Together in Harmony: Conscientious Coffee, Clothes and Home Goods

Erik Hamline opened Together – a clothing and home goods store in Northeast Minneapolis – at the tail end of 2022.  Since its opening this beautiful store has lived up to its claims as a store full of mindful brands and consciously crafted products. When I ask Hamline about the origin of the name, he gets delightfully philosophical on me. “The name stems from the relationship we have with the objects and clothing we bring into our lives,” he says, “We choose (or not choose) [sic] to adorn and surround ourselves with materials and objects that represent something to us.”

The thoughtful nature of Together does not stop at the name of the business. The team behind Together works diligently to ensure that this Twin Cities store engages in conscientious business practices, placing high value on the kinds of products and partners it brings into the shop. “We’ve made it a priority to be conscious of our vendors’ ecological and ethical practices and opting to work only with those that are of a like mindset,” Hamline explains, “Particularly within the garment industry, but really throughout most production industries we all can do a better job ensuring we are focused on…helping to better protect our environment and fellow human beings.”

Hamline says conversations around ethical practices come up organically with most of the brands with which Together chooses to partner. “We work with a large number of European brands and that mindset [of ethical practices] is much more commonplace…[there] than it is stateside,” he explains, “Ensuring fabrics are produced by like-minded, owner-operated mills and transferred to factories employing workers that are…afforded much higher standards of living than their fast-fashion or corporate brand counterparts has been a process – but fortunately we have been met with equal concern on the part of the folks running the brands we work with.”

Together features a wide array of recognizable and niche brands. The summer season features collections from Studio Nicholson, Garbstore, and Monitaly. Together also has partnerships with some incredible Japanese brands like Beams+ and OrSlow alongside a small denim producer Hatski. Hamline’s pride in the new collection is obvious: “All around we’re very excited for the new season and seeing folks experiencing the space and product as we gear into warmer weather,” he says.

The clothing at Together is a masculine-leaning gender neutral. “We simply just don’t see the reasoning behind creating a gendered space. In a technical sense we would categorically fall into the menswear folder but with current styles, etc. a substantial number of our customers are women (as of last check 41%). As seasons progress we do have plans of extending our size runs to help fit a wider range of customers.

This charming store offers so much more than clothes. “We are working with a number of home, lifestyle and apothecary brands as well as beginning to bring on more higher-design outdoor products from brands such as Snow Peak and Nanga,” says Hamline, “We’ve recently begun a partnership with the UK based brand Haeckels who has an incredible range of all-natural marine-based body and personal care products. The level of product quality, brand ethos and sustainability aspects are incredible.”

Together is a one-stop shop of beautiful, high-end items that Hamline and his team genuinely believe in. “Really we just go after the brands we love and are enamored by and hope that they allow us to work with them,” says Hamline, “The majority of brands we work with have taken a considerable amount of time and energy to build a relationship with before we ever even discussed bringing their product into our space…We have been very fortunate to be able to work with the brands we do and we are extremely excited to see where we can evolve moving forwards.”

Ultimately, Hamline is creating a space where like-minded people and are able to find high quality products that they can feel comfortable using and that mirror their values. He explains further: “Our goal is to create a shop that highlights quality in design and creation in regards to apparel and lifestyle goods. If an individual feels as though their taste and style aligns with ours we want nothing more than a place they can come to and enjoy existing within.”

Together is worth a visit whether the store is in your neighborhood or a trip across town. Even if you do not have a new summer outfit or home goods item on your shopping list, Hamline has another surprise for you: “We’ve just recently opened a small coffee shop at the rear of our space,” says Hamline.

The coffee shop is called Harmony and it is an oasis of sorts. “We’ve created it as a very sensory-forward space where light, sound and texture have all been quite highly considered. Our goal was to create a very different feel to complement Together as a little cohabitating unit within the neighborhood.”

A drink at Harmony is an aesthetic experience. “We put our focus on the elevation of texture, light and sound alongside the highest quality coffee and tea from both international and national producers. We’ve also designed the space around and exceptional vintage hi-fidelity audio system featuring a number of rare vintage audio components and a wide catalog of rare and original pressing vinyl records.“

Whether it is for a cup of coffee, your new favorite outfit, or an aesthetic addition to your home décor, we here at Lavender hope to see you visiting Together soon.

501 1^st Ave NE,
Minneapolis, MN 55413
www.together-store.com
[email protected]