What is Rae Dunn & Why is it so Popular?
THE TREASURE HUNT BEGINS
“Hey, I NEED RAE DUNN!!” Kara texts me late Saturday morning.
“Rae Dunn? What’s Rae Dunn?” I replied, confused as to what she is talking about.
“That pottery glass stuff!” she reminds me. “If you see any large lettering ANYTHING, please purchase it for me ASAP. I’m looking for bird houses too.”
As I realize what Kara is talking about I quickly respond, “Oh yeah, Rae Dunn…DUH! I’ll keep a look out!”
While I lay in bed this fine Saturday Morning, (yes, I’m not even up for the day yet), I smile about this treasure hunt my girlfriend has pursued full force. She literally went to HomeGoods 3 times last Monday and at one point stayed in the store for over 2 hours hunting for Rae Dunn pottery! Last Friday she was there for 4 hours!
Kara is a loving mother, wife and entrepreneur in the skin care industry. She lives a well-balanced life with her beautiful family of 3 and works hard daily at everything she does. Could this Rae Dunn epidemic be her heroin or is it her saving grace? Is it an obsession? Or is it simply a community of women seeking affirmation in their daily dose of coffee? I’m curious and I have to know what this craze is all about!
WHAT IS RAE DUNN?
If you’re not familiar with Rae Dunn already and you’re asking yourself the same things such as, “What is this fanatical craze all about?” , then you’re in the right place.
This pottery, that could be described as casual, white and featureless with simple lettering and only a couple of words, has such profound meaning. Sometimes this stuff literally describes the object, for example a pitcher that just says "pour" or a mug that says "coffee." While other pieces offer affirmation such as, a mug that says, “balance,” or a serving tray that says, “party.”
These pieces can be found at Tj Maxx, HomeGoods, and Marshalls, or through re-sellers online. The downside to buying through re-sellers online is that they generally inflate prices because these products are so exclusive, with minimal supply and high demand. This is one hot interior design trend for 2018! Especially if you’re going for the farmhouse interior look.
THE HUNT CONTINUES
Later that week, I messaged my girlfriend about grabbing lunch Friday and proposed the idea of interviewing her to write about this rising epidemic for Rae Dunn.
Kara texts me, “I went to HomeGoods 3 times today! My friend was there from 8:00am, waiting till the doors opened, and ended up staying at HomeGoods past 3:00pm. She found nothing and some other girl found 5 things and didn’t even share!!!.”
I’m humored and respond saying, “This is definitely blog worthy material! I’d like to interview you and do a spit on this rising epidemic for Rae Dunn!”
She was excited and replied saying, “Deal! I’d love to meet up and I have to meet a “Dunner” in Tualatin at HomeGoods tomorrow.”
“A Dunner? Like Rae Dunn Dunning?” I ask.
“YES!!!” She responds as excited as ever.
“You are so funny! Tell me when and where and I’m there!” I quickly replied. I was so excited to get the scoop on this new addiction of hers.
“Meet me at the HomeGoods in Tualatin at 12:00pm, I’m meeting someone to make a trade,” Kara states.
TREASURE HUNTING WITH KARA
As I approach HomeGoods Friday at noon, my curiosity grows stronger. Once Kara and I found each other, I had just missed the trade.
“How’d it go? Was it weird trading with her outside of the store like this?” I asked.
“No! Not at all! It was easy,” she responds.
Kara already had her cart and was ready to roll. I followed her closely as we went up and down each isle meticulously looking for any large letter anything.
“Found it!” I say in total excitement, “Look at these cute Easter cups!”
She quickly replies stating, “That’s all the stuff no one wants girl, we want that white pottery with large lettering, this is glass. Keep the cart close and be the first to get your hands on it. These women will snag them up right in front of you!”
Consulting with the experts
As we turn the corner to go down the next isle, still on the hunt for this exclusive product, we run into one of Rae Dunn’s biggest community supporters, Jamie. She too, is a loving stay at home mother and owner of the Facebook group, “Rae Dunn B/S/T Portland, Oregon.” This is a closed Facebook group with 1.2k members. The only rule for being associated with this group is that no one can sell or trade Rae Dunn products for more than retail in order to attract true collectors; not someone who is only looking to make a buck.
I introduced myself to Jamie, and told her about what I was out doing with Kara, writing a story about Rae Dunn. She was amused and the 3 of us start talking.
“My kids go to school from 8:00am – 2:00pm and during that time, I schedule meetings for trades, and come here to shop HomeGoods. Openings are best if you’re really trying to get your hands on product.” Jamie Says.
“Do you have meetings for trades every day?” I ask curious as to how committed she is to this brand.
“Oh yes!” She replies, “I have appointments all day, every day.”
“Do you buy only what you need to complete your collection and give others a fighting chance?” I ask.
She responds saying, “I recommend you buy extras so that you have pieces to trade with. You can easily miss an opportunity to get what you want at the store."
IRENE Tokstad
With a loving husband and three amazing kids, Irene is committed to serving and supporting fellow community families of all shapes and sizes by helping them realize their home vision with innovation, integrity and passion.
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I wonder what their husbands think?!
“What do your husbands think of this new found hobby of yours?” I ask.
“Travis loves it!” Kara states. “It’s all about positive affirmations!” Travis woke up today and decided to drink out of the “balance” mug because his goal for the day was to stay balanced. And it’s not just positive affirmations either, it’s about the community. I have made new friendships, and it keeps me busy which is better than being bored.”
What I’ve learned thus far is that Rae Dunn isn’t just some sort of fanatical craze. It’s about the playful treasure hunt. Not only is it fun and competitive, there is a whole community of women working together to complete their collection. The white on white design featuring on trend minimal style that is crisp, clean and classic appeals to most of us. This pottery provides function and can also be used as décor. Perfect for the farmhouse interior lover! Lets not forget about the words either! Whether they are descriptive or positive and affirming, they are fun for the whole family!
I thank Jamie for answering my questions and we head our separate ways. Kara and I check out and head to lunch. We didn’t find any Rae Dunn while we were there; but I found oh so many home staging treasures and a great story too!
Image of Kara & Travis holding their favorite Rae Dunn mugs.
Lunch with Kara
At lunch Kara and I get to talking about Rae Dunn again, I have to ask, “Was Travis really on board with this at first?”
She replies explaining, “Originally I thought we could make money off of this Rae Dunn. I mean people are literally buying whatever pieces they can get their hands on for $4-$17 bucks and marking them up 3-400% to sell online. Entire collections go for way more! So naturally I thought, if I get this, we could make a profit; and Travis was on board with that. Then I posted a mug for sale and it sold so fast. when I went to meet the person who purchased the mug, she was disappointed and surprised when I was charging $10.00 for a $5.00 mug. Originally, I thought my time for sourcing the mug was valuable so that’s why I marked it up; but once I realized the sentimental value, we both wanted to keep our collection. Now I buy it because we love it, and I buy extra, but only for retail value trades.”
one sweet story
“Do you have any shopping experiences you’d like to share?” I asked Kara, expecting some sort of horror story such as: “this woman snatched a pitcher out of my cart!”, or something along those lines. But what Kara says next seriously warms my heart.
She replies to my questing stating, “I met an older man while shopping at HomeGoods back in February. He was shopping through some Rae Dunn stuff and I could tell he was “Dunning.” I asked him what he was looking for and he said he was looking for the “Grandma” mug for his wife. He explained that his wife bought him the “grandpa” mug for Christmas and that he loves it very much, so he would like to complete the set. I knew it wasn’t likely for him to find what he was looking for in store since these items hardly stay on the shelf; and I happened to have an extra mug that says “grandma” laying around my house for trade. We exchanged phone numbers and later met so that he could purchase that mug from me. Then he gifted the mug to his wife on Valentine’s day.”
Isn’t that the most adorable story you’ve heard all day!?!
THANK YOU
I can’t thank my girlfriend Kara enough for sharing her insights on this rising community of collectors for Rae Dunn Pottery. It’s clear to me, more than ever that this isn’t just an obsession, it’s a playful treasure hunt that offers her entire family simple joys throughout the day while also providing fitting décor for her home and a community of fellow collectors and new friends. As we parted ways after lunch, we followed each other out of the parking lot. I dont know if it was fate or if Kara was just blessed by an angel, but a parking spot opened up literally right in front of HomeGoods and she swooped it up faster than the speed of light! Happy treasure-hunting Kara! #winning
If you’d like to know more about her skin care consulting, you can contact her through Facebook and instagram here.
You can check out our tips and tricks for how to stage up your gorgeous Rae Dunn pottery here. Thank you so much for reading this blog and for anyone who wants a good laugh, check out this funny video. CLICK HERE
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