Dallas pop-up store Thrift Studio transforms lives through design
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - If you're looking for high-end furniture and home décor at a big discount, Thrift Studio in Dallas will likely have what you're looking for – and you can shop guilt free. Every dollar you spend helps a family in need.
"Our entire goal is to transform lives through design," said Ashley Sharp, the executive director of Dwell with Dignity, a nonprofit that works with families getting back on their feet after experiencing homelessness.
All proceeds from Thrift Studio during its pop-up run in the Design District, go toward Dwell with Dignity.
"I was just walking around, and I'm like, 'Oh my God, I don't think people really understand how much it makes a difference,'" said Adriana Trejo, a Dallas mother of two.
She knows firsthand.
When Trejo first moved to Dallas with her six-year-old son and one-year-old daughter, they ended up having to live in her car.
"I felt really stuck," she said. "I felt helpless. I felt really alone. I moved here to give my kids a better life, not knowing I was going to be facing those challenges."
Trejo was finally able to get a place for her family, but it felt more like a shelter than a home until Dwell with Dignity stepped in.
"Everything was completely furnished," said Trejo. "My pantry had food in it. My son's room was so pretty… when he seen his room and how he lit up. I mean, it really just made everything that I went through worth it. It changed our lives completely."
They had a table for family dinners and a place her son felt comfortable inviting friends to.
"We want to provide a foundation for security," Sharp said. "And I think that that's what a home is, it gives you a space where you can be authentically yourself, and it gives you a place that you can put down roots and create that foundation for your future."
Dwell with Dignity transforms 24 homes a year. All the families they've served are still living independently.
"You feel different," Trejo said. "You feel happy. You feel motivated. You have hope, and it's like a fresh start."
That fresh start led Trejo to cosmetology school. She now owns her own salon, Viva La Brow, and is able to shop at Thrift Studio for the new house she purchased on her own.
"I came and bought some stuff myself, helping families like they once helped me," she said.
Thrift Studio is only open a few more days. The pop-up store closes at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
If you can't make it out here to shop before then, you can always donate online. Dwell With Dignity is one of the many nonprofits across the metroplex participating in North Texas Giving Day tomorrow.
