Photo by Adrian Steinbach courtesy of Tandem Vintage
Tandem Vintage
The storefront outside Amanda Baumann’s recently opened vintage shop is painted black with charcoal-colored brick and trim; but inside, the clothes on the racks of Tandem Vintage explode with an array of color.
There’s a periwinkle puff sleeve and peplum dress ready for a night on the town, there’s a dainty baby pink Jerri Jee waiting for someone to wear it to their next tea party. These garments aren’t just clothes. They’re reasons for celebration—joy for your closet, as she puts it.
So how does Baumann find these eclectic, reverent, spunky pieces, you ask? She spent years, 11 years, to be specific, scavenging around church sales, garage sales, estate sales; Amanda was, dare I say, sold on sales to amp up her burgeoning vintage collection.
Baumann devotes bundles of time to finding the ideal pieces to fit the shop’s bright and colorful aesthetic. But a less romantic part of the job that requires her attention—after she’s picked out her favorite garments from thrift shops, out-of-business vintage shops, or the many sales she visits—is the cleaning of the clothing. To be a pro in this business, knowing your way around a clothing stain is a must.
A former member of the Office Job Organization, Baumann left her desk job to begin her passion as a vintage vendor. She’s popped up at various markets and businesses, with a long-term seven-year residency selling her wares at FiindFurnish in northeast Minneapolis.
On the opening day of the shop, Baumann began writing down all the overheard comments customers said while trying on clothes or perusing the racks. She collects the comments on a purple notepad; “Uh oh, I like everything” was one she heard when a customer entered the store, and “I feel like a hot 90s mom” was a phrase that escaped the dressing room.
“You just don’t get those interactions online,” she told me, tearing up, and then abruptly telling me not to write that she was tearing up.
Selling her vintage finds online or through pop-ups over the past 11 years means that all of the oohs and ahhs of customers trying on clothing have happened at home, away from a dressing room, away from the purple notepad that documents all of those lovely little exchanges. Tandem moved into the former Fitting Room space now adjacent to the vintage shop. The vintage shop boasts a collection of 50s to 90s vintage wear for women and home, in an assortment of colors and sizes. Even if you aren’t itching for a new wardrobe, walking into the shop, seeing the unique pieces, the vintage suitcases, the racks of rainbow, and Amanda’s smiling face is enough to put a spring in your step.
