, handmakes jewelry and curates vintage pieces. Nicoloff did not bring any jewelry to the market, but it is a big part of her business and what got her started. She was also inspired by her parents, who used to own a home decor store in Franklin, Indiana.
"That kind of developed my own entrepreneurism and how this kind of sprung into its own thing,” Nicoloff said. “I started doing little pop-up markets, and then I finally grew to doing an Instagram, and now it's just like completely blown up into something that I couldn't have imagined.”
This was Nicoloff’s first time selling with the Indiana Vintage Market. She described her store’s style as Y2K and likes to see what is trending when curating items. She kept Bloomington in mind and brought some vintage IU pieces and graphic T-shirts.
Drew Wise is the owner of Wise Choice Watches from Fort Wayne, Indiana. His team started the business eight months ago and mainly sells watches. Wise said he has thousands of watches at home, but he’s learned he really likes repairing them.
"It scratches my brain the right way,” Wise said. “I bought a box of watches and broke probably half of them learning how to fix them, and then after a couple of YouTube videos and a couple questions to ChatGPT, I started getting the hang of it.”
Another part Wise said he enjoys about selling at markets is making people happy when they find a watch. He especially likes negotiating with customers.
“We'll buy them in bulk, not running, and then we'll fix them all up, clean them up, throw some price tags on them, and then negotiate with people,” Wise said. “We really like haggling, we think it's fun, it's like a game.”
Desi Silva, a sophomore at Indiana University Southeast, was at the market to shop. Silva said she and her boyfriend are frequent thrifters. She was wearing a skirt she thrifted and said she typically looks for skirts when shopping at Goodwill or local businesses.
“Skirts, vintage, anything that I feel is pretty unique and that won’t be like anyone else has worn. Just unique pieces of clothing,” Silva said. “Where I live, fortunately, I have a bunch of thrift stores around me, so just any of my local thrift stores or vintage stores.”
Those interested can visit the Indiana Vintage Market Instagram to learn more about the next market May 4 headed to Danville, Indiana.
