I remember first stumbling across Heather Hurst’s social media channels. My initial, knee-jerk reaction was: this girl is so cool.
Heather is confident, smart as a whip, poised, and very funny, with an excellent sense of style she so graciously shares with her 170,000+ TikTok and Instagram followers and Substack subscribers.
She’s deft at combining new and old, high street and designer (and, to reiterate: really fucking cool), so I thought who better to kick off a new segment on What’s Left: The Best Thing I Ever Thrifted?
I’m asking tastemakers and influencers about the best things they ever found, be it home- or fashion-related, with the hopes that we might all learn a thing or two (or, at least, get an excuse to lust after someone else’s find).
The Best Thing Heather Hurst Ever Thrifted
“The best thing I've ever thrifted was a cabinet from the Shanxi province in China in the 1800s. I saw it on an estate sale preview around the time I was moving into my first adult apartment and knew I had to have it. It was $600 and came with appraisal papers. I coerced my dad and boyfriend (at the time) to drive out with me to bring it home. It was perhaps a little larger than I had let on, so they had to make a run to Ace Hardware to get more bungees before we loaded it into the car.
We carefully drove it home ourselves on the highway, with the tail of it hanging out of the trunk of my parent's Mitsubishi Outlander. It had to live in the middle of my parent's living room for 3 months until I moved into my first adult apartment. It perfectly fit all of my favorite things from my closet: scarves, cashmere sweaters, and bags.
The hand-painted gold illustrations are so detailed and beautiful, and every time I look at it, I'm just amazed that it's existed for so many years and is still functional. When you open the door, it makes a specific creaking sound that I came to love.
I had it in my first two apartments in D.C., and it's been in the background of so many of my photos at home from those years as it was so large, probably too large for the space, but I didn't care.
It now lives with my parents as it was too big for my current NYC apartment, but I couldn't bear to part with it. I go back home regularly and am always so happy to see it.”
Major thanks to Heather for sharing this incredible find (and for the specific detail about the creaking sound she loves — isn’t that the best?)
Rapid Fire
An affordable wall sconce: Lighting is crazy expensive — especially chic lighting. And good-looking sconces are almost impossible to find. This one is insanely chic, $130, and made of burlap (so it goes with just about any aesthetic and has a nice texture). There’s also a smaller version, which would be amazing in a powder room.
A great tank: I have had this padded-shoulder tank by The Frankie Shop for more than five years. It’s honestly great because it’s a basic with just a little something extra, and the strong shoulders add kind of a masculine element to an outfit (so it looks great when paired with a very feminine skirt — or something floral or sparkly). Anyway, Banana Republic has a strikingly similar top on sale for $22. Normally, I’m not a big “dupe” person, but the original top is sold out so this is kind of the only option.
A revolutionary body serum: The first thing I noticed about this 24-hour body serum is that it comes in a refillable aluminum bottle — with a screw-on cap! (The pump also comes with but you can remove the pump top and screw on the cap when you travel. This is genius, IMO.) And then I actually used it. And holy moly. It has more than 600 reviews and an average 5-star rating so it’s no surprise that it’s great — very subtle scent, incredibly hydrating, super lightweight. In other words: ideal for summer.
And I’ll leave you with this….
I love this cabinet!! Drooling. Also, Mitzi makes some great, funky inexpensive wall sconces!!
I'm so glad you asked!!! Any excuse to talk about my cabinet...and thanks for the generous words 🏵️