Honest to Goodness
by Marilyn Kirschner
May 1, 2006
The Manhattan Vintage Clothing & Antique Textile Show (www.manhattanvintage.com) now in its 14th year, bills itself as "The collection that 100 years of design built" and "the greatest collection of vintage clothing and antique textiles from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries." It also promises to be "the most fun you will ever have shopping." Certainly thats true if your idea of 'fun' is finding merchandise that is honest to goodness, the 'real deal'.
I always love attending these shows, walking the jam packed aisles hoping something will strike my fancy. And while there were many things that caught my attention, one booth in particular, Ohio Knitting Ills, Cleveland, Ohio, www.ohionknittingmills.com, a collection of 'Never worn, one-of-a-kind, true vintage, heartland made' sweaters, capes, vests, shirts, dresses and jackets produced from 1947 through 1974, did so for several reasons. 1 - a group of colorful, large, sculpture like spools of threads perfectly 'advertised' its specialty; 2 - I had never heard of them before (and as a 'veteran' of vintage shows, I feel as if I know all the players by now); 3 - knitwear, could not be hotter (as of course, you know by now if you've been following fashion); 4 - the artful pieces looked 'alive', real, opposite of something slick, urban, and false; 5 - the pieces on exhibit were at once wonderfully naive and hpi, retro and modern (in an almost 'Missoni' or 'Pierrot' kind of way); 6 - while most other booths were filled with a beautiful mismatched hodgepodge of stuff (that's the point, after all) here, everything was related, told a cohesive story and there was a thread (sorry for the pun) that held it all together.
As soon as I began chatting with Steven Tatar, the Cleveland based company's exclusive agent representative who is highly visual, creative (he's a sculptor by training), impassioned, and focused, it became obvious to me that this will be a company worth watching. He handed me a museum quality 'catalogue', proceeded to tell me the history of the company (it was founded by Harry Stone in 1928 and was initially called 'The Stone Knitting Mill'), and where he sees taking it in the future, which includes launching a children's line and opening a temporary store somewhere in Brooklyn (perhaps Cobbl Hill, Boerum Hill, Park Slope). Why Brooklyn? It's "what I'm about" and it's a "happening place." As he noted, "the energy moving downtown and midtown is becoming corporate and mainstream." And of course, the rentals are more affordable.
While he is a relative newcomer to the business (he has been actively involved with the company in this capacity since 2004 and this is only his second Manhatten Vintage Show), he has already cultivated loyal customers - including a stylish, beautiful, Academy Award winning star who shall remain nameless, and he is on a mission to build a brand based on the approximately 5,000 "one of a kind design artifacts" he has at his disposal. It's a brand "whose heart and soul is about that heartland sensibility and authenticity". This is the real deeal and we are trying to preserve this history and culture of hoset hardworking people making beautiful things with integrity." "Its all about brand building and story telling." Stay tuned. |