Meet Matt and Kelley Vogel, the founders and owners of The Ten Penny Store, a local vintage boutique located on South Broadway’s Antique Row. The vintage boutique features clothing, accessories, music and everything in between, specifically from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Being open for only about a year and a half, the Ten Penny Store continues to thrive in Denver’s up-and-coming fashion scene. We sat down with the pair to get their insight on Denver’s vintage scene and the story of The Ten Penny Store.
303 Magazine: What is the story behind creating The Ten Penny Store? How did it all get started?
Matt Vogel: It’s kind of a fun story and a “small world” type of story. I met Kelly at Regal Vintage, she was working there. Later, we went on our first date so we met in an actual vintage store. We ended up getting married and having a kid and opening the store four blocks down from Regal Vintage. I’ve been into vintage clothing since middle school. I’d always buy clothes and I’ve thrifted ever since I had my own money.
Kelley Vogel: We’ve both been collectors of vintage clothing, both separately and together. We’ve both been ready to work for ourselves and curate for ourselves, friends and the public.
Matt Vogel: It was an immediate and obvious direction for where we should go with employment because we’ve always been into it. It made perfect sense to try and look for a place to rent and open up our own vintage store.
303: How would you describe the store and its style?
MV: I’d say it’s a small, uniquely curated and authentic store that carries a great selection of both men’s and women’s clothing. We have a heavy ’70s vibe, but most definitely ’60s and ’80s too.
KV: Yeah, I would say our biggest portion of the store is going to be from the ’60s and ’70s.
303: How did you come up with the name “The Ten Penny Store?”
KV: It came from something my grandpa used to say. He would say if he needed anything he would “go to the ten penny store.” It was a southern term for a general store.
303: What were/are your biggest influences for getting into fashion, specifically vintage fashion?
MV: I’ve been a drummer and a musician in town. I guess just the local music scene has always gone hand-in-hand with fashion for me.
KV: I’ve been a collector for a long time. Not just fashion-wise, but houseware and things like that. I’d say 75 percent of my closet is vintage.
MV: And back to Kelley, her experience is quite nice for before we opened because she worked at Regal Vintage and Buffalo Exchange, which are supremely based on buying vintage clothing. We both have had a good amount of experience in the retail industry.
303: What is a day in the life for you two working in this industry?
KV: We buy a majority of the stuff we get from the public, as well as sourcing ourselves. I think that could be one thing that sets us apart from other vintage stores because a lot of other places only let you sell with an appointment made. We buy from people who come in daily and buy on the spot.
MV: Yeah I think it’s worth mentioning that we’re one of the only “non-by appointment only” places. It’s cool because every day there is something new in here. Every day we buy something like an article of clothing, a record, a knick-knack, that’s vintage and unique.
KV: Sometimes people call ahead and see what we’re looking for but for the most part people will just walk in with a bag of full of stuff and we take a look to see what items may fit in with a store. Then, we can make them an offer. We try to keep our store as authentically vintage as possible. We’ve both worked in customer service for a long time, which has also helped us learn to talk and connect with people.
MV: it’s a lot of meeting and chatting with people and it’s turned into a really family-friendly joint.
KV: And, we get a lot of people from out of town too so it’s not just locals. For me, the best part about working here day-to-day is hearing stories from people who have brought things in or can connect to things we have in the store.
303: What is your favorite part about owning a store?
MV: We go by our rules, that’s a fun part. But also this neighborhood and community are sweet. I wouldn’t have picked another area. It has really become my favorite part of town.
KV: We’ve been really fortunate to have a warm welcome from the neighborhood and the community in general. My favorite part is that we never know what we’re going to find. I think once a week we come across something that’s so badass that we’ve never seen before.
MV: The random, eclectic vibe of it is great and we come across true treasures.
303: What do you hope for the future of The Ten Penny Store?
MV: Honestly, I hope to remain here and grow here. I like the vibe of it here and would like to stay in this neighborhood and grow. We hope to meet more people and its always fun to meet more sources.
KV: People are still learning about us every day. The more established we can get, the better. We hope to keep growing and make this a great space for our family and other families. Overall, just to keep finding different ways to support our community through this. It’s great meeting more people so we want to do that and learn more about our customers. I think the best part about our business is that it’s mostly about personal relationships. People get to know us and we get to know them.
All Photography by Enrique Parrilla
