Asheville Vintage Market founders Curtis Andrews and Dustin Wilkie have been friends since middle school, and their collective love for vintage clothing was the result of childhood trips to Goodwill in search of $1 tees. These excursions became more frequent, and both turned buying into selling. Being part of this community of sellers for a decade, the natural next step was a market of their own.

Curtis and Dustin host regular markets at Asheville Sports Club and Rabbit Rabbit. | Photo via @ashevillevintagemarket

Getting started

"I go to the Goodwill Outlets a lot," says Curtis. "I started making friends with a lot of the guys that go there all the time." Many of these regulars sold vintage clothing as their main source of income but didn't feel there was a local market that was really theirs — so they took the liberty of creating one. "We do this already, and I just thought it'd be cool to help our friends out."

The sustainability of vintage was also a consideration at the offset. Dustin works full-time in apparel and sees the impact of constantly buying new from large companies. "It's refreshing doing these events, where it's sustainable and bringing the community together."

Even the smaller markets, held at Asheville Sports Club, have 15+ vendors. | Photo by @carolspags

Grab a shopping bag

The next market will be on Saturday, Aug. 19 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rabbit Rabbit and will feature 30+ vintage clothing vendors from all over the Southeast. Dustin and Curtis gravitate toward quirky, inexpensive t-shirts (like those in the $5-$10 pile), but they've also seen some remarkable, high-end finds come through. "One of our vendors had a Kurt Cobain memorial t-shirt," said Curtis. "And it's a really rare t-shirt. I just thought it was crazy that he had it."

Dustin and Curtis are both self-proclaimed coffee snobs, so August's market will also feature Bad Manners Coffee so you can snag a cup while you browse.

The team plans to keep up the current momentum and have the market be a year-round event, so keep an eye on their Instagram for the next time and place.