Tents were up on Main Street the morning of Bulldog Bash 2023. Without a cloud in sight, it would have been the perfect day — if not for the wind, which knocked over the clothing racks of a particular vendor in the Maroon Market.

Cinder blocks stabilize the racks, and for a moment, a calmness fills the air. Within minutes, the tent becomes crowded by dozens of people, all asking for the prices of the vintage clothing present.

The vendor is 505 Curated, a small business run by Dean Jones, a sophomore finance major from Birmingham, Alabama. Dean has always had a love for vintage clothing — everything from the way they look to the treasure hunt it takes to find them.

“I founded 505 Curated originally to kind of support my own hobby of enjoying vintage clothing. It all started by me buying things and selling them online, which eventually led to me having a rack in my dorm room. My friends would come through and ‘shop’ through my stuff and it just grew from there,” Jones said.

Those friends pushed Jones to do pop-up shops, which have been everywhere from Nine-Twentynine Coffee Bar, Old Main Music Festival, Bulldog Bash and more. Along with this, Jones does various clothing drops online in which he sells sweaters, jackets and so on. Each drop and pop-up shop brings more attention to what Jones does, growing his business more each time.

This past week, Starkville Flea was announced, which will serve as a “vintage and high-fashion clothing market” at Fire Station Park in Starkville starting at noon March 23. 505 Curated will join more vendors that will be announced on Instagram closer to the event. Jones is coordinating Starkville Flea along with other students, creating an opportunity for others that otherwise may not be present.

“Mont Mitchell pitched the idea of Starkville Flea to me to create an event where I can do a pop-up and we can also have other people that are like-minded student entrepreneurs to see if they wanted to get together and do this for the community of Starkville,” Jones said.

Mitchell, a sophomore business economics major from Jackson, said that he reached out to Jones about the idea because he felt inspired from similar events in other places.

“From what I have seen, Dean is one of the first to bring vintage pop-ups to Starkville. He saw there was a growing interest in vintage and thrifting, and he capitalized upon this market,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell explained the connection between Starkville Flea and Jones’ 505 Curated.

“The idea for Starkville Flea stemmed from recognizing the community that was in Starkville that needed an event like this,” Mitchell said. “I came to Dean about the idea because he is a respected peer of mine, and who better to put something like this together than the mind behind 505Curated?”

The event has already gained a noticeable amount of traction with almost 100 followers hitting its Instagram within four days of the event’s announcement.

Jones’ stated his favorite part of running 505 Curated is the people he has connected with along the way.

“My favorite aspect has got to be the connections I have made. I love meeting new people; I have met so many really cool people that I would not have met otherwise,” Jones said. “505 is, one, it’s a way to bridge people together but it also is a safe place for people that enjoy vintage clothing and fashion to meet others with the same interests.”

In just over a year of doing pop-ups, the community has started to take notice of Jones’ work.

Belle Grace Wilkinson, a junior communication major from Florence, Mississippi, attended some of the pop-ups Jones hosted.

“I think someone like Dean is exactly what Starkville needs,” Wilkinson said. “He’s passionate and intentional with all of his work, and I believe the community is noticing.”

Martha Anne Dyer, a senior fashion merchandizing major from Houston, and owner of M.A.D. Styles, said seeing Jones’ journey throughout the last year has been nothing short of inspiring, from his first few pop-ups to the creation of Starkville Flea.

“Seeing Dean and people around him create something new out of that love and passion is really inspiring and really telling of how the art, fashion and vintage community in Starkville develop and move, and that is really cool,” Dyer said.

After one year of hosting pop-ups, Jones has curated not only a supply to meet the demand for vintage clothes in Starkville, but a community that is only getting bigger.