| by Donna Hoke HAYLEY CARROW & CORTNEY MORRISON-TAYLOR: Retro entrepreneurs
Buffalo Spree Home: When did you realize you were going to have to move? Cortney Morrison-Taylor: “We could just tell on a day-to-day basis. We’d go up to the street and there were people walking around but we weren’t getting any traffic.” Hayley Carrow: “Or people would come in and we’d hear them go upstairs. That’s the killer; people either go up or down.” CM–T: “When they did come down, they’d be like ‘How cool!’ If people found it, it was like they found this little treasure.” HC: “At the holiday season, we walked down Elmwood to Spot and every store was bustling and our shop was dead, and we said ‘Okay, we’re moving.’ “ And how’s the traffic now? HC: “Probably double. The phenomenal thing is we’re still working on [getting storage space], but every weekend, we still have to get a truckload of furniture.” How did you two become partners? HC: “After I graduated, we [became roommates] and we would go to garage sales on weekends and pick up old pieces of furniture and manipulate them with paint or upholstery at our apartment. Then in October, we went to London and were inspired by all the cool little boutiques there. We thought ‘Why doesn’t Buffalo have anything like this?’ When we got back, we started brainstorming.” CM-T: “We thought of a vision to take old pieces and re-imagine them, and that’s where the name came from.” It’s impressive that you’ve done this at your age. CM-T: “Hayley and I were entrepreneurs at eight or nine years old with Shell Jewelry Creations.” HC: “We would make jewelry out of shells and sell it on the bus, or rent out a table at a fair to sell the things we made. We also made Christmas ornaments.” CM-T: “They were pretty popular, so it seems pretty natural for us.” How did you determine what time period you wanted to showcase? CM-T: “Our parents didn’t have these kinds of things—they had traditional furniture—so we saw a need. A lot of stores carry antiques, but not mid-century modern.” HC: “When we first started, it was very retro. We were collecting a lot of Pyrex and fifties vinyl, but now we’re getting more modern, wood rather than chrome, so we have a nice mix.” What do you see as the appeal of these pieces? CM-T: “Furniture in the fifties and sixties was made really well and usually manufactured right in the U.S. There’s also the environmental aspect. When we’re taking a piece of furniture that would have ended up in a landfill and giving it new life, it’s better than going to a big box store and getting some throwaway thing.” HC: “And as styles go, they come back around. At Urban Outfitters, they have a lot of Danish style chairs, but with us, you could get a real Danish piece, not a [reproduction].” What have you found really cool about having this business? CM-T: “Back in November, we were featured on apartment therapy, which is a national blog, and then over Thanksgiving weekend, about four or five different people came in from Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, and they mentioned that they’d seen us and were excited to check out the shop. That was really cool.” HC: “For me, it’s finding that really awesome thing and fixing it up. I love painting and making cool pillows, or that accent chair that is so wild. And then to have someone come in and love it feels really good.” Do you have trouble letting go of the things you love? HC: “By the time I’m done with something, I’ve spent so much time and stared at it so long that it’s kind of sad, but it feels good to pass it on.” CM-T: “If we love something, we incorporate it into the price of the piece.” HC: “We had these retro diamond cups, and they were something I really enjoyed, and Cort was like ‘Put a high price on them and they’ll sit around for a while.’ They did sell eventually to a woman from Canada.” What do your own apartments look like? HC: “Very eclectic. I’m an artist, so I have my paintings all over the walls. I have a fifties yellow chrome table in my kitchen, and a Chinese Chippendale tea cart with two little chairs, and a shag rug. I have very wild taste in color; I go for anything that’s bright.” CM-T: “I like more of the Scandinavian design, a cleaner look. I still like color and I have a pair of red chairs and a lot of graphic prints, graphic pillows, and op art on the walls.” HC: “They reflect the store in their own ways. The store is a cluster and the apartments are more individual.” What services do you provide other than sales? CM-T: “We do custom pillows, or re-do chairs. We also offer interior design for space planning or color selection.” HC: “We’ll probably expand on the interior design service in the future. Right now, we’re just trying to get settled.” Donna Hoke walked through Reimagine and felt like she was revisiting her childhood home. |
