Greetings (and Shopping) From Asbury Park, N.J.
Can vintage and salvage sellers bridge an economic divide?
By Hayley Krischer | Aug. 9, 2018
…”Danielle and Drew Levinson opened their midcentury modern furniture store, Flux Modern, three years ago at the Shoppes at the Arcade on 658 Cookman Avenue, an 1889 building that was once a Woolworth store. Their window front space has exposed brick, Sputnik chandeliers and reclaimed basketball court flooring.
The building has become something of a center for vintage stores. Twenty fill the space including Backwards Glances, a vintage-clothing shop; Groovy Graveyards, selling records; Flying Saucers (kitchenware); and Kill Screen Games, which sells used video games.
“The town has seen its darker days,” Mr. Levinson said. “But you kind of bring it back to life with a little polish and give it another life.”
Ms. Levinson winced at her husband’s remark. “It depends on how you look at it,” she said. She is concerned that artists, musicians and other lower-income people are going to get pushed out. “Which we know a little bit about,” she said. “The rent has already gone up here quite a bit.”
Over the past three years, the Levinsons have moved Flux Modern from a 300-square-foot space to a 900-square-foot space, and their clientele has expanded to include set designers from “The Deuce” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
They use Instagram as a selling tool. “I’ll post something new as soon as I get it,” Mr. Levinson said. “And sometimes it’s gone before I even take it out of my van.”
Also helping them out with sales is Judy Feinstein, 83, a former pilot who showed off an Amelia Earhart medal that she wore around her neck. “I’m the real vintage one in here,” Ms. Feinstein said, and then handed everyone cake.”
