It’s not old. It’s not new. It’s secondhand.
Everything old is new again.
I remember my aunt commenting on the bell bottoms I wore in high school, she used to wear the same style. I was so confused. Delia’s catalog (IYKYK) told me bell bottoms were the height of fashion. I didn't have a clue they were a 1960’s reboot. Now when I walk into J.Crew I understand how my aunt felt. I don’t think J.Crew is actually designing anything new just reusing their patterns from 1995, it’s vintage and probably good for their bottom line.
Fast forward 30 years, I love vintage clothing and furniture—some of it, not all of it. I’m not really a Victorian dress type of person but I still love a vintage Woolrich coat. I have some vintage furniture pieces—more than some, quite a bit. But I mix it with new pieces and some retro remakes. It works for me and I enjoy a good thrift store or antique market. Some people hate it—the idea of walking through a thrift store makes them want to take a shower. My mom couldn’t get over my love for a certain pair of “old man pants” that I acquired from Goodwill in mid 90’s and wore incessantly. Somehow they never disappeared in the wash—my mom has great patience.
It is a certain personality that actually enjoys thrifting or shopping for antiques. After all, it is a lot of work. You walk into the store with very low expectations and are surprised if you find something you like. Walking into Pottery Barn or Design Within Reach, or going online for that matter, you know what to expect. You will certainly find a white slipcover sofa and some midcentury remakes. Shopping this way is efficient. You know where to go based on your tastes and budget. Thrifting is a gamble, but certain people enjoy the hunt. This is why stores like Home Goods and Marshalls appeal to a specific crowd, it’s a bit of a hunt minus the dust and generally leads to what seems like a good bargain.
Remember the 2010’s?
I was thinking back about all the home decor pieces I used to covet. I’m a sucker for surface patterns and illustrations and I was contemplating all the design pieces that I loved that have come and gone from stores. Crate and Barrel used to carry beautiful linens with Marimekko patterns, as has IKEA. Jonathan Adler did adorable menagerie collaborations with Barnes & Noble and H&M Home. I swooned over these pieces because they made design a little more accessible for my 20-something’s paycheck.
Philippe Starck’s ghost chair is an iconic example of early 2000’s design. You don’t see them (or the knock-off) everywhere like you did in 2005 but they’re still out there. Classic design, not yet vintage, and still in production. You can buy them new from Design Within Reach or you can find them on Charish, 1st Dibs or eBay.
Filling in the gap.
Unfortunately, most home furnishings, decor, and appliances are made from a mix of materials that would make them difficult to recycle. Clear glass, like that used in mason jars, is easily recycled, while Pyrex or decorative colored glass objects cannot be recycled in mainstream recycling programs because they have different melting points. Glass items can spend thousands of years, some say a million years biodegrading. Local operations like Overlooked Materials in Chattanooga, Tennessee or Glass Half Full in New Orleans, Louisiana collect glass locally and rather than melting it to make new glass they grind it to make sand for landscaping and beach restoration. These are local solutions that fill in the gap.
Mulberry & Second fills in the gap between old and new. Mulberry & Second is a curated collection of second-hand, designer, and vintage high-quality goods with lots of life left in them. We celebrate the value and use that is left in these items and have designed a shopping experience that is less hunting and hoping and more discovery.