Blogger Breakfast at West Elm
Good evening, lovelies!
Last Thursday I had the chance to attend a really lovely breakfast at West Elm in the Galleria Mall. When I arrived, Melissa Zensen from West Elm's Visual Design and Merchandising team and West Elm Associate Manager David Blakely greeted me with a hot cup of Starbucks coffee. We were offered tasty scones from a local shop and fresh fruit. I can't get enough of strawberries this summer, so I was happy to snack on those! I joined just in time for the second tour of the morning, starting by the shop's super cute succulent table. I regret to say that my first go-round at being a succulent mommy didn't turn out so well - my little baby kicked the bucket about two weeks ago. I'd love to try again! I probably over-watered it, just like everyone else...
I dream one day of having a gorgeous wood bar cart for entertaining visitors in a future home. Did you know that West Elm does collaborations with artists to bring you more exclusive designs? This cart was designed by James Harrison. Another collaboration that David mentioned is with Steven Alan, who is known for his mens and womenswear designs. For West Elm, he takes his background with those and worked with artisans in India, Nicaragua, and Haiti to bring West Elm a home collection. I adore his Golden Gate design for the bedding. I think I am developing a love for dusty yellow colors in the home!
You can look for very gender-neutral and classic autumnal colors, such as the colorplay combinations of White/Goldenrod, Cayenne/Chocolate, and Brass/Charcoal. I would personally love to see the white/goldenrod and cayenne/chocolate palettes all in one space! Light and dark together, so lovely. I noticed that the current colorplays in West Elm are also fairly gender-neutral, and appealing to many tastes. For instance, two current bedspread displays feature a lovely chartreuse yellow, and the other a gorgeous gray tone.
I'm a lover of trinkets, and West Elm does not disappoint in that category. I think that the items that sit around in on your surfaces help add character to your living space. These little owl bookends piqued my interest. I spied two perched in the midcentury section.
Some of the other topics that really caught my attention during breakfast include West Elm's interest in local vendors via pop-up Etsy events, DIY events, collaborations with local businesses, their new wedding gift registry, and their in-store Style Rescue. Style Rescue is an event that occurs the last Sunday of the month from 10-11am, where customers can meet with a home style expert free of charge. I'm hoping to move into a new apartment in the fall, so you KNOW I will be attending one of these events! How handy! There is also a small section of the store for design services for customers, too. I'd love to see that in action.
After our chats with Melissa and David, we were able to bop around the store and shop a bit. One of the other attendees during my session were Sarah from The Wicked Wallflower. You might remember me mentioning her in my post about her Wicked Pop-Up Shop. She's such a sweetheart and I'm so happy for her - she recently took a new position as Fashion Editor at ALIVE Magazine! Congrats, girl! Two other lovely ladies at the breakfast were Suzie Osterloh, Publisher/Owner of St. Louis Homes & Lifestyles, and Melissa Mauzy, Managing Editor at St. Louis Homes & Lifestyles. They mentioned hopefully doing an article about West Elm's fall collections in their upcoming issue - I can't wait to read it!
I perused the goods and picked up a few things for myself and others. I had two birthdays to shop for, which I can't post what I picked up for, because of course that would ruin the surprise! For myself, I actually shopped off the bench right inside the front door. West Elm sells off its display pieces after they've changed their POV.
They had photo-printed boards with different flora and water images, so I grabbed two with pictures of ferns on them. Get it, my last name is Firns... I'm a nerd, I'm sorry! I hung them up over my bed just the other day, which I would like to show you, but right now my bed is unmade and that'd be just silly. I think they were both only $15, which is a cheap and neat way to decorate!
Sarah was gracious enough to snap a picture for me of my outfit! I am wearing the dress I mentioned picking up in Weezie's in Branson. It's a trapeze-cut dress, which I can say I've honestly never owned before, but this one fit too well to pass up. Because the front of the dress is so low, I knew I needed to layer a bandeau underneath. Luckily, while shopping in Branson Landing, the Francesca's there was having a buy two for $12 sale on their bandeaus! My clutch and necklace are thrifted but I can't recall from where. The sandals are Ivanka Trump and were a gift from a friend.
Melissa and David invited us to a follow-up breakfast in July so that we could see some of the new items start to roll out. I can't wait! And I am very thankful for their hospitality. West Elm will definitely start to see more of me in its store! Thank you so much!
Last Thursday I had the chance to attend a really lovely breakfast at West Elm in the Galleria Mall. When I arrived, Melissa Zensen from West Elm's Visual Design and Merchandising team and West Elm Associate Manager David Blakely greeted me with a hot cup of Starbucks coffee. We were offered tasty scones from a local shop and fresh fruit. I can't get enough of strawberries this summer, so I was happy to snack on those! I joined just in time for the second tour of the morning, starting by the shop's super cute succulent table. I regret to say that my first go-round at being a succulent mommy didn't turn out so well - my little baby kicked the bucket about two weeks ago. I'd love to try again! I probably over-watered it, just like everyone else...
Melissa and David invited us to sit with them in their midcentury home section and told us all about West Elm's direction, especially what to expect for Fall 2014. I loved the description of "handcrafted yet elevated" for that more sophisticated yet still very home-y feel.
I dream one day of having a gorgeous wood bar cart for entertaining visitors in a future home. Did you know that West Elm does collaborations with artists to bring you more exclusive designs? This cart was designed by James Harrison. Another collaboration that David mentioned is with Steven Alan, who is known for his mens and womenswear designs. For West Elm, he takes his background with those and worked with artisans in India, Nicaragua, and Haiti to bring West Elm a home collection. I adore his Golden Gate design for the bedding. I think I am developing a love for dusty yellow colors in the home!
You can look for very gender-neutral and classic autumnal colors, such as the colorplay combinations of White/Goldenrod, Cayenne/Chocolate, and Brass/Charcoal. I would personally love to see the white/goldenrod and cayenne/chocolate palettes all in one space! Light and dark together, so lovely. I noticed that the current colorplays in West Elm are also fairly gender-neutral, and appealing to many tastes. For instance, two current bedspread displays feature a lovely chartreuse yellow, and the other a gorgeous gray tone.
More to look for this fall will be rustic yet luxe furnishings. This sounds like something I can get behind because I have a deep and old love for wood cabin homes. My family has friends that we used to visit with a few times a year, and they live in a stunning wood cabin home in the Eureka, MO area. I could definitely see their space being described in the terms of rustic yet luxe, as they have an amazing bar on their lofted second floor! I'm also excited to have peeped a few of their lighting designs that will hit stores in the fall. There was one heavy, industrial-looking metal lighting fixture that would look right at home in a downtown Saint Louis loft with exposed brick walls. Oh, to dream!
I'm a lover of trinkets, and West Elm does not disappoint in that category. I think that the items that sit around in on your surfaces help add character to your living space. These little owl bookends piqued my interest. I spied two perched in the midcentury section.
Some of the other topics that really caught my attention during breakfast include West Elm's interest in local vendors via pop-up Etsy events, DIY events, collaborations with local businesses, their new wedding gift registry, and their in-store Style Rescue. Style Rescue is an event that occurs the last Sunday of the month from 10-11am, where customers can meet with a home style expert free of charge. I'm hoping to move into a new apartment in the fall, so you KNOW I will be attending one of these events! How handy! There is also a small section of the store for design services for customers, too. I'd love to see that in action.
After our chats with Melissa and David, we were able to bop around the store and shop a bit. One of the other attendees during my session were Sarah from The Wicked Wallflower. You might remember me mentioning her in my post about her Wicked Pop-Up Shop. She's such a sweetheart and I'm so happy for her - she recently took a new position as Fashion Editor at ALIVE Magazine! Congrats, girl! Two other lovely ladies at the breakfast were Suzie Osterloh, Publisher/Owner of St. Louis Homes & Lifestyles, and Melissa Mauzy, Managing Editor at St. Louis Homes & Lifestyles. They mentioned hopefully doing an article about West Elm's fall collections in their upcoming issue - I can't wait to read it!
I perused the goods and picked up a few things for myself and others. I had two birthdays to shop for, which I can't post what I picked up for, because of course that would ruin the surprise! For myself, I actually shopped off the bench right inside the front door. West Elm sells off its display pieces after they've changed their POV.
They had photo-printed boards with different flora and water images, so I grabbed two with pictures of ferns on them. Get it, my last name is Firns... I'm a nerd, I'm sorry! I hung them up over my bed just the other day, which I would like to show you, but right now my bed is unmade and that'd be just silly. I think they were both only $15, which is a cheap and neat way to decorate!
Sarah was gracious enough to snap a picture for me of my outfit! I am wearing the dress I mentioned picking up in Weezie's in Branson. It's a trapeze-cut dress, which I can say I've honestly never owned before, but this one fit too well to pass up. Because the front of the dress is so low, I knew I needed to layer a bandeau underneath. Luckily, while shopping in Branson Landing, the Francesca's there was having a buy two for $12 sale on their bandeaus! My clutch and necklace are thrifted but I can't recall from where. The sandals are Ivanka Trump and were a gift from a friend.
Melissa and David invited us to a follow-up breakfast in July so that we could see some of the new items start to roll out. I can't wait! And I am very thankful for their hospitality. West Elm will definitely start to see more of me in its store! Thank you so much!