IN THIS ISSUE:
CHEAP AS A PATHWAY TO INDIVIDUAL EXPERIMENTATION
CHEAP AS RELIEF FOR THE IMPATIENT (YES! AND, WE SPEAK FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE)
THE SCHADENFREUDE OF HAVING PAID WAY LESS FOR SOMETHING THAN YOUR ENEMIES (AND/OR FRIENDS), and a VENN DIAGRAM
A MINIATURE DRESSER TO PUT ON TOP OF YOUR REAL-SIZED DRESSER: WE ANSWER “BUT WHY?!”
Dear Snoops,
The most prominent philosopher on Cheap is one Ms Dolly Parton, PhD (honorary, The University of Tennessee). “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap,” she says – and, frankly, repeats to the point of Catchphrase™️. And, in perfect Parton Irony, investing in Cheap as an aesthetic has helped her earn an absolute f*cking fortune.
Yet, the world’s obsession is instead the opposite: to look as utterly rich as possible for as little money as possible – and sadly the Domestic Space is absolutely an example of this. (To us, very adjacent to the Airbnb International Style, which is abundant in knock-offs that squeak.)
Today, we take a page from the Gospel of Parton, and expose and celebrate ACTUALLY CHEAP STUFF (that may even look cheap) and that is its power.
Cheap does not mean: unappealing, disposable, kitsch, or poor equality.
Cheap means, exclusively: inexpensive.
May we now present some thoughts and theories on CHEAP:
THOUGHT: WHAT CHEAP CAN DO FOR *YOU*
Lubricate experimental tendencies: Something questionable at $20 is a reasonable investment; not at $200
Liberate you to indulge: Money saved is money that can be elsewhere spent
Sense of resourcefulness: Feel free to break out of your corporate prison (i.e. “QUIT YOUR JOB” — Beyoncé) if you’re pulling in incredible interior wares at fractions of the cost
THEORY: THE “PRECIOUSNESS PARADOX” OF CHEAP, and THE “PRECIOUS QUOTIENT”
On the HAND #1:
Capitalist psychosis suggests that What Is Pricey Is Precious. This is why the coaster was invented, for example. We shudder at the idea of a water ring on our $10K Josef Frank dining table. (We all have that one, right?)
AND YET
On the HAND #2:
The most thrilling Cheaps is where one feels as if they’ve scored a tight deal: a “find”, a mega sale, etc. And ergo, they are oddly less replaceable. There is great emotional weight to a Successful Find, which is not a “thing” but a moment. Harder to recreate a moment. And regular achievement in this arena can lead to the HUBRIS OF CHEAP: a pride and superiority in one’s ability to “find great stuff for cheap”. (Reminder, our def. of CHEAP is not throw-away shit-balls quality shit.)
EXHIBIT:
We shan’t name seller names, but this gorgeous number is currently on the market for $1,675. (Ultimately, still a damn good deal!) I.D. is limited, but it’s Made in Canada and tantalizingly marked “QC 69”. Four pieces.
You’ll GAG in a minute.
THE GAG:
FOR SCALE super finder LAZARETTE sourced this identical sofa with more pieces (seven, not four) on F***book Marketplace for
**drumroll please**
$100.
You do the math. Ok, kidding, we will: that’s 6% of the price. And needless to say, with this market knowledge, the PRECIOUS QUOTIENT of the $100 Sectional subsequently increased.
THIS IS A “HOLY GRAIL OF CHEAP” SITUATION, as depicted here:
Onward.
THINGS THAT ARE CHEAP
CATEGORY: EXPERIMENT ON THE CHEAP
FOR SCALE readers will also be well aware of L.A. Door, Los Angeles’s most irreverently-reverent designers, who have completely destroyed preconceptions about THE RECLINER (among other things). For them, it appears as curious Americana. And, they ask, why do we deprive ourselves of COMFORT OVER STYLE? Is it not time for a rebalance?
Well, Snoops, surprisingly, the run on resale recliners has yet to begin, and so the time is nigh to just kind of fuck around with them. These TWO (BOTH!) are $30 YES FOR BOTH. THE TWO OF THEM:
If you wanted to test the LIFESTYLE OF THE RECLINER (and it is a lifestyle) within your private realm, well My Gods, this is your opportunity.
CATEGORY: CONVERSATION PIECE
We love dressers. It’s where we keep our socks, and in case you don’t recall your Marie Kondo, these are the hardest-working garment.
BUT, we ask, WHAT IF YOU COULD PUT A MINI DRESSER ON TOP OF YOUR REGULAR-SIZED DRESSER? Your “evening guests” will be jollified.
Mini Dresser is $100, here. (Great for pills.)
CATEGORY: “OH DID U PAY FULL PRICE?”
Recently, you can’t seem to swing a back issue of Nest without hitting a Kartell magazine rack for resale. Yet, may we introduce the sweet chaos of some other Italians, the Campana brothers, who produced this pick-up-sticks mess for Alessi:
RRP is $165 for a new one. You can get it from this guy in Los Angeles for $50. Save the $115+tax for (part of) a night out at Cafe Triste.
Future issue alert: IKEA
We’re OLD IKEA obsessed. We’re not gonna touch it here, it’ll get a whole damn MOMENT. But, to get a headstart, follow BILLY who is absolutely the expert in making OLD IKEA seem zeitgeist as fuck.
FINALLY: ENJOYING RELIEF FOR THE IMPATIENT
We are FOR SCALE are incurably impatient. And, you MAY THINK that in-stock new shit would be our chosen path, i.e. the AM*Z*N PRIME ADDICTION. And, yet, it’s not. Because what’s good for Jeff Bezos tends to be quite bad for the planet. We have no kind words for him.
Ergo, might we suggest you turn to Los Angeles’s most compelling brick-and-mortar reseller: REVIVAL.
THEIR PROCESS:
In the days preceding the weekend: tantalizing posts of a number of cheap AF things that will be for sale come the weekend. NO HOLDS. ONLY HYPE. This is mastery of “The Drop”, but somehow they do it in such a lo-fi way it’s also charming.
Only open Saturday and Sunday, and let the battle royale begin
For the impatient, there is therefore the option to only peep the IG feed Friday evening with the knowledge that the next day at 10am it will/could be yours.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS:
1950s coffee table with a legitimately acceptable glass top (so rare that that’s the case) for $40.
An $85 rocker to recover because fuzz/bouclé is hell, but still.
A “Faustian Bachelor” lamp for $40.
TO GIVE A SHEET: ADVICE FROM FOR SCALE CORRESPONDENT GILLIAN S.
For Scale had a great discussion with one of our Newsletter Besties and Cheap Bed Correspondent, who doesn’t shy away from both very expensive and also absurdly cheap.
She operates by one clear principle in the bedroom: CHEAP BED FRAME. Hers is invisible, or rather not visible. Bedframes are one the home’s more investmenty investments, in that the decent ones are very expensive, and. the midrange is HELL ON EARTH.
Hers was cheap. $100 cheap. We think it’s a kind of basic judy metal thingy, but haven’t ever seen it. (Because it’s not visible.)
Instead, Gillian S. focuses her attention and budget elsewhere. (She owns some L.A. Door for example.) And, if all you see are sheets, get nice damn sheets.
Plus, FOR SCALE advocates investing most in the things you SEE CONSTANTLY or TOUCH CONSTANTLY, i.e.:
Sheets
Knobs/handles
Whatever you stare at from bed or sofa
Etc.
WELL, WELL, Snoops. We’ll end things there. And back next week, finally, with our issue on CHILDREN ON THEIR FURNITURE, and why we should buy some for ourselves.
LOVE AND GOOD LUCK,