yesterday we went to the design within reach sample sale.
let me be clear: we hate dwr. they sell beautiful items, priced just out of affordability. just enough that you can almost justify it if you’re splurging for the beautiful object. but within reach? HA!
however, who can pass up the chance to buy samples and returns for “up to 75% off”? why that’s almost like “up to 1000% free!”
we got there a little after 10am, which is when the doors opened, and the line was around the block. i kid you not. picture every yuppie hipster in sf on a saturday morning in line in potrero hill. honestly it was a little like disneyland. the line kept getting longer and longer, and then when you finally made it around the corner, and you realized that there was another half block to go. then you get inside the building and realize that you’ve got to go around another corner as well. they might as well have put up “wait from this point is X hours” signs.
the worst thing is that this primes you to buy at a frenzy as a result. as you get closer and closer, you see people carrying out and carting away beautiful pieces of furniture that YOU wanted, presumably bought at INCREDIBLE BARGAINS! oh, if you had only gotten there earlier! damn, someone’s just nabbed a sussex low dresser! and the alluringly impractical nelson platform bench! omg someone just got my beloved eames aluminum management chair in spinneybeck green leather! noooooooo!
thus, when you finally get in, you’re rushing around like it’s supermarket showdown, and madly looking for things that DON’T have a big SOLD tag on them, and are ravenous to find a bargain, any bargain! designer bar stools! curvy wavey ceiling lamps! oooh, how about that media center? who cares if we don’t have a flat screen tv to mount on the stand? we’ll buy one with all the money we saved!
to be honest, we did end up buying a few things. but they’re pretty great. a pierrot sofa sleeper in camel, and then these awesome heavy duty shelves in automobile paint orange (of course). plus an incredible stool that literally folds down into two dimensions. i think it triggers a quantum singularity every time we use it.
they did have my most favorite most treasured thing there for sale: the eames soft pad management chair in spinneybeck chocolate leather. perfect condition, on sale. hmc said i could buy it, but honestly, even after 1/3 off, i couldn’t in good conscience spend $2000 on an office chair.
the weird thing about the sale is that EVERY OTHER WOMAN THERE WAS PREGNANT. what the hell was up with that? i think that every upper middle class pregnant lady in sf must have been there. how can that make sense? how can you afford to be preggers in the city and still afford dwr furniture?
hmc cleared it up for me: if you can afford to be preggers and live in the city, you must be rich.
Posted at April 22, 2007 3:46 PM | TrackBack