Our event at J.Crew!

When we first started this journey, we thought about our goals for this blog.  Our first thought was how do we gain an authentic following?  Growing a following, that is authentic, has been a struggle and continues to be a work in progress.  We want our followers to feel that they can connect with us whether it be because we are mommies, teachers, wives, etc.  The second thought was how can we connect with our favorite local establishments?  We love where we live and really want to showcase the places to which we feel connected.  A strong community network is also crucial to the success of any small business.  Which brings us to why we wanted to connect with our local J.Crew store…

J.Crew as been going through a bit of reorganization this past year and announced store closings throughout the U.S.  Our local store was among those scheduled to close its doors for good shortly after the holiday season.  Well, needless to say, Lauren and I were so sad to hear this news because this store and brand is one of our favorites.  J.Crew is the type of brand that can suit so many styles.  There are the classic pieces, for me, and the pops of trends that Lauren so often integrates into her everyday style.  On a weekly basis, we would walk by, stop in and just express how upset we were that one of our favorite places to shop was closing down.  Then, I popped into the store on a random Thursday (if my memory serves me correctly) and the manager said they were selected to remain open!  I immediately called Lauren to tell her.  We were beyond excited!

With Alyson & Melody of J.Crew at the Smith Haven Mall

Since many people have asked us about how our Sip ‘n’ Shop event with J.Crew came about, we decided to do a little recap for you!  After finding out that J.Crew at the Smith Haven Mall would remain open, we reached out to see if they would like to collaborate with us.  We called and spoke to one of the managers about hosting an event at the store.  Being that we are relatively new (and relatively small) bloggers, we were pleasantly surprised that they were interested in working with us!  Janice, the manager at the time, asked that we send an email with information about us and thoughts about what an event would ‘look like’ from our perspective.  We quickly brainstormed ideas and sent them over.  Janice was incredibly open to collaborating and was excited to work on the event together.  We set up a time to sit down with Janice to discuss all of the event details including food, drinks, special discounts and much more!

We were nervous and excited to meet with Janice. We were unsure about how receptive brands would be to put together a small scale event.  When we met with Janice, she was absolutely wonderful!  The conversation flowed easily.  She was just as thrilled as we were to put together this event.  The first item that we discussed was the event date.  We chose a Friday night because it fit the whole sip ‘n’ shop theme.  The store was also receiving many pieces from the spring collection around that time, so it just seemed perfect!  We then ran through our ideas and luckily, Janice liked them all!  The store would provide all the food, drinks, and decor and we would promote the event on our end.

We planned the final pieces of the event with two other fabulous managers, Alyson and Melody.  It was so great working with this wonderful team!  They made sure everything was ready to roll at the event.  They provided prosecco, cheese & crackers, cookies, water, and decorated they store with white roses.  In addition to all those fabulous refreshments, they had a bartender serve all the guests and even placed a beautiful sign at the front of the store.  The evening was filled with friends, food and even raffle prizes!  We partnered with a hair salon, Symmetry Salon located in Stony Brook, NY and a Long Island based family/lifestyle photographer Le Claire Photography that provided gift certificates for the event! (Each customer was given a raffle ticket for every item purchased.)  Michelle Becker and Mia Silva from Symmetry Salon also glammed us up for the event!  Shoppers were even given an additional discount.  J.Crew had already been offering 20% off any two items purchased and 30% off any three items purchased (FYI – This is still going on right now!  Use code: TAKE2030).  However, for this event, guests received an additional 20% off for spending $125 or more (which was very easy to do with their fabulous spring collection!).

Overall, the night was a success and we had an amazing time!  We had the best time chatting with guests and of course, helping them shop!  Working with J.Crew was an incredible experience that really gave us a new perspective on collaborations.  When we first thought about reaching out to J.Crew we honestly did not believe that they would be willing to work with us because we have a small following.  But, we took a leap of faith, put ourselves out there and it worked!  This experience was nerve-wracking at first, but turned out to be more than we could have imagined.  Everyone involved was so friendly and helpful.  We could not have asked for more.  We hope to work with J.Crew again in the near future.

Throughout the evening, we took note of top selling items from the spring collection, which we have shared below.  We have also included some other beautiful pieces that have been catching our eyes!

Top Sellers

Other Beautiful Spring Items

Jewelry We Love

Thanks for stopping by!  Feel free to leave a comment below.  We love hearing from you! <3