Last night a friend and I ventured up to ABC Carpet & Home to check out the Madeline Weinrib Atelier sample sale. I covet almost everything she does and always thought I'd give my pinky toes for her amazing patterned woven rugs and bright print pillows. Like everything in ABC, Weinrib's stuff is expensive, and I had been warned by a friend that the stuff at the sale was still pretty pricey, but it might be worth it if I found something I really loved. So we journeyed up to the sixth floor hoping that I would find something that spoke to me.
Lo and behold, right away I spotted two yellow ikat print throw pillows that would be perfect on my white couch, but there was no sign or tag to indicate the price. My friend mosied off to locate a sales person, and when one finally materialized from a secret back room she told me that the pillows were "four fifty."
My brain couldn't really register which "four fifty" she was referring to -- $4.50 or $450? Neither made sense. I would have thought maybe $45, or even $145... but $450!?! Mary Mother of God that is expensive!
The tall blond sales woman in the sophisticated dress and heels must have been able to tell from the look on my face that it was taking me a while to process this information. She smiled and slowly backed away. I put the pillow down, made a show of circling the rest of the room, touching textiles here and there. When I finally reached my friend who was casually browsing another display of pillows, I sidled close enough for her to hear me say "we need to get out of here immediately" without moving my lips.
Once we were safely in the elevator, we ranted and raved about the incomprehensibly preposterous world we had just glimpsed. We left ABC and walked across the street to Fishs Eddy, a store packed to the gills with adorable kitchenware in our price range, and soon everything was better.
Looks like I will be ordering my ikat items direct from Uzbekistan, for the nice price of $19.00. Ah, the wonders of the internet.
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