Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in a family of educators. My parents and grandparents were friends with George McGovern, and that’s where my interest in the political process comes from. I graduated from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. I love South Dakota — as a matter of fact, we’re opening a second Combine location in Sioux Falls this August.
How did you get involved in fashion?
I moved to Minneapolis right after college to work for Norwest Bank (now Wells Fargo) and shopped a lot at a store in Uptown called Bacio, whose owner asked me to come work for her part time.
What was Intoto?
I continued with my bank career, becoming more interested in the fashion retail world, and a few years later Karen Heithoff asked me to help her open a new women’s and men’s fashion store at 31st and Hennepin called Intoto. Karen and I ran Intoto for almost 20 years. We did a lot of our buying in Paris and Milan, carrying many lines that nobody else had in Minneapolis, like Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, Marni, Isabel Marant... Intoto was magical — its reputation grew, we got used to seeing visiting celebrities shopping — Sinead O’Connor, Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis... but even more amazing were the relationships that grew from the client family created at Intoto, many of whom are part of the Combine experience today (and now adding children and grandchildren).
What was Uptown like back then?
Uptown was not as busy — a little more relaxed in those days.
We had our own parking behind the store. Kitty corner from Intoto was Matt & Charlie’s shop Room Service, there was Avalanche, Acres with Cord and Jim, and of course the legendary Lucia’s restaurant, plus her wine bar, then her bakery — that convergence made our corner of Uptown a very singular experience.
How has it changed?
Let me tell you a story to illustrate my perspective on the discussion about the state of Uptown retail.
Right after the current construction started, one of my regular clients from the neighborhood came in and said, “OK, I’m here to buy some stuff, because I don’t want to lose my store.” She spent over a thousand dollars, and looking at the bill total, exclaimed, “Good! I wanted a good total today.” That’s what the people who shop here are like.
What is Combine?
Combine is a little more casual in focus than Intoto was. We have some really great designers - one of my favorites is Hannoh Wessel’s women + men line. I’d say knitwear is really the backbone for me: Innis Meain sweaters from Ireland, Lamberto Losani & MJ Watson from Italy. Some great scarves - Hannoh, Lost & Found, Mois Mont, Faliero Sarti (which we carried for 15 years at Intoto.) We’re lucky to have these vendor relationships, and it’s very gratifying to see the renewal of friendships from our Intoto family.
How has Uptown’s road closures affected area businesses?
Luckily, we have 20+ parking spaces behind the store (which we share with our building neighbors Aurora Spa and Pinoli), which makes it easy for our customers to avoid the upheaval of the ongoing Lake Street “improvements.”
My big concern is the situation across the street where they’re putting in the bike lane. Our sister stores Les Sol and Legacy have a much bigger struggle, with the loss of on street parking. Whoever has made these decisions has really not thought through the impact on the health of our local businesses. I’m lucky to have an established clientele who continue to support us, but it would be very tough for any newer businesses to deal with this.
