Milwaukee is filled with hidden retail gems boasting unique collections of housewares, clothing, jewelry and one-of-a-kind gift items. In this series, we’re highlighting some of the best of the bunch and giving you all the information you need to shop smarter while supporting local artisans and business owners.
Dandy
5020 W. Vliet St.
(414) 982-5020
livedandy.com
Instagram: @livedandy
Dandy describes itself as Midventurous Modern, which is a good way of saying, really cool stuff your mom and grandma tossed but you wish they’d have kept for you. There’s furniture, clothing, home decor and much more in an alluring setting, all curated by the owners, Ryan and Jess Day.
"It's vintage fare" furniture, clothes, lighting, barware," says Ryan Day, "but it's also vintage oddities, weird pieces turned into planters, antiques styled to be modern, pre-'80s to turn of the century."
You can learn more about Dandy, which also has an event space, here.
"We started a new shopping site after the virus, shop.livedandy.com," says Day. "it's basically a shopping version of our instagram and you can pick up any time."
Find unique gifts for: Anyone who chooses the beautiful objects in their home carefully and loves Midcentury Modern design.
Treat yourself to: A "Last Supper" paint by numbers set or a potentially haunted wedding dress.
Here are just a few of the items you can find at Dandy:
Art
Clothing and accessories
Furniture
Home decor
Industrial objects
Lighting
Plants
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
