HAYLEY: As the "market girl" for Magpie, I know getting to see my vendor friends regularly is something I'll miss a lot about this change. What are you going to miss the most about having a shop in Del Ray?

RICK: The Del Ray neighborhood has so much going for it, including the absolute best Business Association in the region. The number of incredible community events put on every year is unreal. Selfishly, I am going to miss the amazing restaurants the most though. There are well over a dozen incredible restaurants along Mt. Vernon Avenue. La’Baik, SpiceKraft, and Junction are just a few of our favorites.

HAYLEY: Having SpiceKraft in my front yard has been the biggest perk of moving to Del Ray for me. Now switching gears a bit, Magpie started as an online business. What's it been like as you prepare to shift back to a digital-first business model? Are there things that scare or excite you about bringing the brother business, Dept. of Junking into the spotlight alongside Magpie?

RICK: The scary part is pretty straightforward: when you are a small-business owner, 100% of the roles and responsibilities ultimately fall on you. You own your successes and failures, and that can be a stressful position to operate from. What I will say to other small business owners is even though the buck stops with you, it does not mean it is
your fault if something didn’t pan out. We put everything we had into making the store in Del Ray a success, but largely due to macroeconomic factors and irresponsible government policies we still lost our store.

There is so much about the next chapter that is exciting! I think the number one thing for me is having the opportunity to further the core mission of the company: save as much
home furnishings as possible from the landfill. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to do the hard work now to preserve our environment for the future. What an amazing way to be able to do that, by providing folks with an alternative to fast, disposable furniture by saving, repairing, and upcycling vintage pieces. With the Department of Junking, the scale of which we do that is multiplied by so many factors. Just in one job last week we diverted four tons of furnishings from the landfill! How amazing is that?

HAYLEY: It is honestly so cool to see. I stopped by that home clear out on one of the first days, and I was so impressed by the organized chaos of it all. And I loved hunting for the hidden gems in the house. The DMV is full of amazing vintage stores including Urban Redeux. How did this next era of collaboration come to be?

RICK: I have been so lucky to have been mentored by Willow at Urban Redeux pretty much from the outset of Magpie Reclamations in 2021. She has been an amazing thought partner and trusted confidant for us through so many challenges. It was amazing to collaborate with her during the summer on a pop-up space on our second floor at the store in Del Ray. Now, we are reversing that process and the Magpie collection will be available for sale at Urban Redeux!

Willow’s interior design and staging acumen is unrivaled in Northern Viriginia. We are so lucky to have our pieces featured in her beautiful space. We will be focusing on mostly high-end midcentury modern pieces in her store. Most, if not all of these pieces will be refinished and ready for the next 60-80 years of their lives.