August 18, 2010
Vintage fashions find home in downtown New Albany
Dandy Lion opens along Bank Street
NEW ALBANY — Before, Southern Indiana residents seeking hip, vintage fashions had to either go online or trek over to Bardstown Road for the most unique styles. But now with the Dandy Lion, such items can be found in downtown New Albany.
Such finds include mixed media art, home décor, jewelry and clothing made by local and regional designers.
The Dandy Lion is located at 310 Bank St., in downtown New Albany.
“We’re promoting independent artists of all types. Our romantic mission is to develop our town that we’ve lived in our entire life. We are anti-mass production. We are supporting independent designers and art and developing the culture,” said co-owner Ali Tucker during the grand opening celebration held on Saturday evening.
Cassie Bays spent the evening shopping for items that she normally has to drive across the bridge to buy.
“I will now hardly ever [drive to Louisville for shopping]. I’m really excited, and I like it because it’s more handmade stuff,” Bays said.
The Dandy Lion is a collaboration between twin sisters Ani and Ali Tucker, both 26, and Katy Traughber, 25. The three contribute art to the store, including Ali’s mixed media work and Traughber’s jewelry made from antique pieces and vintage reproductions. Traughber began working with jewelry several years ago, co-owned the Female Art Collective in Louisville and hosted a number trunk shows. People asked her about opening a shop, and once she connected with the Tuckers, the Dandy Lion became a reality.
“A lot of people encouraged us to go to Louisville, but we all grew up in Floyd County and we saw this die off down here,” she said. “All of our friends go to Louisville for everything and we just wanted to give this some character, and we saw this movement and redevelopment with businesses.”
Some of the handmade goods include clothing designed by Ani, who studied fashion design at Savannah College of Art Design, co-owned Ohh Boy!, a vintage boutique in Athens, Ga. Also while in Georgia, she served as an assistant manager at a bridal boutique that was featured in “Say Yes to the Dress,” on TLC.
“We have always known of each other, and curious and respected each other’s taste,” Traughber said. “Ani was running Ohh Boy! and I was running Female Art Collective, and it wasn’t quite it for us. We wanted to fine tune it and were talking over email. We were completing each others sentences, and we thought ‘wow, we need to do that here in New Albany.’”
While the store sells items from about 75 different artists, and they are looking for more to represent, the Dandy Lion is also a creative hub for the three owners with the upstairs serving as a working studio. They also plan to host a variety of events such as music, crafts, family and fashion for the community to enjoy. The first event will feature music sometime in September
(http://newsandtribune.com/business/x1836251007/Vintage-fashions-find-home-in-downtown-New-Albany)
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