This past weekend Shawn and I traveled up to Minneapolis, MN to attend NorthernGRADE, an Ad-Hoc Men’s Market, held at Architectural Antiques.  I talked a little bit about this last week, but wanted to fill you in on how it went.

The event was located at Architectural Antiques, what an amazing place. It was like going through the best attic/grandparent’s basement ever. Full of light fixtures, stained glass, mantelpieces, knobs, hinges, church pews. . . . it was a treasure trove of old-timey goodness. Definitely the perfect atmosphere for the event, I loved how the vendors were able to create their own spaces using old bartops, marble sinks, and the like. It made each area distinct and let their product’s personality shine through. Brilliant.

I was quite impressed with the quality and range of the vendors, everyone there were masters of their craft and took great pride in their products being made in the USA. One of my favorites were Baldwin Denim, where Shawn picked up two pairs of stellar jeans and a tie. I also loved Cause and Effect leather goods. Billy Moore is quite the character and a true craftsman. I picked out a horsehide belt with a handmade anchor-shaped buckle for Shawn and got myself a leather cuff. I also purchased the Stormy Kromer hat I wanted!

All in all, I feel that the event was a huge success and hope that this will be the start of something big, where more venues will promote and celebrate companies that strive to continue manufacturing high-quality goods here in the US. I know that I would definitely go to them, and judging by the over 700 other people in attendance, many more will join me.