Manitou Supply Co.: Blast from the past
Even though David Brown’s first vintage shirt — a Birmingham Post-Herald shirt from when his dad worked at the now defunct newspaper in the ’80s — doesn’t hang in his closet today, he remembers it fondly.
Ever since then, vintage clothes just weren’t something Brown could pass up, even if they didn’t fit him.
Manitou Supply Co. co-owner Brown had been collecting vintage clothes for years, always saying, “Someone else would like this.” First started as an Etsy shop, Manitou Supply Co. has sold hand-picked vintage clothes and accessories since 2009, and it recently opened a storefront at 4909 Fifth Ave. S. in East Avondale as an addition to its increasingly popular online presence.
“There’s not been anything like this [Manitou Supply Co.] in a long time here,” Brown said. “I remember some vintage shops in Birmingham growing up, but all of those are gone. This is really the only one.”
Each item in their store is hand-picked, curated retail. Brown described Manitou’s prices as “boutique prices, but still affordable.”
Luciana Giovinazzo, Brown’s wife who co-owns the store with him, said that opening their own shop has been a dream of theirs for several years. Now, Manitou Supply Co. is both Brown and Giovinazzo’s full-time job. “We love being right between Avondale and Woodlawn,” Brown said. “It seems to be the most developing, most cultural area.”
The couple lives in the Crestview neighborhood, so support from friends, family and neighbors has been constant through the whole storefront preparation process, they said. When they found the right location a few months before opening, they knew they had to act fast, especially because they had a baby on the way. Their brick-and-mortar shop was quickly transformed from a house to a retail space in a month and a half.
“Ultimately, we wanted to be able to give local people a chance to shop all the clothes without having to shop online,” Giovinazzo said.
Manitou Supply Co. is branching off into new accessories, minimalist puzzles and designer knickknacks. They also offer non-vintage items such as pins and socks. Items range from vintage kitchenware to books to clothes, and their in-store items specialize in ’80s and ’90s wear.
Lately, as their shop gets more attention, vintage collectors have been directly selling to them, which they both agree is the most ideal situation.
Giovinazzo previously studied fashion design in Montevideo, Uruguay, and eventually discovered that she loves the curating aspect of fashion the most, specifically in the vintage world.
“It tells a lot about a person, what they wear,” she said.
Her favorite pieces sold at Manitou Supply Co. are vintage jeans, neon-colored wear from the ’80s and patterned apparel from the’90s. Since Brown grew up in the Birmingham area, he said he loves the old-school Birmingham sports T-shirts best.
Another element that is part of the new storefront is having guest artists display their work in the shop for about two months. They will also be hosting various events at the store such as DJ and disco nights, live musicians and the occasional “pop-up” street market set up in the parking lot behind the store for people to check out other local vendors as well.
For more information, go to Manitou Supply Co. on Facebook or their Etsy page at etsy.com/shop/ManitouSupply.