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SAM BENSON AND NIKKI BLEWITT
Wardrobe Update The
When faced with wardrobes over crowded with designer clothes that they knew they would not wear again, good friends Sam Benson and Nikki Blewitt came up with a fabulous idea to make a return on their investments. Little did they know, a gathering to sell beautiful clothes at home with friends and champagne would turn into a heartwarming event, bringing women from all over the Coffs Coast together to share their love of fashion.
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hat is your connection to the Coffs Coast? Sam: My parents moved our family to Woolgoolga in 1977. After leaving school, my husband and I travelled extensively throughout Europe and sailed the East Coast of Australia. We returned to Coffs Harbour to raise our two children. Nikki: I relocated to the Coffs Coast from Sydney in 1996 and worked as PA to the GM at Pacific Bay Resort. This is where Sam and I became friends 20 years ago. My husband grew up here, and we have three beautiful sons that we raise here. I love the lifestyle that living on the coast offers us. What is The Wardrobe Update? Sam: The Wardrobe Update is a fun project that Sam and I work on together to share our enthusiasm and love of fashion. I love surrounding myself with happy, positive, energetic women and working with them to make them look and feel fabulous. Nikki: I have worked in the retail industry for 18 years in and around the region. I’ve always loved and enjoyed the clothing industry, but got the most satisfaction in helping ladies to find that perfect outfit and feel great about themselves. The Wardrobe Update offers a fashion experience for everyone. Our pop up shop stocks a curated selection of designer and branded pre-loved pieces. Women can find clothing, shoes jewellery and accessories at a fraction of the original price. For those of you interested in handing over your pre-loved pieces, we sell on consignment. How did it all begin? Our wardrobes were over crowded, and we
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decided to let go of things style ladies purchasing we still loved, but no clothing at the event. The concept of The longer wore. You know Over three days, we will Wardrobe Update is to - the cocktail dress you sell our own items, as get a return on your wore once, the stunning well as consigning for investment pieces pants you purchased other women, with all and give someone else when you lost all that contributors remaining the pleasure of wearing weight (that has since anonymous. something beautiful. reappeared) or that clutch What kind of clothes It’s a win-win! that you just HAD TO and accessories can HAVE. people expect to find? We live in a society of You will find both casual consumerism, where we and formal women’s constantly acquire things that we do not need. It clothing and everything in between. We also is just so wasteful. Why not pass some of those consign accessories such as handbags, shoes, things on for others to enjoy? Everybody has that jewellery, sunglasses and feature brands and item that they know they overspent on and just designer labels. sits there, unworn because we feel too guilty for You can expect to find Sass & Bide, Alice the waste. The idea of The Wardrobe Update is to McCall, Shona Joy, Arnheim, Zimmerman, get a return on your investment pieces and give Talulah, Camilla, Wish, Tsubi, Prada and Oroton, someone else the pleasure of wearing something just to name a few. This will obviously be beautiful. It’s a win-win. different each time, depending on who we are This idea grew organically and kind of took consigning for. We will be updating our Facebook on a life of its own. We started with our own page as items come in and consigners are wardrobes and thought it would be fun to set up appointed. at one of our homes, invite some friends around What has been the response from other and share a few glasses of bubbles. As word got women in the area? out, other ladies approached us, asking if we The first Wardrobe Update was a one-day would sell their clothes. We ended up with so event in July this year. We were overwhelmed many gorgeous clothes to sell, that it outgrew with the positive feedback from ladies of the both of our living rooms. That’s how we ended Coffs Coast. Everyone was so supportive, from up with a pop up shop. the consigners, to the customers and everyone How does the pop up shop work? that helped out. It was our intention to create a store to sell The vibe on the day was amazing; there was a designer and brand name clothing that was bubble of excitement, and we just loved seeing simply to good give away. We source clothes ladies leaving our store with their bags full of from women of the Coffs Coast for women of new clothes and a smile beaming from their face. the Coffs Coast, curating quality designer pieces One lady hugged us as she left, with tears in her for The Wardrobe Update, and we also help eyes, saying, “I would never normally be able
to afford such beautiful things. Thank you so much”. It was a feel good moment for all. We had no idea it would make such an impact. It was so lovely to be able to bring something so positive to all of these ladies. It created a wonderful sense of community. Can men get involved too? Absolutely! They can send their partners off shopping with a pocket full of cash for some guilt-free shopping. It is our promise to the gentlemen of the Coffs Coast that we will save you money! How can people become consigners? We invite anybody wishing to sell their designer or branded pieces to contact us via our Facebook page. We accept all sizes and want to have something beautiful for everyone. We appreciate if items are in good condition, clean, and well presented. What happens to the money made? Most of the money from the items we sell goes back to the consigner. Our commission covers the expenses, including rent and insurance. We will also be donating a percentage of our commission to a local charity. We have chosen Pink Silks as our beneficiary for the upcoming pop up shop. They do important work raising awareness and funds for local women challenged by cancer or illness. Thanks Sam and Nikki.
plug! When Thursday 26 to Saturday 28 October. Where Shop 16 City Boulevard Arcade (Opposite Blush Make-up and Beauty). Special Preview: Wednesday 25th from 5 7pm; tickets $32.50. More Info: facebook.com/samandnik