Amber Briscoe and Heidi West were swamped with clothes. Their closets were filled with shirts, slacks, dresses, shoes and accessoriessome they wore all the time, others were like new or still had the tags on. They didn’t want to just throw them out or give them away to the Salvation Army, they wanted them to be loved the way they were meant to be when they bought them but never got the chance to wear them.
So they picked Friday, April 23, as the day for the first ever Saratoga Swaps, a party where guests literally swapped clothing they didn’t want for items they did.
Everyone goes through their closets and decides ‘this will go to Goodwill or this will go to Salvation Army,’ but maybe those nicer things you’d like to give your girlfriend instead of a stranger,` said Briscoe. `We’re all different shapes and sizes and in honor of Earth Day we wanted to have a trade party.`
They made a Facebook page`which is still up and active`called Saratoga Swaps. What they expected to be a gathering of several close friends became much more.
`From there, this synergistic experience started to happen where everyone was on board; I’d say there were probably 40 to 45 people there. We then had people from the community asking if they could come have their products on display, not to sell but just to have their stuff exposed to other people,` said West.
The swap was originally going to happen in a living room, but it’s a good thing Julie Dwyer from Roohan Realty on Broadway offered up a loft space for the party, said Briscoe. The extra space made it easier for ZenNuts to offer samples, for guests to get a tarot card reading, for licensed massage therapist Daniel Sullivan to give free neck and shoulder rubs and for Kristen Robinson from Essential Touch Skin Care to do eyebrow waxing, all for free. There were snacks, drinks and music to enjoy while `shoppers` browsed the racks that were set up beforehand.
Saratoga Swaps was different than some other trade parties that happen in New York City, said Briscoe. At these, it’s common for people to dump their load to be sorted through, where some items will be accepted and others rejected. Based on acceptances, guests get a certain amount of tickets they use to `pay` for what they want. Briscoe and West decided to go with the honor system, which they said worked out just fine.
`Everyone was so generous and kind. We didn’t want to scare people away so we accepted all goods, no rejections. I think people really did keep in the spirit of it and bring things in good shape,` said Briscoe.
They were a little worried there wouldn’t be enough to trade, but West said people brought tons of things like cardigans, dresses, skirts, unworn bathing suits and lots of shoes and jeans.
West walked away with a silk scarf from the Museum of Modern Art, never taken out of its package. Briscoe got a pair of J. Crew khakis, yoga pants, a workout top, a brown warp top and a floppy hat she `tackled` as soon as it was put on the table. There were so many leftovers that they were able to donate the rest to Franklin Community Center.
`There was lots of really cute stuff. I definitely brought more than I left with; but I brought all this stuff I never use that was clogging up my closet and life, and left with a few gems I really like,` said Briscoe, who said both her and West keep running into partygoers who can’t stop talking about their own `purchases.`
Renee Helie Wheelock heard about Saratoga Swaps on Facebook and thought it would give her a chance to clean out her closet. While she said she didn’t leave with anything she brought her 11-year-old daughter to make her own experience from the event.
`I loved it [the idea of a trade party], especially that it was slotted for the day after Earth Day. I brought my daughter, not to swap, but to send her a positive, fun, message about recycling,` said Wheelock.
The response was so positive, with their Facebook page still abuzz with conversation and photo sharing, Briscoe and West are already planning their next Saratoga Swaps. They said they’re shooting for sometime in early fall when people are looking for fresh fall and winter apparel.
`People were already asking about the next one so they can plan on setting things aside because I heard a lot of people didn’t get a chance to thoroughly go through their closet. Our goal is to have people think about us in advance,` said West.
Because of the enthusiastic response they’re also considering a children’s clothing and house wares trade party. Saratoga Swappers suggested a prom gown or evening wear party because those items tend to stay in closets in close to perfect condition.
Check out Saratoga Swaps on Facebook for news and updates.
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