ARF’s Thrift Shop Goes To The Dogs For Its Designer Showhouse

Miss Tybee, a special breed of dog called a feist, posed for photos last Thursday, May 19, at ARF’s Thrift & Treasure Shop in Sagaponack. Meanwhile, Lynda Sylvester took a break from explaining her strategy for decorating one room of the shop for a Designer Showhouse, which opens on Saturday, May 28.

“It’s her Sarah Bernhardt look,” the designer said of her adoptee, who “works” in retail at Sylvester & Co., her owner’s Sag Harbor store, and was reclining on a couch for her big shoot, as cooperatively as a centerfold model. “She’s the smartest dog I’ve maybe ever had.”

Designers have been working magic to transform six rooms of the thrift shop—set in a former farmhouse and, later, antiques store in Sagaponack—into a showhouse to raise money for ARF’s work in animal rescue, shelter and adoption. The decor will include high-end, donated inventory from the thrift shop, as well as furnishings and accessories donated from the designers’ own collections and their manufacturers—and all of it will be for sale to the public.

Each room will have a theme; in Ms. Sylvester’s case, it’s: “The Library Goes to the Dogs.” This will involve a library/reading room in which party guests can sit and page through signed copies of a book about dogs, and the walls will be lined with black-and-white photos of—what else?—dogs.

The thrift shop has a barn, where Eldon Wong was setting up an “outdoor dinner party theme” for his “Dinner Party at Dogtown Abbey”—and where there will be Astroturf, treats for people and dogs served on dishes donated by Lenox and other china purveyors, floral patterns and purple hues that Mr. Wong doesn’t typically get to experiment with, and an imaginary family, presumably styled after the Crawleys, called “the Barkleys.”

Lending Mr. Wong a hand last week were his partner, Kevin Flanigan, and two adoptees, Fallon, “a breeder dog from a mill,” and Frazier, “an owner surrender,” Mr. Wong explained.

All of the dogs plan to attend the May 28 event, their owners said—and there will also dogs and cats from ARF’s Wainscott shelter on hand for adoption.

Also in the lineup of designers are Sam Allen, Tracey Cavaniola, Nancy Corzine, John Stedila and Tim Button—all “animal lovers who are donating their time and expertise to help the ARF cats and dogs who are less fortunate than their own beloved pets,” a press release says.

A preview cocktail party will provide an opportunity to mingle with designers and guests of all species and get a head start on shopping in the designers’ rooms. Tickets to the cocktail party, which starts at 5 p.m., cost $250, and those for general admission at 5 p.m. cost $150.

There will be a suggested donation of $10 for admission from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 29 and May 30.

Purchased items will be available for pickup on May 31 and until then will stay in the shop, which raises almost 20 percent of ARF’s operating budget. For tickets, call Jean Schiavoni at (631) 537-0400, extension 219, or email jean@arfhamptons.org.