If you’ve been following me on Instagram you might have seen that I’ve been busy launching an exciting new initiative with my friend Laura Gheorghita. Well, let me introduce you to Swap & Gather – a conscious interiors collective, and home of the mindful homeware exchange!
Searching for a more soulful way to swap and share resources, we set up Swap & Gather to offer a planet-friendly alternative to mindless consumption. Offering a guilt-free way to shop and connect with other like-minded creatives, we’ll be hosting a series of intimate gatherings and homeware exchanges, both online and beyond. Our aim is to get people thinking about the emotional value behind the objects we choose to surround ourselves with. Because we believe that every object has a special story, and it’s those stories that connect with our soul and bring meaning to our homes.
Yet sometimes when you’re living with something everyday, you can lose the ability to see the beauty of those daily companions with fresh eyes. We hope that by making a vow to take over the narrative of someone else’s pre-owned object, it will foster a more thoughtful approach to making a conscious home, where items can be reused, recycled and loved again.
All images: @swapandgather
But let’s rewind a little so that I can tell you the back story. It was a serendipitous series of events that lead to Laura and I forming Swap & Gather. We had met a couple of times before (once at London Design Festival then again bumping into each other on a Paris street of all places!) but it wasn’t until we found ourselves both at a talk about the relationship between wellbeing and interiors that we properly connected.
Sometimes in order to embark on a creative relationship you have to be in the right place and frame of mind. At the beginning of the year one of my goals was to get out of my own little bubble as a freelancer working from home on my own and meet other creatives – by saying yes to more coffee meetings, being brave and going up to someone at an event to start a conversation, or seeking out friendships beyond the comfort of Instagram DM’s. I’m naturally quite shy and it can take a lot for me to take those steps and put myself out there. But as someone without colleagues, I needed to get out of my own head and embrace any creative opportunities that might come my way. It sounds funny but I just felt I had room in my life for a new friend or creative connection, and in walks Laura!
I had written this blog post last year suggesting a few simple ways that you could update your home without buying anything new. One of my ideas was to call in your friends and host a homeware swap, as I said in the post: ‘People often have parties to swap clothes so why not homeware? I know I have a couple of small objects dotted around that I no longer completely love, and I’m sure other people might too. As they say, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. You could also do the same with old magazines you’ve read or cookbooks you no longer use. If you’re green fingered you could get propagating and pass on a plant. I’m sure if you gathered your friends, every person would have something to offer.’
It was Laura who suggested that we make this a reality and the seeds of Swap & Gather were sown. A few coffees and a brainstorm later, and we had this concept for a community of design lovers that could connect, bond over a shared desire for a more mindful way of living, and in the process, discover beautiful new objects in a sustainable way.
We had heard of several fashion swaps, but there didn’t seem to be anything similar for the interiors world. With the environmental crisis on everyone’s mind, it felt like the perfect time to look for alternative ways to refresh and reconnect with our homes.
And then corona hit… taking the ‘gather’ out of Swap & Gather. Suddenly our concept seemed a little flawed, we wouldn’t be able to meet and swap as we planned! We were all set to launch our homeware exchange events but the state of the world meant we needed to do a little rethinking in order to make it suit the current times. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom, on the plus side it allowed us the time to reflect and refine our idea for Swap & Gather. Yes, we wanted to hold homeware exchanges and make real life friends, but there were also endless opportunities of what we could do online. How could we swap things without meeting in person? What could one stranger offer to another without having to leave the safety of their home?
Instead of restricting us, it opened up possibilities for our community. That’s why we’re launching slowly, step by step, starting online. There’s no rush, this is our passion project and we want to do it in an honest, thoughtful way. It’s already evolved into something more than I imagined and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.
I think 2020 (so far) has forced people to stop and take a closer look at their impact on the world, and what kind of world they really want live in. We’ve spent three months surrounded by the same objects within the same four walls. Some items might have brought us comfort, others might have made us feel regret. We’ve experienced a moment of quiet that has allowed us to hear our innermost desires that we’ve thus far kept suppressed. It might have inspired us to start a new creative project or rethink a corner of our home. It’s brought people together and made us more empathetic, seeking out real connections. I also hope it will add urgency to the environmental crisis – we’ve seen nature and human life in the balance, we’ve seen how simple life can be when the busyness of modern life is taken away, and deep down we know that things can’t go back to the way they were. A new balance has to be found. And we think that swapping and gathering as part of a conscious collective might be just one little way to reframe things and get a new perspective.
So get involved and join in with our hashtag challenge!
We want to open up Swap & Gather to you. We’re excited to be launching the first in a series of conversations and homeware exchanges. We’ve loved seeing the support so far and are asking our friends and followers to join our new initiative by taking part in a hashtag challenge to share the story behind our most loved objects.
The idea is simple – we want to get people thinking about the emotional value behind the objects we choose to surround ourselves with, with the hope of encouraging a more soulful way of swapping, not shopping. To join in with the #swapandgatherstories hashtag challenge, all you have to do is:
- share the story behind your favourite object in your home – the one thing you’d save if your house was on fire – on Instagram stories using the hashtag #swapandgatherstories
- we’d love to know why it holds a special place in your heart – where did you find it, what were you doing, what memories does it hold?
- pass on the hashtag challenge by tagging two friends so more people can connect and swap stories
To make it even easier, we have a readymade template that can be downloaded from Swap & Gather’s Instagram highlights. Don’t forget to tag us @swapandgather so we can see your stories – we’re curious and can’t wait to see what it reveals about our objects and homes!
Ps. Very excitingly, American interiors magazine Domino has written about our new venture, describing us as ‘the new homeware exchange you should know’, check out the piece here.
