Design Calendar - The Sample Sale
Today after work, and with a brief stop at Milli Millu, I headed with my friend Mandy to Victoria House, a stone's throw from Holborn tube to visit the much anticipated Sample Sale. Yes, yes, I know, you have heard of sample sales before and fair enough London is not short of sample sales.
But a sample sale for Interior Design/furniture/lighting/decor ?
To compare with a fashion sample sale you will find top names like the ultra modern and sleek Prada of Interiors (Tom Dixon) or the was-always-there-but-picked-up-massively-in-the-last-years Michael Kors (that's Anglepoise for you) or the completely blow your budget Zuhair Murad (or Moroso in Interiors) and the list goes on. I was very kindly gifted the tickets by The Sample Sale team and started getting really excited when I looked at their website under Brands as some already advertised their sale prices. Sale Heaven!
ZENITH
We arrived an hour before closing time , and with our hands stamped (heeyyy!!!!) and our coats and bags at the cloakroom we embarked on our mission to find the best bargains, akthough this is not a story with a happy ending for me. Read on!
Like with every typical sale, the first minute you're in, you get overwhelmed with information. Left or right? If I go left will I, in no uncertain terms, miss out the biggest bargain that awaits on the right and which will be snapped up if I don't grab it now? Similarly for the 'going right' option.
You get my point. Madness I tell you. So we took a right, prosecco in hand and bumped straight into LIGNE ROSET. Yes, you heard me right. Crush, boom, bang, LUST. And they had them in yellow too. I look at Mandy, she looks at me.
Everyone for themselves now.
But I was there for specific products, so breath in, exhale, move on. There's lovely pale wood in the form of a round dining table at ANOTHER COUNTRY (UK firm founded in 2010 by Paul de Zwart, a founding [apologies for the repetition here] member of *WALLPAPER magazine) as well as chairs and desk accessories.
There's an abundance of Tom Dixon brass accessories that are too cheap to pass, so I grab two candle sticks priced at £19.50 (usually £65) and move on. I also grab 2x Innermost Parasol table lamps (below) in red and black, which retail at £300 EVERYWHERE but are only £45 here.
Do you get the picture yet ?
Then yes, we reach Anglepoise and I see THOSE prices as well and I am thinking, what the hell, it's Mother's Day in two days, I CAN justify this spree somehow. But the YELLOW 1228 desk lamp which retails at £160 has a big £50 sign on it even if Mandy is trying to hide it from me because she cares and has seen that look on me before and so I step back and think.
WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE BAGS
The Giant Anglepoise has an RRP of £2,400. The Sample Sale price is around £970 if I remember correct. Because it went all a bit blurry after we reached the tills.
NADIR
'Let's pay for the items we hold', I tell Mandy, so 'we can get some bags' (and you know what, you can bloody charge me 0.5p for the large bag because frankly dear I have just saved a mini fortune and I don't care if you charge me a pound too).
And you know when you get a feeling that it's all too good to be true and that somehow all is about to be revealed to you? Well. Yes. Revelation indeed. They don't take AMEX.
They don't take AMEX.
They don't take AMEX.
They don't take AMEX.
They don't take AMEX.
They don't take AMEX.
They don't take AMEX.
[HYPERVENTILATES AND URGENTLY NEEDS SMALL BROWN BAG TO REGULATE BREATHING]
And that is the only negative I have to say about this event, because AMEX is accepted everywhere and I like to use it because it gives me bloody points for AVIOS to earn the companion plane ticket that Mandy suggested so hopefully I can turn the shopping into a flight away from The Sample Sale because right now I want to just go to bed and sleep and not think about the awesome prices I missed out because on this particular day I chose a different bag and my debit card was not in it.
They don't take AMEX.
You have been warned. Have your debit card with you.
Otherwise, highly recommended*.
You can follow the team at The Sample Sale on Twitter here
You can follow designjunction here
*I'll see you there on Sunday, when I will try to play the 'Mother's Day' card
again.
WANT TO WIN TICKETS FOR THE SALE? (£8 AT THE DOOR)
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS RE-TWEET THIS TWEET AND TAG ME (@SEASONSINCOLOUR) TO WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS FOR SUNDAY (PM ONLY). ONE WINNER TO BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM AT 9PM ON SATURDAY 5TH MARCH 2016. MUST HAVE A VALID TWEETER ACCOUNT, AND YES, FAKE ACCOUNTS ARE SO YESTERDAY AND WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY EXCLUDED. TICKETS PROVIDED BY SEASONS IN COLOUR.
The tickets to attend The Sample Sale were gifted to me but this is my own personal review and copy. At times the sale may be rather busy and as everywhere the organisers retain the right to refuse entry to avoid over crowding and to regulate entry. There is a fab bagel and coffee shop there for quick snacks and to catch a breath.
Note that there are a lot of stairs in the building but I did see at least one wheelchair user so there must be special access to the basement where the sale takes place. Please check with the organisers via twitter @_thesamplesale
Based on the facilities, the number of brands, the products and of course the prices that were available when I visited, I would recommend a visit without hesitation and I will personally be going back (and to designjunction).
