A cold day in February, 2009.  Kristin P. Bergfeld and 2 crew members are in the hallway of an upscale Manhattan building, about to enter the home of a new client.  We have been informed by a family member that the gentleman’s apartment is very full.  The key turns, the door opens about 1 foot and then stops.  It will not budge.  The team spends the rest of the morning filling trash and recycling bags with paper, clothing and whatever else is blocking the entrance.  Some items are personal or of high value, and we put those aside.  At last we are able to open the door fully.  We cannot see past the entryway.  It is piled to the ceiling.

Now that we have access, we continue the sorting process in the entryway.  As we pull things out, we discover what turns out to be a vast and wonderful collection of clothing and accessories.  A treasure trove of sartorial delight.  There are enormous amounts of never worn shirts, slacks, ties, leather jackets, scarves, boots and belts.  The names on the labels are a Who’s Who of high-end designers.  Not limited to one interest, this gentleman also has figurines, boxed gifts, Orientalia, CD’s, DVD’s, brass candle holders, fine antiques, and an entire library of World War II books.  These collections needed new homes.

Laura Wills has a fabulous vintage clothing store, founded in the late 70’s, called Screaming Mimi’s.  When we called, she couldn’t wait to come and see the clothing and accessories in person.  Two charities whom we frequently call upon; CancerCare Thrift Shop and City Opera Thrift Shop were also at the top of our contact list.  Well they came, they saw, they bought, and they left with arms full.  Some highlights of what was sold or donated on behalf of our client: 490 shirts, 220 pairs of slacks, 40 pairs of boots, 425 neckties, 35 leather jackets, 105 belts, 160 sweaters, 200 suit/sport jackets and much more.  Because of the sheer volume of items we were able to find new purpose for, we decided to document this project with photos (with the client’s permission), and follow the items we found “from the floor to the store”.

BERGFELD’s client’s home

Screaming Mimi’s

City Opera Thrift Shop