You all know I’m a bit obsessed with Lucite lately. Today is no exception. Pursuing Etsy is a series in which I feature an Etsy shop that has caught my eye. I’m positive Benton + Clo will catch your eye, too. Take a look at these custom acrylic trays with interchangeable inserts! That’s right! Change the insert to complement your evolving decor! Or change the insert depending on your mood! LOVE-IT!
Kasey Boone is the woman behind Benton + Clo. She is located in Richmond, VA, so right away she got Brownie points from me: a Virginia girl and she has the same name as my little sister! She was kind enough to answer a few questions about her business, even though she is about to give birth to her second child any second! (Girl! Get some rest while you can!).
Pursuing Vintage: Your trays are beautiful! How did you get started?
Kasey: Thank you! I actually was searching for something for myself, and couldn’t find it – so naturally {I’m do-it-yourself to the core} I decided I should create it. Designing patterns and prints has always been a passion of mine – it’s just until this point I had only been designing paper goods with them. Now I’m having way too much fun exploring the home decor category!
Pursuing Vintage: Does the name Benton + Clo mean something specific?
Kasey: Benton is my first born – he is just about to turn two, and we’re expecting another any day now actually! Her name will be Chloe, but Benton tends to refer to her as “baby”, “coco” or “clo”. I really wanted the line to be something close to my heart, and nothing is closer to my heart than these two.
Pursuing Vintage: The tray inserts are a genius idea – they make the trays so versatile! What inspires your insert designs?
Kasey: There are of course a couple of key fashion designers that I’m in love with {namely Kate Spade, Diane Von Furstenberg, Tory Burch…} but ultimately I design the trays based on textiles and colors that I see and love in the every day. For instance, I fell in love with pinstripes when I was decorating our new house, so there they are in my shop. My husband and I met in North Carolina – and the fact that I love ocean-inspired colors led me to incorporate “sea foam” green – so the concept evolved into “sea foam green pinstripes”.
Pursuing Vintage: Do you have a favorite (insert design)?
Kasey: Sea foam green pinstripes with Chloe’s name in gold.
Pursuing Vintage: What is your favorite use for the tray?
Kasey: Right now, it’s become the ultimate “nursery catch” and closet organizer. It’s perfect for the newborn diapers, wipes container, creams, lotions, powders on Chloe’s {future} diaper changing table. And I’ve got about three in my bedroom, one as a clutch organizer in the closet, another one with about ten books that I {sincerely} plan to read this summer on the bookcase, and one on the bathroom counter {where the general rule is, if it doesn’t fit on the tray…it doesn’t belong on the counter} haha.
Pursuing Vintage: You also have a stationary shop www.confettigrey.etsy.com. Does one inspire the other? Do you see overarching trends?
Kasey: Yes, of course! Sometimes you’ll see a pattern that’s a part of the Benton + Clo collection, as an envelope liner in the Confetti Grey stationery line, or a monogram on Confetti Grey cocktail napkins incorporated into a tray! As far as trends…stripes, stripes, stripes – every girl seems to love the preppy stripes right now!
Don’t you agree that these trays are fabulous? I know I need one! Be sure to check out Benton + Clo to see the other great tray designs. And, Kasey is offering FREE SHIPPING on your order of a large tray until April 5th with the code PURSUINGVINTAGE. (Thanks Kasey!).
You can find Benton + Clo on Etsy and Facebook! Please head over and take a look around!
