The Art of Thrift Shopping

We are currently working with a client called Hour Children who, on top of providing amazing support for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their families, also happen to own a fantastic thrift shop. Their event is taking place at the Central Park Boathouse in October. When we were brainstorming ideas for the event, we thought about styling the space with the thrift store furniture.  Guests could lounge on couches and put their cocktails on the actual coffee tables from the shop. Then, as another way to give back to the organization, guests can actually buy the items that evening. We took a little field tip to the thrift shop this week to see if our vision for the event could become a reality.

Like many people who first step into a thrift shop, we were a bit overwhelmed with how much was there. But once we started looking, we realized how much potential there was. So we came up with some tips that we hope will help and inspire you to do some bargain hunting yourself:

1. Get to the bottom of things...literally.

We found this great wooden lounge piece that we would love to use at the event. But we didn't even see it at first! It was buried under an intimidating pile of clothes and bags. Once we did some rearranging, we saw how chic it was.


2. A little paint goes a long way.

Try to look at the actual structure of the piece before you worry about anything else, especially if you are looking for something like a dresser. Something that looks really basic or a little dirty can be instantly jazzed up with a fresh coat of paint and some new knobs.

3. Be patient in your picking.

A lot of times, thrift shops will bundle all similar items together into one small space (like these lamps). Pull out a few that catch your eye from the big pile and place each one on a table for a new perspective. If you have the time and do some shifting, you could actually find the piece that you are looking for amongst the many others that were not exactly your taste.

We love thrift shopping and left with some great inspiration. We hope you will too!

Best of the Beach

We are loving the forecast for this weekend and it looks like a trip to the beach may be in the near future. With kids finishing up final exams and the official start of summer tomorrow, bikini season is in full swing. We found these fun weekend must-haves that will leave your friends saying, "Where'd you get that?!"

Kate Spade

1. Pack a cold bottle of rosé and head on your way. We could spend all day looking at Kate Spade bags, but this one caught our attention because it's actually a picnic basket/wine tote. Gotta love a good two-in-one, especially when it involves wine. 

Anthropologie

2. Floppy beach hats like this one from Anthropologie aren't just for your grandmother anymore. They're in again, and not only are they an adorable accessory for the beach, but they help protect your skin from the hot summer rays. 

Free People

3. Don't forget to pack your inner hippie! These fringe bikinis are everywhere and are especially sought after by 20 somethings. Free People has a bunch of these suits with fun patterns and colors. They might create funky tan lines, but at least you'll look great.   

Clinique

4. Our last but not least must-have is BB Cream. Skip those greasy, heavy sunscreens and opt for something lightweight that also doubles as a sheer foundation. BB Cream, short for beauty balm, is great because it acts like a tinted moisturizer with a zillion other benefits. It treats skin with antioxidants, evens out skin tone, has anti-aging ingredients and offers broad-spectrum SPF. Once you try it, you won't ever leave home without it!

WSF Gala: A Taste of the Evening

We were just sitting in the office talking about the 2013 World Science Festival that took place this past week. There were so many great events in the festival this year, from "Cellular Surgeons: The New Era of Nanomedicine" to "Cheers to Science! A Drinkable Feast of Beer Biotechnology and Archaeology." The festival provided a little something for everyone. While looking through the fun photos from the week, we stumbled across this video from the 2013 gala that we think perfectly captures the evening's energetic vibe. Watch and get a taste of what the night was all about!