When the city gives you a sidewalk bridge...

There's a sidewalk bridge and scaffolding outside 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B these days... so the owners of the retail tenant here, East Village Vintage Collective, decided to host a sidewalk pop-up tomorrow (Saturday!) featuring a handful of local vintage entrepreneurs. 

The sidewalk (and indoor) thrifting will occur from noon to 6 p.m.

Where to get your free East Village vintage clothing map

Maegan and Alex, the proprietors of East Village Vintage Collective, maintain an updated map of vintage clothing stores in the neighborhood. 

You can pick up a free copy of the latest version at the shop, 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B ... which is open Wednesday-Sunday from 1-6 p.m. 

Additions include the recently opened Thrift NYC at 226 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

A fall vintage pop-up on 12th Street tomorrow

The East Village Vintage Collective is hosting a fall vintage pop-up outside its shop on 12th Street tomorrow (Saturday!).

From 1-6 p.m., you can find a handful of merchants selling their wares here at 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

12th Street hosting a voter registration drive this weekend

The East 12th Street Block Association, in conjunction with the community gardens between Avenue A and Avenue B and the East Village Vintage Collective, is hosting a voter registration drive this weekend (Saturday and Sunday!) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There will be two locations for registrations on each side of the street (one is to be in front of the El Sol Brillante community garden).

Per the invite: "As this is such a crucial election, we must do all we can to ensure people are registered and VOTE."

The East Village Vintage Collective, pictured above, is at 545 E. 12th St. between A and B.

East Village Vintage Collective has reopened its doors; ditto for 9th St. Vintage and Spark Pretty

After a few weeks of curbside pickups and sidewalk sales, East Village Vintage Collective (EVVC) will open its doors for business today here at 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

In an Instagram post, owner Maegan Hayward said they'll test the vintage waters this week to see how it goes. Ahead of the reopening, they've rearranged the shop's displays to make it safer and more accessible for patrons to browse.

Per Instagram:

We’ll have hand sanitizer & gloves available for all customers. We ask that you don’t come in without a mask on and that you observe social distancing while shopping

Can’t wait to see some familiar & new faces and to show you all the work we’ve done to the store!

During the past three months, EVVC closed their Jacksonville outpost to focus on the original shop here. They've also been creative, teaming up with 70 local artists to launch Art Through Vintage, a collaborative online auction.

For now, EVVC will be open 1-6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

In other vintage store news, 9th St. Vintage is now open from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday... and on the same Ninth Street block between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... Spark Pretty is open from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.


[Via @sparkpretty]

An East Village business and local artists team up for Art Through Vintage

The East Village Vintage Collective (EVVC) on 12th Street has teamed up with 70 local artists to create Art Through Vintage, a collaborative online auction that kicks off today (April 17!) at noon.

EVVC owner Maegan Hayward had long talked about a project with local artists. With the COVID-19 crisis, Hayward thought that a collaboration would be a way to benefit both her shop between Avenue A and Avenue B and the many artists who have shared their talents with Art Through Vintage.

Hayward, working with The Flood, reached out to the artists to have them create unique art-meets-vintage pieces and make them available for purchase via an online auction. Proceeds are split between EVVC and the artists.

"It’s been amazing to see the NYC art community come together and give the store so much support," Hayward told me. "During this troubled time the hope is that collaborating on Art Through Vintage has helped the artists have a creative outlet as it has for us at the store. It will also bring some relief from financial stress to all of us while also bringing some fab art on vintage pieces to everyone who’s stuck inside."

You can find some of the items up for sale via the EVVC Instagram account here. You can find the auction at this link. It launches at noon (ET!) today.

View this post on Instagram

Window display for #artthroughvintage Thanks to @displaybydelphine for collaborating with us on this! These are just a few of the amazing pieces that will be going up for auction starting Friday April 17th! The countdown is on! Link in bio 👆 Art pictured by: @leroysplace @art_by_eyebrows @hannahdqydjp @toripoor @breemakesart @ed_heck @cbranstool @ettatorials @sfgrajales @theohiogirl @tomkrantzhaha @fire__flower @leopoldmasterson @itinplace @breemakesart @rabidartwork @buttsup @hissxx @marzipanphysics @saviorelmundo @displaybydelphine @its_all_sticky @from_old_school_to_new @miabombin @frank_ape @lookalittlecloser @jayjansen22

A post shared by E Village Vintage Collective (@evvintagecollective) on Apr 14, 2020 at 12:17pm PDT

A new home for the A Repeat Performance sign

Back on Wednesday, we noted that the old A Repeat Performance sign from the now-closed bric-a-brac shop at 156 First Ave. needed a new home.

The fine folks who run the East Village Vintage Collective on 12th Street are now the proud new owners. No word yet what they have planned for the classic sign.

A Repeat Performance closed last July after 39 years in business.

Night fever: The East Village Vintage Collective celebrates 4 years on 12th Street

The East Village Vintage Collective is celebrating its fourth anniversary tomorrow (Saturday!) night at the shop, 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy popped by on Wednesday to see EVCC proprietor Maegan Hayward ...



... and check in on preparations for the disco-themed anniversary event tomorrow from 7-11 ...


[EVVCer Alex lends a hand]

The place started as a pop-up shop in August 2015. Along the way, the East Village Vintage Collective became a full-time endeavor and a fun and welcome place to shop.





Previously on EV Grieve:
A thrift-store podcast with Maegan Hayward of the East Village Vintage Collective

Going 'Ape' over this gate at the East Village Vintage Collective

We have two reader-submitted photos from the weekend... showing the new Frank Ape mural on the gate at East Village Vintage Collective on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...



The new mural went up back on Friday as part of the 100 Gates Project, which provides site-specific artistic collaborations with East Village merchants.

The mural project started on various EV storefronts in late April.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Planet of the Frank Ape: Q-and-A with artist Brandon Sines

A thrift-store podcast with Maegan Hayward of the East Village Vintage Collective

Jason Charles asked me to guest-host an East Village-based session for his podcast network.

For this episode, I talked with Maegan Hayward, the proprietor of the East Village Vintage Collective at 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The place started as a pop-up shop in August 2015. Along the way, the East Village Vintage Collective became a full-time endeavor now entering its fourth year.

Launching the business is among the topics that we cover in the 27-minute podcast, which you can access here. We also discuss thrift-shop culture, what people look for these days (spoiler: jeans) and the challenges of running a small shop in NYC.

(Also, nothing to do with the podcast but everything is 25-percent off in the store today. They are open from noon to 8 p.m.)

And the landing page with the East Village Vintage Collection podcast includes a two-part podcast that Delphine Blue did with me last fall.

East Village Vintage Collective celebrates 3rd anniversary tomorrow night

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by E Village Vintage Collective (@evvintagecollective) on Sep 14, 2018 at 6:30am PDT

East Village Vintage Collective officially turned three last month, though they waited until tomorrow (Saturday!) to celebrate the occasion over at 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

From 7-11 p.m., there will be a vintage fashion show, Sweetface Snoballs, tarot card readings by Gayle Stacher, prizes, video screenings and more.

Or you can look around their selection of vintage clothing for women, men and children ... as well as vinyl, housewares and various tchotchkes.

Previously on EV Grieve:
At the East Village Vintage Collective

East Village Vintage Collective is celebrating 3 years on 12th Street this weekend

All weekend long at 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B...

A post shared by Maegan Hayward (@redsvintagethreads) on Aug 4, 2018 at 12:45pm PDT

Their anniversary will be next month.

Previously on EV Grieve:
At the East Village Vintage Collective

East Village Vintage Collective celebrates 2 years on 12th Street tonight with some 'terrible' offerings

[Image via Instagram]

Via the East Village Vintage Collective Instagram account:

Join us for our two-year anniversary party 🎉 featuring the fucking terrible art and video show, tarot card reading by @gaylestacher, free drinks, & 20 percent off store wide! Starts at 7 p.m. Thanks to our amazing customers who have helped a small business survive over these last two years!

The shop is at 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.



Previously on EV Grieve:
At the East Village Vintage Collective

East Village Vintage Collective turns 1 today

[Photo from last August by Stacie Joy]

East Village Vintage Collective at 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B celebrates its 1st brithday today... they'll be having some special deals throughout the day ... leading up to a tiki-themed party tonight from 7-10. (The store opens today at 11 a.m.)

Party People! Come by this weekend for our 1 year anniversary party!! Woot! #vintage #1yearanniversary #eastvillageparty #eastvillagevintagecollective

A photo posted by EV Vintage Collective (@evvintagecollective) on Aug 2, 2016 at 10:20am PDT

Previously on EV Grieve:
At the East Village Vintage Collective

A free screening of 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' to get your holidays off to a fine start

Movie night is back! This Wednesday get your Pre-Thanksgiving fix by joining us for our double bill! We'll start off with a short Garfield movie and then move on to classic Planes Trains and Automobiles! FREE | BYOB | 7:30pm #evvcevents #movienight #thanksgivingmovies

A photo posted by EV Vintage Collective (@evvintagecollective) on Nov 23, 2015 at 12:55pm PST

Tomorrow night at 7:30, East Village Vintage Collective (545 E. 12th St. between Avenues A and B) is showing a free screening of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" to get you ready for the Thanksgiving holiday...

At the East Village Vintage Collective

Photos and article by EVG contributor Stacie Joy

The newly opened popup shop, East Village Vintage Collective (545 E. 12th St. between Avenues A and B), is fully operational and full of inexpensive housewares, vintage clothing, books, and gifts.



The shop is run by four people (Maegan Hayward/Red's Vintage Threads; Melanie Ön/Rad Vintage Shop; Claire Marston/Eco in Disguise; and Chaim O'Brien-Blumenthal/Shoestring Records & Books) who met on the vintage and resale market circuit in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

They found that the cost of renting out booths and carrying in/loading out was growing too burdensome, so they decided to pool resources with a rental shop. The four originally planned just to rent out the East 12th Street space for a month (opening date was Aug. 1), but have since decided to stay longer now.

I stopped by to chat with Melanie, who handles the Collective's children's stuff and 1970-80s merchandise.



"We’re all finders and seekers," says Melanie. "The shop came together really nicely."







She sees the place as a "kitschy gift shop where someone could get the perfect gift for a friend, something one of a kind." And noted that "everyone shops here: from NYU kids to neighbors to moms and dads and visitors to the city."



New merchandise is added weekly — if not daily — and guest vendors make their wares available as well.

There is a large space downstairs with room for records, books, knickknacks, dolls and toys. Some local artists also display their work on the downstairs level. Melanie likens this floor to "peeking and shopping in your friends' closets."



Every Monday the shop hosts an 1980s movie night (BYOB and snacks) at 7:30. They put down blow-up mattresses and cover them with the (for sale!) afghan blankets. This week they screened "Heathers." Next week they will screen "Three Amigos." They are also hosting a poetry night on Sept. 10.

The downstairs space is available for rentals. The store is especially keen on being a space for the community.

The store plans to evolve and add new merchants and artists and material and hopes to stay for a long time to come. For now, though, the shop will remain open through October.

They also buy vintage books, records and housewares, so feel free to book an appointment to show your stuff. You can keep up with the store on Instagram here.

Store hours:
Monday through Thursday, noon until 9 p.m.
Friday, noon until 10 p.m.
Saturday, 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Sunday, noon until 9 p.m.

East Village Vintage Collective opens today on East 12th Street

A photo posted by EV Vintage Collective (@evvintagecollective) on Jul 30, 2015 at 10:44am PDT

The shop opened today at 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Here's their description via Instagram: "Vintage clothing for women, men & kids, records, books, home goods & so much more."

There's a grand opening party this evening from 7-10 featuring 20 percent off everything in stock.