I wasn't the only one Celebrating a Birthday August 16th... SWEET SALVAGE was also Celebrating their 1st Birthday with the "Let Them Eat Cake" Event! And it seemed as though everyone eagerly attended the SWEET SALVAGE Party!!!
Wow, has it already been an entire Year since SWEET SALVAGE first opened and Introduced the Valley Of The Sun to the Occassional Sale?!? My how Time flies when you're having Fun!!!
It was a very Exciting Time last Summer to FINALLY have an Occassional Sale Event coming to the Metro Phoenix Area. I'd heard about them all over the Country, but until SWEET SALVAGE we didn't have one here and it's Time had certainly come!!! Phoenicians were ready to Receive the Occassional Sale Events with eager anticipation and from the very first day it opened, it was a HUGE Success! I don't think anyone could have predicted how Huge in fact!
Each Month was going to be a new Theme and new Inventory for the four day Event and the Love Affair everyone has with the Shop just continued to grow Month after Month! It grew so exponentially in fact that before the Year was even up they had outgrown the Original Building and had to move the Venue to a bigger Location to accommodate the crowds!
It's not often that anyone in the fiercely Hot Arizona Desert would willingly stand around in lines just waiting to get into an Event... but that's exactly what happened from Day #1... it was an Instant Phenomenon. And this Month's Event had an even bigger crowd waiting in line when we arrived, wrapping completely around the building and down the Street behind it!!!
I'm always blown away by the Creative Vignettes and Awesome Inventory each Event Displays. Month after Month the Sweet Team outdo themselves with a Fresh Vision and Production worthy of the Adoration of the masses of Shoppers that look forward to attending.
Everyone looks forward to discovering their Found Treasures and the Inspiration the Theme of the Event will Impart. The Styling of each Event is impeccible, there is such Creative Talent among the Sweet Team and the Art of Display is superb!
I've never come away empty handed... and that's saying something... because though I do like to go Junquing... I have so much already that I don't always buy unless I discover something really Special. And I ALWAYS find something really Special here... both to buy or to simply Lust after and Admire... like this Fabulous Antique Needlepoint Chair! *Swoon Worthy!*
Since each area in the Shop is Styled by a different Vendor there is always a Unique Vision and Personality to each Display and the Vignettes in that area. I always Enjoy every single area's Styling... but I must admit that I have my Favs each time I visit. That particular Styling that I feel a Connection to because it's similar to my own Aesthetic and way of Decorating. Or has the Inventory that I gotta have! Or Wish I could... *LOL*
And because there are so many Styles and such a vast Selection of Inventory I can always bring Friends and know that all of us are going to discover something Special and come away Individually or Mutually Inspired in some kind of way.
At this Event I must Confess that Pamela and I began eating some of the Displays! Yes... we did!!! And as I stood there with a chunk of delicious Cookie melting in my mouth my Friend Pauline says, "Can we eat the Displays?" Ummmmmm... well... I just did! *LOL* But... we weren't the only ones... and you had to snap pixs quickly before all the edible Displays were completely ravaged! *Winks*
And yes, I must also Confess that because this Month's Event attracted such humongous crowds, I couldn't stay long... you know how I am once a Venue gets packed out... I get kinda freaked out... and even the strong Desire to cover it for a Blog Post and capture the Images isn't enough to overcome my Instinct and desire to bail ASAP! *Le Sigh*
So I didn't take very many Images when it first began because the crowds got thick fast... and I had my Deconstructed Lampshade in hand and convinced Pamela that we'd have to come back much later when the crowds thinned out and I could handle it and get better shots.
That's always a bit sad for me since I know that Later means a lot of the most Amazing Lovelies will likely be Picked and gone before they can be Preserved in Images for Posterity... and gorgeous Vignettes such as this won't be in their Pristine condition anymore for those best Photo Ops. At Events I always Wonder what it all looked like BEFORE the flood gates opened and the Public descended upon it? *Smiles*
But I am getting much better at Speed Photography! *LOL* I can walk quickly and cover a lot of ground whilst snapping away with my trusty camera before I get too overwhelmed and make a hasty Exit, Stage Left. *Winks*
My eyes dart around looking for the Shots and Visuals I don't wanna miss and might not find in other Blog Coverage of the Event... though I am glad that other Dedicated Bloggers and SWEET SALVAGE Lovers and Devotees do Capture those Images that I missed or never saw before the Vignette was unfoofed and stripped bare! *LOL* Though each person's point of view will certainly be different... have you ever noticed that many can visit the same place and yet see everything from so many different perspectives? I Love that about the Art of Photography... it allows such Freedom of Personal Expression and we're really seeing it all through the Eyes of the person behind the Lens... how they View their World around them!
Being an Amateur Photographer I don't always get those Killer Shots in spite of my best efforts... so I'm glad the Professional Photographers often Preview the Events to get us those Swoon Worthy Pristine Shots of the Displays beforehand so that those who couldn't attend can Enjoy the Experience as if they were there... and those who did attend can see what they might have missed or got looked over.
Because I don't know about you, but I am always somewhat Conflicted on whether to focus on the Photography or the Shopping?!?!???! Because it is difficult to do both effectively and simultaneously...
If I focus on the Shopping and 'Scoring' of my Treasures... well... then I'm not likely to get any Images to Share and be Inspired by later on. Because if the focus is primarily on 'Scoring' you can easily get tunnel vision and miss really "seeing" the Artistic Displays in your Urgency to not miss out on that Special piece someone else may get to before you?!? *Winks*
So it does take a bit of multi-tasking to keep eyes peeled for those Special Pieces you came for and Hope to find... whilst also getting those Special Shots of Event Coverage you also came for and want to Share here in the Land of Blog.
And the many Layers of Styling and Beauty often need to be uncovered and Revealed bit by bit... by your eyes and hands... Like this one that contained a Nest of Sweetly Decorated Soaps under a Wire Cloche...
I just had to get a closer look... even if that meant I was now creating a bottleneck in the traffic flow of eager Shoppers as I stood still for a minute and Captured the Moment! *LOL* Yep, I'm that annoying Photographer slash Shopper that does that... so give me a Moment 'kay?!? *Winks*
Because for me it's always been in the Minutia... what is small or trifling matters to others often totally Captivates me and I'm Enamored and have to take a closer look and scrutinize the Details... soaking it all in with Appreciative eyes.
This Deconstructed Sofa for Example... couldn't even get close to it during the initial Opening of the Event... and Hoped it wouldn't be Spirited away before we got back Later so that I could get an Image of it!?! Thankfully, though it was now moved and Re-Displayed differently... I could. *Whew!* Wish I'd been able to Capture the Image of it initially because the Vignette was AWESOME... but I'll take what I can get! *Smiles*
In fact, one of the most Impressive things about this four day Event is how the Sweet Team is so Efficient at Styling and Re-Stocking during all the Madness... I honestly don't know how they do it... everything always looks so Amazing in spite of constantly needing to be Re-Styled and Replaced!
And they make it Appear so Effortless... which I totally know it's NOT! There is a LOT of Work, Creativity, Vision and Talent that goes into making something this Special and Fabulous come Together and Appear to be Effortless and flow so smoothly in spite of hoards of Customers coming and going constantly.
The Logistics of Hosting such an Event must be staggering...
And yet Month after Month they have continued to WOW us for a full Year now!!! And there's not a one of the Sweet Team that isn't Deserving of all of the Success and Accolades given. They really have taken a Vision and made it a Reality that is unprecedented Locally.
And the next couple of Posts will take you along with us as we Experienced it... so be sure to come back Tomorrow for more Birthday Fun!
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian