The Hunt for the Sublime this Holiday
Each October I cringe with both excitement, hesitation, and anxiety over my bi-annual buying trip all over the country for the search of the extraordinary, the unique, and beautiful. While the journey may sound mysterious and exotic, it is more of a competitive free for all hunt to seek out the sublime.
While the journey may sound mysterious and exotic, it is more of a competitive free for all hunt to seek out the sublime.
Bloom is a brand with a particular point of view. There is no one supplier that represents the Bloom sensibility. The hunt is an intense, arduous search through hundreds of suppliers and thousands of items that represents the look, feel, and integrity of the brand. It is also not just a price point. The pursuit becomes even more complex when vying for the $40 item which needs to rise to the Bloom brand criteria. Bloom products exist to inspire and entice everyone at all price levels. However, that is much easier said than done as it all must identify as luxurious and special no matter the price.
Bloom products exist to inspire and entice everyone at all price levels.
Each day’s journey starts way before nine. I stand in line outside whether rain or shine waiting for the the supplier’s opening signal to start our race. You want to be the earliest so you’re closer in line to the action. Stickers are distributed beforehand so that your logo is affixed and ready for the pounce. Buyer’s nervously eye the competitive field. Here the most resourceful and decisive win the day. The anticipation builds over thirty, forty minutes and then you’re off. Usually it is a giant warehouse hot and noisy with hundreds of people ready to tackle each other to place their sticker on that prized item.
You hope you’re fast enough and well positioned to get to win that beauty before being cut off and outmanoeuvred by your fellow shopper. The worst is when you find it, sticker it, and then are ready to pay only to find that someone discarded your sticker and replaced it with their own. Yes, there are the unethical and heartless here as well. After experiencing this a few times, you realize that you need an accomplice to gather and keep an eye on your treasures as you continue the hunt.
You ask what is the reward? What is the satisfaction? Why this manic pursuit?
This pursuit with one supplier at a time for about nine to ten hours a day continues until you're satisfied that you're offering is the “stuff” of Bloom and/ or the budget is blown. I consider our day successful if we secure three to five finds at each opening. The day continues and eating, or resting is viewed to be only a chance to miss that perfect something, so you rarely stop. You ask what is the reward? What is the satisfaction? Why this manic pursuit?
It consists of that euphoric feeling during that wonderful moment of spying and acquiring that perfect piece. This past October it was a collection of twentieth century modern vases from Germany that made my heart stop. The colors and shapes were extraordinary. They set the tone for everything else purchased. It becomes the backdrop of the story that you tell each season. In your mind’s eye, you collect and fit each piece of the mosaic together to see how it all works. One item should enhance the other until it becomes that amazing mix of Bloom the brand. It changes each season but is consistent to who and what Bloom is.
One item should enhance the other until it becomes that amazing mix of Bloom the brand.
This holiday season we have that blend of old and new but always contemporary in spirit. There are inlaid and carved boxes from morocco next to animal print and steel crushed velvet pillows. Vintage corals in various shapes and colors hold court to modern glass hourglasses with metallic sand. Minerals play tag with driftwood sculpture. Scented candles, stationary, and jewelry sit in the wings. Of course, all of the home is surrounded by the beauty of Bloom’s florals. There is something for everyone. Your very own journey to explore is all assembled and waiting for your discovery at the Bloom store.
Happy holidays and happy hunting with love from Bloom.
And visit us in-store for the latest interior collections and truely magical gift inspirations.
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