Thanks to Easter and the subsequent store closings, I could not shop at my usual slew of stores for an upcoming styling gig. Oh, the horror I felt - and heard - when my taxi dropped me off in front of Crate & Barrel only to find its wide doors locked. Two women next to me actually let out audible gasps. I needed a bright and chic country color palette for the dishes, plates, glassware, and napkins for country music star [REDACTED] appearance on the hit morning talk show [REDACTED]. Sure enough, Crate & Barrel had just what I had hoped for right in the window. Cruel, indeed.
Ever the go-getter, I raced over to Bloomingdale's where the lights were dim and the doors shut. The only two stores open in that neighborhood were Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma, shops I rarely frequent. Pottery Barn tableware is more expensive than Crate & Barrel, I have found. Williams-Sonoma has many beautiful things, but they can be pricey, too. And no self-respecting New York chef shops there, especially when the restaurant supply stores of the Bowery are at a cook's disposal. That is, unless the chef finds out that Williams-Sonoma has just upped the professional discount to 20%.
All you Gastronomista gals out there who are pros can show any Williams-Sonoma salesperson your business card and get 20% off your total bill. Even if you still cannot handle the sting of uber-retail cookware for yourself, this discount certainly will lower the price tag of the Le Creuset Dutch oven gift you just have to buy from your latest newlywed friends' registry.
