summer swing giveaway!!!

summer is right around the corner and to celebrate, we have a giveaway that you will want to use every day until the cold creeps back in – our display team has donated one of the incredible swings from our new summer install and one lucky reader will get to call it their own!

these swings are completely sturdy and usable, with wooden slats as a base and colorful netting to cover it with. as with many of our displays, our team drew inspiration from india, where our senior store designer spends half of each year. the netting, trimmed with beads, pompoms and tassels, is the same kind that is draped over the backs of camels in india.  the rope used to hang the chair is also the same kind as camel reins in india, and consists of colorful string carefully wrapped around thick rope. we used similar pieces on the camel in our august 2010 catalog shoot and the same netting was used on the horse in our march catalog shoot!

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camel in jodhpur, india

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left- august 2010 catalog; right – march 2010 catalog

i can just imagine this swing on the front porch of a house or hanging from the limbs of a tree in the backyard of one of our devoted readers… dreaming the summer days away, reading, listening to music and swinging gently in the summer air.

and not only are you getting one of the coolest store display pieces EVER, you also get something that is quite symbolic of the free people aesthetic. this swing is truly special!

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TO ENTER:

1. fill out the brief form located on our facebook page here.

2. at the bottom of the form, make sure you “like” us on facebook

3. come back to the blog and leave a comment on this post letting us know you’ve completed the steps!*

*the winner will be selected at random from the comments on this post – make sure to leave your email address so we can contact you!

the giveaway will remain open for one week- a winner will be selected wednesday june 1st.

the swing will come with all the pieces you need to hang it, as well as instructions.

good luck!

Brimfield Photo Diary

Some of our buyers have just come back from Brimfield’s one of the world’s largest flea markets. It’s in Massachusetts and happens 3 times a year May 8-13, July 10-15, and September 4-9.

Here are some pictures they took and wanted to share with you!

It’s unbelievable the amount of great things you can find there with so much history and stories behind them.

Have any of you guys been?

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summer store displays!

i’m so excited to show you our new summer store displays now that they’ve been installed in all of our stores! these photos are from the opening of our new houston galleria store.

here at the navy yard our display team gets to work painting straw baskets! these photos make you realize just how much hard work and crafting they do…

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ombre rope dying for what will be a very cool part of the display!

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welcome to houston!

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the new store space is like a blank canvas about to be brought to life.

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the display team works their magic with the ombre rope to create an amazing macrame wall installation!

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the opposite wall is adorned with this incredible rope tapestry pieced together with yarn, pom-poms and trims from india.

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the delicate “sari dori” display that drapes from the ceiling is made of strips of fabric from indian saris strung together.

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i love all the beautiful dark wood.

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the bottoms of the baskets have been painted with neon colors and hung on the walls and above the cash-wrap as lights! so awesome.

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they’re also great for holding plants :) which leads me to my favorite part of the new displays…

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the window display, where these incredible swings live! i would kill to have one of these at my beach house. i mean really…

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so beautiful.  and stay tuned, because i have not one but two amazing pieces of the summer displays to give away on the blog… trust me, you don’t want to miss this one ;)

color inspiration from morocco

our lead designer for color and print just returned from a research trip to morocco and shared these amazing photos of color inspiration from her travels. ever since last year’s april catalog (shot in morocco) i have been dying to go there, and these images are making me want to even more so…

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so, so beautiful.

inspiration: mood boards

i love mood boards…especially when they incorporate objects and fabrics in addition to just images. i think its why i’m always so drawn to my coworkers’ desk spaces, as they’re each like a little personal mood board. here are some that i’ve collected from around the web.

pamela love:

ksubi:
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charlotte ronson:
Charlotte-Ronson

nicholas k:
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rag and bone:
rag and bone

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rodarte:
rodarte

erin wasson:
erin wasson mood board

marchesa:
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i think i need to re-organize my desk space… again.

image sources: the selby, mr. newton, the cut and style.com

fp corte madera

i may be biased by my love for san francisco and marin county, but our new store in corte madera, california is stunningly beautiful.  here are some gorgeous photos taken by our visual display manager on the west coast!

the view of san fran from marin county.

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our storefront at the village at corte madera.

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i love the stack of fabric covered suitcases!

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i love this photo :)

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display details.

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our fp girls created a beautiful “white shop” in the area of the store with this gorgeous tiled floor, keeping the theme of the white story currently on our website! looks lovely.

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and this…is just amazing.

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the colorful central display is illuminated by the sky light above it on sunny days.

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can you guess what day this photo was taken?

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one of our fp girls puts the finishing touches on a display…and the checklist is complete!

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and i had to include this photo… this is the superintendent dave who helped our team with the opening, standing next to a sign he made (that did not stay up long). love it :)

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one more shot of the beautiful bridge… congrats to our team for another awesome store, i can’t wait to visit next time i’m out there!

spring display giveaway!

*UPDATE 3/14 – congrats to our winner, fariza from california!*

i love everything about our spring store displays, but my favorite part are the amazing fabric covered suitcases.  so i was very excited that our display team brought this beauty over to me for us to give away on the blog! can you imagine waiting for your luggage at baggage claim and seeing one of these come around on the conveyor belt?! talk about one of a kind!

underneath the fabric is a durable plastic suitcase, so these can be used although i’d recommend being gentle with it, due to the delicate nature of the hand-sewn fabric and embellishments.

to enter the giveaway, click here and fill out the simple form.  we will leave it open for a week and i’ll pick a winner at random on monday. good luck!

store style

our store girls keep inspiring me with outfit ideas! they always look so amazing…here are some of the latest looks that have caught my eye on our stores’ facebook pages!

one of our dallas girls wearing the morning glory chiffon skirt as a dress, with the borderline fringe sweater over top and the bullet boots. LOVE.

here’s one of our houston girls looking gorgeous in the fp-1 around town shirt dress worn over the super stripe tee – what a great layering idea!

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another houston gal wears the we the free graphic bareback tank over the sweater halter tunic with the cantina concho belt and western boots – cute!

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a great casual look – the super stripe tee, skinny jeans, wrapped in fringe vest, fedora and backpack.

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i want to copy this outfit… the super 70s jeans, floral bodycon tunic, tassel hip belt and tyler cinched hat. amazing.

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one of our portland girls posing with the spring store display! she’s wearing the slouched rugby tee, printed floral skort and faded dye scarf.

speaking of spring displays – how amazing are these umbrella chandeliers from portland?!

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oh, and…. HAPPY FRIDAY!