Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Gardner
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Houses & Parties is the retail allongé of the full-service event and interior design collective I started in 2010. When all of my clients were on hold, due to COVID, I had the time to sit on the floor like a Southern bride, pinning all of the unnecessaries I have always wanted to sell. I created our website (www.housesandparties.com) during the time everyone was at home, in their pajamas, buying for the home and pining for celebrations. The rest is history.
Houses & Parties shares style, wit, and treasure with seasonal collections, showing complete party ideas with dazzling photography and jolts of irreverence..
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I am grateful to have grown tremendously during the last few years, even though each spurt brings its own challenges – assembling the right team when more manpower is required, taking on larger warehouses for fulfilling orders, and managing more people as the team and projects grow. We want to deliver excellence in any endeavor we take on, and the biggest challenge is knowing when to say “no” in what we’re calling our “Yes” Era.
We’ve been impressed with Houses & Parties, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Houses & Parties is an online retail destination for devotees of the elegant and unusual. We create seasonal collections with dazzling photography to inspire occasions at home. We commission artists and source from bygone manufacturers all over the world to offer artisanal dinnerware, luxurious linens, lagniappe (little extras!), handblown glassware, heirloom silver, and appliqué cocktail napkins for the table and bar. Our entertainments make the party, whether it be marbled party crackers for the table or a glamorous Candy Headband for the hostess. We are a source for off-beat gifts, like giant 10″ decorated sugar cookies for every occasion, ostentatious “tourmaline” necklaces made of chocolate, and our very own “Inside Mother’s Leiber” scented candle, which smells like glamor and childhood. We have the hand-marbled paper and wrapping paper in our signature rain-bow print to wrap it all up – so gifting, like entertaining, is handled in style, soup to nuts. When someone wants even more, they hire us for their interiors and events.
What’s next?
2025 will be a big year for Houses & Parties, but we’re protecting details like the recipe for Coca Cola. With that said, we continue to grow and add talent to our company, especially local SCAD grads who can’t leave the Spanish moss but want a NYC pace. Our office is like frenetic jazz, not easy listening – but such is the life of an entrepreneur and a team that is along for the growth. I’m just grateful to do it in such a beautiful town, with great weather and endless inspiration.
Pricing:
- Marbled Party Crackers – $98
- Inside Mother’s Leiber Candle – $98
- Sugar Cookies – $48
- Tourmaline Necklace – $14
- Rain-Bow Wrapping Paper – $24
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.housesandparties.com
- Instagram: @housesandparties
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/housesandparties
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/gardnerrebecca/
