“I love thrifting and I think everyone should be doing it.”

Amy’s social is @amelialawrence_design and her blog is amelialawrencestyle.com. She began blogging and IG fall of 2020. In 2022 she moved from the DC area to Tennessee. She lived in DC for 20 years and had a very full life. Instagram gave her a connection to people that she was missing so she kept up with IG and her blog. In Tennessee, she bought a house on seven acres that also has a “barndominium,” which she now runs as an Airbnb. Naturally, thrifting played a huge role in furnishing that space.

Amy grew up in Massachusetts as a kid of the 80’s. Growing up her dad made $250 a week as a pastor…literally. Her family went to thrift stores out of necessity mostly for clothes, sometimes furniture that we would refinish. In those days, thrifting was not “in.” It was a huge embarrassment as a 12-year-old. Now it’s all-over social media and it’s hip to thrift.

After finishing graduate school, Amy moved to DC to work on Capitol Hill and needed lots of professional clothing. She discovered amazing thrift stores in the DC area and once again, began to thrift out of necessity.

The learned skill of thrifting as an embarrassed 12-year-old came in handy. When she got married, she began to purchase items for her home.

It's only been recently that Amy has started sharing some of my thrifted finds on IG and people love it…they have been her best posts. She has 30 years’ worth of thrifting content and wishes she had shared sooner.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:

  • Normalizing secondhand.
  • Learning to create something out of nothing.
  • Celebrating a love of treasure hunting.
  • How she furnished and decorated her Airbnb “barndominium” with all thrifted items.
  • Thrifting in Tennessee and Washington, DC.
  • Shifting the stigma around thrifting.
  • Loving the history and stories in the items she finds thrifting.
  • Thrifting while traveling in Europe.
  • Why you don’t need a big budget to make a house a home!
  • Find her Airbnb in Telford, Tennessee.