AUGUST 11 • 2022 | 39

Eventually, he explained, his accumulation of
items outpaced his ability to store his wares.
“I was selling online, like on eBay, Depop
(another peer-to-peer selling platform),
Facebook, wherever I could generate sales out of
my college dorm,” Ryan says, adding how, when
he returned to the Detroit area, his vast inven-
tory allowed him to not only sell directly to the
public but also provide wholesale lots to the
many vintage stores in the area. “I had too much
merchandise to store, and it got to a point when
I was living at my mother’s house ... I amassed
so much inventory I had to get my own house
because there was nowhere else to put it all.”
Ryan credits his brother Dylan as the catalyst
to pivot from just online retailing and whole-
sale supply to also opening a store of their own.
The younger Burke brother, who began work-
ing the trade shows that Ryan would produce
and host at the Huntington Bank Center (the
former Cobo Hall), soon realized he, too, had a
knack for what makes something unique.
“Dylan started vending our booths for us at
the vintage exchanges and just grew a passion
for it,” Ryan says. “He’s a big sports guy and
has a real eye for items that are special,” not-
ing rare colors and unique graphics associated
with sports merchandise. “I had
wanted to open the store for a
while, and Dylan was kind of the
push behind it to be like, ‘Yeah,
let’s do it.’”
Being the younger entrepre-
neur, Dylan offers significant
deference toward his older broth-
er while echoing the value of an
item’s backstory. “I just think
backstories are cool, so, as far as
like the sports T-shirts go, I make
a good connection with them
since it makes me think of that year
and whatever, which also helps in the sale.”
The Burke brothers’ store is atypical of many typical
vintage shops insofar as it’s free of must, clutter and a
prototypically indifferent sales staff. These young men
love interacting with customers, which was evidenced
by the 30 minutes each spent with a woman who ended
up buying nothing but left the store happy.
“People love to talk, and we enjoy every conver-
sation,” Ryan says, explaining that by the items sold,
everyone has a story and those stories are critical to
moving merchandise. “We restock at least 20 to 50
items every single night. You know there’s usually not
an item that lasts on a rack for more than two weeks ...
that way we can keep the inventory fresh.”
The Vintage Vault, located at 38 14 Mile Road just
east of Main Street in downtown Clawson, is currently
open from 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Thursday-Sunday.

TOP: Brothers Dylan (left) and
Ryan Burke, 21 and 24, opened
their resale shop The Vintage
Vault in downtown Clawson at
the end of June 2022 and have
enjoyed brisk business from
shoppers who crave authentic
retro wares. LEFT: Vintage is
a serious business that does
not come cheap. This 1992
“Lollapalooza” music festival
T-shirt is priced at $200.