#sactionals

Performed by: Allie Andrew, Chelsie Hightower, Jaymz Tuaileva, and a hip hop dancer

Number: “The Lazy Song/On My Mind/Marry Me/I Do Adore”

Choreographer: Jason Celaya and Chelsie Hightower

Style: Hip Hop, Jive, and Contemporary

The Season of You

The holiday season is finally over. You can breathe.

It’s funny how a season that is supposed to be spent laughing and eating and exchanging gifts with loved ones, is mostly spent in a stress-ridden preparation mode. All those beautiful and wonderful things you get to experience have to be worked on to achieve, and by the time it’s all over, by the time the relatives get back on the plane and the decorations come down, all you want to do is take a year-long nap.

It’s time for a little you-time, don’t you think? You spent months treating others, how about treating yourself? There’s an odd sense of blandness that falls over your beautiful home once the bodies leave and the decorations come down. Inevitably you’ll ask yourself “Is this what my house looks like without all the hoopla?” So why not make this next season, the one after all the holidays, the Season of You?

Meet a Sac’r: Vince Nigro, Creative Director

This past summer was Austin, TX. This Fall was Southwestern Utah. Next year I’m pushing for either Paris or the Moon (we are still figuring out our budget).

Our Director of Product Development, Dave Underwood, was inspired to design our new Native collection from his mother’s love of the land she called home–the deserts of Utah. It was vital that we do his vision justice, and no photo studio in the world was going to mimic what could be achieved in the real place. I was reminded of the old story attributed to the making of Jaws: The producers wanted Spielberg to film in a tank at a studio, but Spielberg insisted they trudge out into the deep ocean to film for authenticity. This brought on loads of production problems, which caused Spielberg to need to improvise, which resulted in one of the greatest movies ever made.

We didn’t endure nearly the same types of production problems that Spielberg faced, but we certainly lacked the control we would have by shooting in someone’s home. First of all, turns out permits to shoot at state parks are hard to obtain. Secondly, It’s freaking hot in the desert. Has anyone ever told you that? The desert is HOT. Finally, we were constantly battling the light. Shadows from towering rock formations we constantly moving, blocking our shot, or causing continuity problems. But here is where we got to improvise…

Behold! I saw a gigantic rock in the distance. We weren’t going to find any shadows up there, that’s for sure. If we are truly selling the movable piece of furniture we claim to be selling, I didn’t really have an excuse not to lug all the Sactionals pieces to the top of that rock and put it all together. Plus, it was there- an always perfect excuse to climb a gigantic rock.

The photo we got became the cover of our new catalog. Also, for the first time in my years of being a Creative Director, we were able to utilize drones for some beautiful, sweeping aerial shots of our product in the desert. The future is now.

I feel like we did justice to the concept we were trusted to take care of. I hope Dave’s mother would be proud. 

Meet a Sac’r: Dave Underwood, Director of Product Development

My mother, Debra, was a dreamer and an artist and would collect things that most would find no value in. She would hand carve gourds to sell on the farm, or she would give them to friends or family.  She would collect rocks, stones or sticks that she found beauty in. It’s these small treasures that we hold dear to us today because they represent the things that she loved about the earth.

Her hard work and love of this land is really what inspired the Native Collection. 

As a kid, I grew up amongst the deserts of the Southwest, particularly in Utah. There was always a feeling of serenity that encompassed my childhood, and this is largely due to my mother. She helped me to understand what the land meant, where it came from, and how it can influence a person’s spirit. There was a rich comfort to my home, and when I think back on the tones and textures that populated each room I am always struck with a deep nostalgia. When I was conceptualizing our newest collection, I kept being brought back to these very specific fabrics. The thought of these fabrics being in other people’s homes, and giving nostalgia to a child when he too grows up, gave me a great sense of satisfaction. Below are the different fabrics we offer and a little description as to why it’s important to me.

The colors and lines in our Native Weave Fabric were inspired by the layers of rock and sand that make up the deserts of Utah. Native Weave was specially designed as an accent fabric, and can be seen in many of our Native Collection covers.

Anasazi Weave is a fabric made of richly woven polyester in earthy, neutral colors inspired by the ancient ancestors that once lived here a long time ago.

Adobe Flat Weave has this really light, tan color that reminds me of the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi who lived here hundreds of years ago. We paired Adobe Flat Weave with Desert Mirage Phur in our reversible Sactionals covers so you get two beautiful fabrics in one set of covers.

Desert Mirage Phur was inspired by the texture of the dunes in the badlands of Caineville and the colors of the light sandstone so prevalent in this part of the country.

Desert Mirage Phur was inspired by the Sunlit desert dunes that make up the landscape of the Caineville desert.

Ivory Cloud Phur is a plush and dense off-white fur with a pattern inspired by the fluffy clouds in Utah’s open skies. It’s unbelievably soft, and its ivory hue makes it brighten up any room.

This is Coyote Phur from the Native Collection and there are no words to describe how soft this feels. This is a dense acrylic phur with a caramel base and a light brown tip. And it’s amazing.

Hopefully my mom’s free spirit and her connection to the Southwest come through in the fabrics and colors of the Native Collection.

-Dave Underwood

Most Changed Child Stars

If you had a time machine back in the 90s and traveled to the future to check out what certain child stars were up to as adults, chances are you’d be pretty horrified. Age works well on plenty of child stars (See: Gosling) and not so well on others (See: Lohan). Since Change is the name of our game, we thought we’d list out the top 5 most changed child stars, for better or worse, with the airtight and shameful tie-in to the fact that Sactionals covers also change (get it??).

1. Justin Timberlake

Let’s be nice out the gate. Our good friend JT. A big ol’ ‘YIKES’ from his teenager picture. Can you believe THAT was a sex symbol of the 90s? We are so glad he grew into his own, brought Sexy Back and said Bye Bye Bye to that hair. And sunglasses. And earrings. And smug as hell expression. 

2. Haley Joel Osment

Let’s all take a minute and realized how blessed we are as a society to have this ‘now’ picture of The Sixth Sense star and Academy Award nominated(!!!) Haley Joel Osment. He looks great. Strutting his stuff, looking like a mafia boss. Positively owning it. Keep on keepin’ on Mr. Osment…you make us all look bad.

3. Jonathan Lipnicki

Well hello there. Can you remind me how much the human head weighs? Because all I can focus on is that effing six-pack. While bees and dogs were off smelling fear, this Jerry Maguire star was off spending his days at the gym to re-emerge from his cocoon as a beautiful butterfly of a man. 

4. Drew Barrymore

There and Back Again: A Barrymore Tale. She was the most adorable part of E.T. (That’s including E.T.). After that, she fell into the fate that unfortunately takes over many child stars. Drugs, alcohol, and media antics. We all thought she was doomed, when, at the last minute, she climbed out of her hole and emerged as one of our favorite adult movie stars. She is looking and doing great these days, and will always have that edge to her, which makes her that much more alluring.

5. Dustin Diamond

Fall Flip

Do you prefer hot or cold weather? If you picked the latter, chances are Fall is your season. The heat and humidity of summer is cut with a crisp chill, equipped with a sea of oranges and yellows and browns in the trees.  Some of us remember jumping into a giant pile of raked up leaves. Some of us don’t remember it, because we still do it.

Whatever the reasons are that you love Fall, chances are it has a lot to do with change. Leaves changing. Temperature changing. Even your mood tends to change. Fall tends to be a bit more serene. A bit more peaceful. It’s also the time of year where we get to take out that big plastic bin from the back of our closet, and start ruffling through our warmer clothing. We’ve all forgotten about a sweater we bought at the end of winter, only to be surprised by it once we bring it out for Fall. It’s almost like a brand new present.