The Salvage Sisters rip through the Salvation Army on East Colfax like thrift-shop tornadoes. Just inside the door they spot a $10 mirror that could be transformed into a driftwood-covered beauty like the one in their book, and a $30 low-slung credenza that would be a showstopper if given a new coat of paint.
“I wish I could take them home,” Mary Ann Young, the elder sister, says wistfully.
They quickly move on to housewares and clothing. Kathleen Hackett, the younger sister, emits a little peal of joy as she spots a pair of salt-and-pepper shakers covered in tiny pink seashells. Young rushes up to show off a pair of two-tone Western-style shoe boots.
“Don’t write about these,” she says of her $2 find.
Hackett and Young, real-life sisters with instincts for bringing cachet to castoffs, are on a book tour for “The Salvage Sisters’ Guide to Finding Style in the Street and Inspiration in the Attic” (Artisan Books, $14.95 paperback). So we decided to see what they would make of the merchandise in a local thrift shop.
Their book features 50 projects, and in 30 minutes at the Salvation Army, the siblings spotted a dozen or so items that could duplicate or expand on their ideas. Jeans can be turned into a denim quilt. Colorful silk blouses will be beautiful pillow covers. The sleeve of a striped sweater makes a chic nautical sweater for a little dog. Plastic dinnerware will add a splash to the lineup of fine china in a dining-room cabinet. High-backed upholstered armchairs can be cut down to more stylish dimensions.
Hackett, 40, a former book editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Young, 46, an author, freelance designer and stylist of Rockport, Maine, say they grew up making things and seeking creative outlets.
Two of nine children, “we learned to knit and sew when we were really young,” Hackett says. “Our mother is a huge influence in that she always made every day special and interesting,” she adds.
“Even the most mundane things were done with a wonderful flair. I think a lot of that has translated into how we approach our life on a daily basis.”
The authors don’t take anything too seriously. Interior designers might be horrified at their three-legged sofa propped up with a stack of books or a chandelier made from a torn lampshade covered in shredded strips of fabric, but you have to give them credit for ingenuity.
They’re also not hung up on process, or spending an entire weekend on one project. “We never finish anything,” Hackett says with pride. Simple tools, a glue gun and a sewing machine are about as advanced as the equipment needs to be for most of their ventures.
Young says she hopes the book will inspire people to come up with their own ideas and not just copy the projects they introduce. “We’ve shown people to take a second look and recycle items artistically, so that you end up with things for your home that are original and fun,” Young says. “You eliminate that cookie-cutter interior.”
They say they find things all over – at tag sales and abandoned on street corners, thrift shops and in alleys.
Do they Dumpster dive? “Not necessarily, but if something’s peeking out, we’re not above hoisting it up,” Hackett says.
Hackett’s urban surroundings yield such things as drawers that she has turned into bookcases, while Young’s coastal Maine environment has natural materials like driftwood and shells.
The sisters say their approach isn’t as much about acquiring stuff or having a lot of material goods as it is about “reimagining” things.
“We love the eureka moment,” Young says, “when we fall to our knees and figure out what we’re going to do with something. And often, multiple ideas come out.”
They’re already planning a second book, but are concentrating on having fun while on tour, Young says. “Something every day makes us laugh until we cry.”
Staff writer Suzanne S. Brown can be reached at 303-820-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com.
Thrift shopping do’s and don’ts
1. DON’T throw it out when in doubt.
2. DON’T haggle over every purchase; pay the fair price.
3. DON’T rush and run over people to get to the goods.
4. DO enjoy yourself and revel in the possibilities and the eureka moment. The joy is in having fun, not grabbing up everything in sight.
5. DON’T worry about how to get things home. Buy it, hail a cab, call a friend, grab a rope.
6. DO have a sense of humor. This is decorating, not life or death.
7. DON’T ever finish your decorating. Let your home keep evolving; why would you want to end it?
8. DO decorate in reverse. When there’s a space on the wall, don’t rush to fill it – let an idea come to you first, and then seek the right decoration.
9. DON’T be the early bird. The real possibilities are in the rubble.
10. DON’T look at it for what it is, but for what it could be.
