Dazzled. Crushed. Then charged.
The excitement of the crowd could hardly be contained. Two hundred braved the heat and mosquitoes in one place – five hundred in another.
Boxed in only by hope and materialistic dreams?
“Exclusive”
(Some credentials requested).
Good music.
Free food! Carefully selected.
(They know their crowd: Whole Foods. Organic. Trendy. Comfortable.)
And a photo booth for commemorative pictures.
(Meet your friends there!)
Prizes!
Party on!
One of the biggest events of the year.
For one retailer.
And well, a bunch of soon-to-be college students.
Bright and beautiful: enter here! (Image: http://www.containerstore.com)
Last Sunday the Houston area Container Stores held their two-hour College Night Event for incoming freshmen and their parents. The company has been staging these events for 18 years.
It’s a “shared experience”. (Prepare for that higher education experience!)
A “chance to bond with others “. (Everyone wears name tags with their college destination)
A “chance to feel special.” (Oh, never enough of that.)
Sales associates (some recent college graduates!), dressed in college colors and gear, helpfully advise how to decorate and create storage in tiny dorm rooms.
Chairs, crates, baskets, lighting – decor galore!
And it’s all 20% off tonight!
And while waiting in long lines to pay, the incoming freshmen are prompted by energetic sales associates waving “don’t forget items” like paper towel holders.
Oh, the thrill.
(Oh, the bills – in addition to those student loans – but what can you do, right?)
Once in a lifetime experience – go for it!
It’s all preparation for the future!
Dorm decor: a competitive sport. (Image: Michael Paulsen/www.chron.com/business)
Those higher ed benefits not always apparent until after graduation.
Developing self-reliance.
Learning time management.
Acquiring a wealth of information.
Not to mention learning to live on a budget and in small spaces.
SFA college dorm room.
(Image: http://www.sfasu.edu/reslife)
With stars in their eyes and confidence in their hearts, graduates leave to follow their dreams.
And New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is preparing for that!
New York wants the new energy of young professionals.
Making plans to see that all have a chance to live and work there.
Housing is a big obstacle.
Rent is so high in Manhattan. (Seen those House Hunter or Selling New York shows?)
Most young professionals just prefer not to have roommates – not even help with rent.
College roommates are one thing, but after years of that? No, please. All grown up now. Adult.
New York City (Image: Daniel Schwen / WIKI)
Bloomberg’s solution for Manhattan?
Micro-units, the urban dwelling of the future!
Studio apartments about 300 feet square.
Apartments with a bathroom, built-in kitchenette, and a fold-out bed.
Win-win! Save on furniture and decorating costs!
Those long work hours don’t leave much time for hanging out at home: work-sleep-repeat.
Besides who wants to cook when there are so many great places to eat out?
More fun to gather at a sports bar with friends to watch the game than at home!
Who wants to provide the food and beer – and clean up the mess!
Best of all, the micro-units would probably be very energy-efficient and green.
Although you could probably choose to color the walls with eco-friendly paint. Check that lease.
See? Not so unreasonable.
Tiny, but better than a dorm room: a glamorous desirable address: it’s the Big Apple, people!
There is that work thing instead of classes.
But it will be cool – like on TV and in movies.
Room for that designer clothing, shoes, and handbags, of course!
(Need those to fit the new address!)
Well, some will be disappointed.
Desiring instant gratification that’s so familiar and that jet set lifestyle immediately.
A college degree after all.
All that hard work should be rewarded – by Mom or somebody.
Really. That’s the order of things. Ask anyone.
A man’s home is his castle. (What do you mean, not literally?)
Wait! OK, “starter home’.
Simply a temporary situation – until obvious brilliance discovered.
And it’s in New York City!
Floor plan of a micro unit. (Image: http://www.usatoday.comvideo)
Seriously.
Less is more.
Unless you are an incoming freshman heading to college.
Grab it all now!
While parents are in overload and realizing the bird is leaving the nest.
And don’t worry if you missed the Container Store’s College Night Event.
Other merchants are waiting to assist.
Target is planning after hour shopping events on 69 college campuses. (Music. Food. Stuff!)
Marshalls, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Pottery Barn aren’t far behind (but maybe not the same party atmosphere, free food, music, and “exclusive shopping experience.”
But Mom, I need a nice place to study! (Image: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com)
It’ll be just like Christmas.
Oh, wait, Halloween is just like Christmas. No, that was Easter is just like Christmas. No…
It’s just like your birthday!
And you are so deserving.
Sure you’ve been told so.
Maybe by recent college grads working at those stores?
Charge on!
Seeking purchase,
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Read more:
Article: “Shopping for a dorm room becomes a bonding event”
AP VIDEO: “NYC asking developers to test tiny apartments” (See what it’s all about. Hear reasons why good.)
AP Article by Samantha Gross: “NYC asking developers to test tiny apartments”
ABC news video “How to live in a 300 square foot apartment”
Reality is so harsh. (Image: http://www.sfasu.edu/reslife)
300 sq foot? Uhg, reminds me of my dog in his cage…
What’s really strange is that apparently the old NY tenement apartments were actually bigger! Serious downsizing. Thanks for dropping in
Well, I think I lived in a micro apartment. One of my first on my own in a chi-chi part of Chicago. Fun post
Like one New Yorker said (unimpressed), “So? Most of us already live in places so small we keep books or shoes in the oven.” Thanks for building the discussion!
Hmmm-hmm…. Do you suppose hizzoner was inspired by Hong Kong’s Shek Kip Mei housing development? Probably not. Perhaps it was the image of an older New York tradition .
If he’s not careful, his proposed apartments are going to be smaller than his allowable Slurpees.
Not only have I never been in a Container Store, I don’t remember ever seeing a Container Store. I’ve got to get out more. And I must say – college seems a millenium ago.
So glad you mentioned the other mini homes. (got cut due to space)
Seems like there was a huge outcry about living-like-rats conditions when all the factories were there? (Oh, actually those apts. had more space -but to be fair families lived in them)
One city in Calif. is trying to get approval for even smaller apartments. High occupancy-small footprint taken to the extreme.
There’s a big Container Store across from Galleria – it’s got stuff – all the stuff. But if you need a storage solution, it’s probably there.
Thanks for boxing up that information and bringing it over!
No joke–I lived in a studio apartment in an old tenement building that was only about 200 square feet. 300 sf would seem deluxe in comparison.
I think my grad school place could be considered micro-mini, too. Didn’t matter at the time as it left some change for soup. Thanks for settling in here for a bit
I love the back-to-school period. All kinds of inexpensive solutions for storage, small spaces, lighting, etc. True, a lot of the colors and designs don’t work for an old lady, but its amazing what can turn up and the things you come across that you didn’t realize you needed until you saw them in the store. Actually, I do well to stay out of stores during this time …
It is oddly like Christmas: the shiny new stuff, the crowds, the frenzy of the hunt, the cranky sullen children telling mom it’s a “must have”. It’s a contagious fever, I too try to stay away.(but drawn like a moth….) Thanks for registering some time over here
I have a friend that would go back to college for a chance at the 20% deal at the Container Store (she loves that place!) Me? I’m more the dollar store type.
I lived in a 300 square foot studio when I was in college. It was so small, I put my bed in the dining room and never had a table. (Like I ever ate at home anyway.) It seems micro living spaces are becoming popular, but they’ll never sell me on it
Wandering the Container Store is sort of like wandering an old time hardware store: you never know what you’ll find.
It will be interesting if they can “sell” this concept to single career professionals and seniors who is supposed to be the target market. (both can be prone to depression – and such a small bound to be dark space?)
Settling for little is ok in college when everyone is doing it, but after graduation when expectations are high?
Sure there will be federal grants for research available.
Thanks for building the container chat!
What a brilliant marketing strategy. The discount store in my college town has one night, after they close that’s The College Special. Only college students allowed (and I guess parent’s who are footing the bill), with lot’s of bargain and the 20% off everything (except electronics).
But I like your version better. Nametags, different schools. Makes it more like a party. The only thing that isn’t different is the long lines to pay.
It is a brilliant marketing ploy. Saw today that JC Pennys here is offering free haircuts to kids Aug. 1.
Might be getting like airline fare wars?
Gets more and more interesting.
Thanks for nailing up some thoughts over here
“The Container Store” – these words speak to me! Weird. Thanks
Beware, that store can be addictive. Clever name for it.
Thanks for compartmentalizing your thoughts and bringing them over here
You are welcome – my in laws have lengthy debates about shelving at the Xmas dinner table so I feel I have some experience in the subject area.
Wait. You take down the Christmas decorations?
Seriously, you might be interested in the Christmas wreath containers, the Christmas light reels and containers, the Christmas ornament containers (for various size ornaments), Christmas wrapping paper containers, Christmas bows and ribbon containers….wait there’s more….
You can astound your in laws with not only your expert shelving knowledge.
Can hardly contain yourself, right?
Always glad when you have time to stop by!
Someone I loved long ago had a Greenwich Village apartment so small that the kitchen (and the only) table was a table top connected by a hinge to the bathtub, which it covered during meals…. Those were the days. There’s a certain romance to living small and roughing it, especially in New York!
A bathtub table! Priceless. Most put up with a lot when young. You are right about the “romance” – movies are made of this stuff. (Is living like that be sort of developmental?) Time will tell if people will remain interested as they age….but it is NYC!
Thanks for sorting and grouping ideas to add to the conversation
Fun post — especially the shopping part. Love containers and storage gadgets almost as much as shoes. The living part though, yikes!
One person I know loved the Container Store so much she was always going there…but had to admit, finally, she had to take some “storage solutions” back at one point because she ran out of space to use them!
It is an amazing place to visit…all the stuff
Thanks for sorting through ideas to toss in this chat
We can probably live in a very small urban space for a limited period of time. But I think the long-term effects on our brains are not good. Yes, other cultures have “normal” housing that is much smaller than ours. But the population density isn’t like New York City! No need for the Container store in those micro-places—there wouldn’t be any room for the storage pieces!
There’s lots of research from as far back as the 50′s(probably farther back than that…Victorian age, Dickens, Industrial revolution) on overcrowded living and how it affects people.
Oh, you are so right about the micro apts and the Container Store! Thanks for stuffing that remark in here
You take the ordinary, process it through that brilliant mind of yours and produce something truly unique, my friend. Well done – again!
It’s only fun if it tickles a reader’s mind. Thanks for shelving your thoughts here for a bit
Everything is a shopping… er selling… opportunity
Marketing. It only works if people let it? Just seemed a little odd. Thanks for stacking some thoughts over here.
My person says this post hit home with her as my younger person is getting ready to move into a small studio apartment as he heads to college – and then at least one shopping trip to Ikea to furnish the place. Fortunately the rents here aren’t anything like New York.
They need stuff. (I forgot about Ikea – they have everything, too!). Happy hunting! (comfortable shoes, a must).
Take a nap, Bongo – it may be a while? Thanks for digging in over here
I guess I must be in a minority in thinking that 300 sq ft is ok!!! But we are used to the squeeze in old Blighty!!!
The “don’t forget” bins are by the register of pretty much every store. The container store is even worse, since the container you buy can be filled with other smaller items that will wind up scattered/buried, or useless once they take up a space outside that container.
It’s a nesting box nightmare? (but they look so mice and neat – all the same color and style….) Then there’s the possibility you will misplace the lid for the container which limits the use. Things just stacked against you? Thanks for boxing up your thoughts and sending them over!
(oh – pulled you out of the spam file – strange things once again)
Retailers have managed to turn every life event or holiday into a major shopping occasion. I don’t remember buying your dorm necessities being such a HUGE deal when I was getting ready for college: sheets, towels, a bucket to carry my toiletries to the bathroom down the hall – done!
A bit insane. Getting ready for college is almost turning into something like a bridal shower? (Seriously – since when did going to college mean buying every single thing new?)
Thanks for packing up those thoughts to stack in here
I had a small studio apartment when I graduated. Now, I’m really wishing I had taken down the dimensions… I know my college dorm room was 12 by 12, which would have been palatial, but I had a roommate…
With tiny living quarters, you really learn which items are necessary – and what you can live without! (and it’s good to have friends with larger places / outdoors!) And do you really appreciate the “larger” space when you can finally afford it! Thanks for crowding in to chat!