Indigo Vintage Cooperative arrives on Haight Street, with vintage threads and artisan goods

Indigo Vintage Cooperative arrives on Haight Street, with vintage threads and artisan goodsPhoto: Camden Avery/Hoodline
Camden Avery
Published on March 15, 2019

The newest entrant to the vintage clothing scene in the Upper Haight is Indigo Vintage Cooperative, a group of vintage clothing vendors, artists and makers led by shop owner Mel Willis.

The store first launched last May on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. Tomorrow, March 15, it'll open for business at a second location in the Haight.

"Haight's kind of the sister-brother to Telegraph," Willis said, so the expansion made sense. She noted that the new spot is smaller and more intimate than Telegraph, but she's still excited to be part of the Haight's vintage clothing scene.

Just weeks after the departure of Tibetan City Gifts, collective members spent Thursday and Friday busily staging the space at 1649 Haight St., kitting out new signage and getting the shop ready to open on Saturday morning.

Goods by Stonehouse, one of Indigo's vendors. | Photo: Camden Avery/Hoodline

The collective is built on a roster of permanent vendors, who "helped us lay the foundation" in the new space, Willis said. Other shop space is rented out monthly to a rotating group of sellers, for a total of 10 to 15 specialists.

"We're primarily vintage," Willis said, "but we do have other makers and artists, too."

The shop is expected to be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. For tomorrow's opening day, there will be free snacks and vendors on-hand to talk about their wares. The first 50 customers will get a free iron-on Haight Ashbury patch, designed by one of the group's members.