From the Founder
Why Bowery & Bash? The Story Behind the Name
A little New Orleans, a newsroom, a furniture showroom, and the two words that tied it all together.
“Bowery & Bash: tell me about the name.”
Hands down, it’s the question I’ve been asked most over the past 12 years. I get it. I’m also obsessed with how brands get their names, especially production companies. (I especially love Hello Sunshine and A24.) So for the very first From the Founder post, it only makes sense to start here.
A Little New Orleans, A Lot of Spectacle
I grew up in a city where Mardi Gras is as big a holiday as Thanksgiving or Christmas. Schools and workplaces close for two days to celebrate. When you grow up somewhere like New Orleans, everything epic and over the top seems, well, normal.
Look at it through that lens, and my crooked path to the event industry makes So. Much. Sense. My love of spectacle. The adrenaline rush I get when photos come in from an especially creative wedding. Chandeliers. Always chandeliers. (New Orleans deserves its own post, and it’s getting one soon.)
From the Newsroom to the Showroom
I moved to Chicago and built a career in journalism as a producer for NBC News. When I left that industry, I launched a residential furniture company called Revision Home. Think experiential events meet interior design showroom. We threw four parties a year for a stylish design crowd, then sold the pieces online afterward.
Everything had lived a previous life and was reimagined for a new one. There was a lot of gilt, a lot of chandeliers, and plenty of edgy industrial pieces. It was a true melding of the souls of New Orleans and Chicago, and somehow it all worked.
Starting a Chicago Event Furniture Rental Company
Over time, people started asking to rent our inventory. I had truly never thought of it. But after researching this new-to-me industry, I realized nothing in the Chicago market offered stylish event rentals: pieces that felt like they came out of a beautifully designed home instead of a warehouse. We like to say:
“If the interior design and event industries had a love child, it would be Bowery & Bash.”
So Bowery & Bash was born. But not so quickly. I agonized, overthought everything, and sat on the idea for two years before launching, scared to death of failing. It seems silly to me now, so many years later. But that’s a topic for another day.
The Truck I Never Drove
One thing I did know from the start: I wasn’t going to be the one moving the furniture. Revision Home taught me that. If I handled delivery myself, I’d spend every weekend hauling sofas and bars, much of it heavy and none of it practical with young kids at home. So we outsourced delivery from day one. I was lucky to meet someone who ran a logistics company before we launched, and that’s where we started.
So, Where Did the Name Come From?
An old friend, a very creative soul, helped me brainstorm, and Bowery & Bash was on his list. I loved it instantly.
Home and celebration, comfortable and wild, side by side. For a girl from New Orleans starting an interior-inspired rental company, it was perfect.
This is the first of many From the Founder posts. I’ll be writing about what I look for in a piece, the trends I’m watching, what we’re building in-house, and what running this company actually looks like.
Want to know the team behind the name?
Meet Bowery & Bash