same shoes and coveralls all his life," he
says. "He bought a buffet, refinished it
four times and 40 years later, wanted me
to take it."
Today, though, "we don't wear the
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same shoes, drive the same car or wear
the same clothes all our lives," he adds.
"And, because we spend a lot of time in
our homes, we like to keep them fresh
with nice, different things."
Change was one of the reasons that
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3
2009-201
Sara Thomas founded her online consignment store, Sara's List, more than
two years ago. She was changing homes
and moving from Kentfield to San Rafael
and needed new furniture but not "new"
furniture.
Thomas wanted to go green and
save her "green", too. "I was frugal but
I wanted good quality furniture and
I didn't want to have to buy it new or
have it custom made and the quality was
hit-and-miss on some popular online
24 Bellam Blvd., San Rafael • 415-454-1983 • www.bellamstorage.com
sites," she recalls. "I wanted to be ecofriendly and use what was already out
there. I knew there were treasures if I
could just find them."
Her friends had treasures they wanted
to discard but were also skittish about
posting them on online sites because
they didn't want to invite strangers – and
potential trouble – into their homes.
Greg Plawski, owner of Design Plus
Gallery in San Rafael and San Francisco,
says concern about the environment
drives many people into his stores.
"Most of my customers are into reusing and repurposing and being more
eco-friendly," the Terra Linda resident
says. "They tell us they refuse to buy
new things because they want to be
wiser about the resources."
Other customers are driven by costconsciousness. "Many are young couples
that have just bought an expensive home
in Marin, leaving them fewer dollars to
spend furnishing it," he explains. "They
can find quality pieces here at a very
good price."
14
FLOURISH • FALL 2013
