We had the good fortune of connecting with Vinny Malave and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vinny, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I grew up in Chicago and was born into Halloween/horror movies. The uncle I was closest to was huge on it so naturally, I gravitated towards it and fell in love with it too. Fast forward years later and we now own Chicago’s only All-Horror Shop!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Starting our brand wasn’t easy but after a few years, we started making adjustments to both the way we present ourselves as well as our merchandise. Once we did that and started taking ourselves a lot more seriously, so did everyone else. Transitioning from an online shop to a brick and mortar is a challenge we continue to face everyday. But we genuinely have passion for what we do so it’s all done with love. We hope one day we’ll be able to expand and do it even bigger. From a shop to cons to more. Our ideas are bigger than our wallets but we hope that’ll change soon. It’ll give us the opportunity to do some really cool and unique things that’ll give the horror fans something to look forward to.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Here are some key spots… start off your day at the Brewed then come over to Dark Matter on Belmont to grab some pastries to go with your coffee. After that, swing on by the Horror House & Bucket O’ Blood and Kumas after for some dinner! And if you’re lucky, Reeds local or DMen tap will have a show going on to end the night. And if not, they’re still the perfect spots to close out the evening!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We want to give a huge shout out to all of our loved ones. From our close family to those who have supported us and our brand from day 1. You’re the reason why we keep pushing and what makes this crazy ride worth it.

Website: www.thecrypticcloset.com

Instagram: instagram.com/thehorrorhouseshop

Twitter: Crypticcloset

Facebook: Thehorrorhouseshop

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.