The annual vintage pop-up shop, hosted by local salon Apotheca, took place on Friday and Saturday, drawing vintage enthusiasts in and around the Bethlehem area.
The shop featured vintage clothes like ‘90s JNCO jeans, old band shirts and classic Lehigh apparel.
Although they weren’t part of the pop-up shop, skin and hair care products were also available for purchase inside Apotheca, located at 101 E. Third St.
While the event itself was hosted by and took place at the Apotheca Salon, Telly Diacogiannis, a local vintage collector and retailer, was responsible for the collaboration.
Diacogiannis said his business was inspired by his passion for midcentury-vintage furniture, decor and clothes, with items dating back to the 1990s.
He said he especially enjoys collecting vintage pieces from Lehigh, the Philadelphia Eagles and other schools and businesses like Martin Guitars and Bethlehem Steel.
Diacogiannis has mostly done collaborations in Bethlehem and Allentown, which have been successful for over four years now.
Although not everything he purchases goes on sale, he’s more than willing to give valuable clothes to others if he finds they don’t fit him. Diacogiannis said he recognizes his collection of vintage items, which has been growing for at least 20 years, as a way of preserving history in Bethlehem.
“As a collector, probably an enthusiast more than someone who’s selling, I’m preserving history,” he said. “It’s very important for me to preserve, as somebody who was born and raised in Bethlehem.”
It’s not just his own history that he’s trying to preserve with his business, but other people’s history as well.
When asked which of his merchandise on sale was among his favorites, he brought up a Lehigh baseball team jacket from over 20 years ago.
This jacket was a valuable and rare piece that was worn by official Lehigh athletes and had limited production. Diacogiannis said it was the type of collector’s item someone couldn’t just walk into a store and buy.
“This is an example of something that I like to find for my collection because there weren’t many of them made, and it’s very high quality,” Diacogiannis said. “It wasn’t something you could have just bought at the bookstore, so something like this is what I look for in my collection.”
Riley Richardson, ‘30, is a fan and regular customer of Diacogiannis’ shop. Richardson said he spends most of his time off campus to see what’s in store.
Richardson found this store by chance when he was originally looking for food, but saw the flyer, which caught his attention.
He said he’s been to other events and stores that feature vintage clothes, but loves this specific pop-up shop the most, to the point that his wardrobe is filled with clothes from Diacogiannis’ collection.
Richardson has been starting to change his style, and found the vintage pop-up Shop to be exactly what he was looking for.
“I just started to change my style, so I kind of just went to look around, and see if there is anything I vibed with,” Richardson said. “When I actually came here, I found stuff that I actually liked for once, and then I was just like ‘I gotta buy this stuff.’”
Katie Caricari, a hairstylist at Apotheca Salon, said the salon’s location is easily accessible to everyone in Bethlehem and has received more customers as a result of the collaboration.
She complimented Diacogiannis’ passion and marketing efforts with the owners of Apotheca Salon, the partnership has been going strong for over three years now.
The collaboration is more than just the salon having clothing racks for sale, as Caricari and other employees encourage their customers to peruse the pop-up shop. Caricari said she posted images of their customers after their hair care with some of the vintage clothes on social media.“Whenever they’re processing, we just tell them ‘Hey, you’re going to be sitting here for 30 minutes, so go take a look around all the clothes they have set up and stuff.’” Caricari said.
Following the success of the collaboration, Diacogiannis said he’s likely to partner with Apotheca Salon again to showcase his love for vintage clothing and give people a chance to enjoy what he loves.
“I just decided I want to bless the people who come to shop with me because I have people who shop with me who are looking for these types of things as well,” Diacogiannis said.
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