Meet Sarah Sacco: Designer & Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Sacco and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind my business has been authenticity. The more anchored I am in myself, my design process, and my values the more success I find. As humans, especially now, we are desperate for connection. Allowing my voice and ethos to shine through has helped me attract the right community, and allowed my brand to grow and connect to its natural customer base. Approaching my work from a genuine place has made owning and operating my business easier to navigate. I have learned to trust myself and the community that has supported me. It has helped me feel confident that I know the right decisions to make to create a brand that I am proud of.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I am a home decor designer, fashion designer, and fine artist. I find joy in creating through all avenues and believe there is fluidity between art forms. I chose the path of design because I loved the idea of creating interactive art that customers can use in their everyday life. I started in fashion with the mission to use my creative voice to help women feel their best in their own skin. After almost eight years in the industry, I found that I wanted to connect with customers through a wider scope; I became interested in lifestyle design from a holistic standpoint. How are our customers living? Instead of looking at this as a departure from my past, I see this as a creative expansion. I do love that home decor pieces have permanence, and I can move more thoughtfully in my design process. I am able to focus on mindful manufacturing, environmental consciousness, and exquisite quality. I am so excited to share that after months of tirelessly working with incredible contacts all over the world I just released my newest collection and lookbook.

The path to where I am has never been easy, and I have dedicated my life to getting to where I am professionally. From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a Fashion Designer and I put every part of my being into reaching that goal. That original goal has both shifted and expanded. Finding my way in that industry had its own set of challenges, and more recently, making the choice to start my own business came with a new set of barriers to overcome. It was not a linear path, although I think that creative career paths rarely are. Hard work, the desire to learn, and perseverance have allowed me to fight through the moments of doubt. Another helpful tool has been goal setting, both short-term and long-term. It has been important to help me stay focused day-to-day and charge forward with a clear mission and vision.

When I dreamt of creating a brand, it was one based around community. The idea of bringing people together through beauty, art, and stories. I believe that the story behind each and every item I design is as important as the item itself. I am often asked, “Why Clutter?” since it is a word so often associated with the negative. I challenge you to redefine your clutter: to appreciate that which carries love, meaning, and memories. I believe that one’s home is a portrait of those who reside within and an expression of their values. That is not to say keep the unnecessary, but instead, to remove judgment on the necessary.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

I am based out of Jersey City, less than 10 minutes outside of New York, and less than an hour from New Jersey beaches, so we are really lucky to have so much variety so close! Being in the New York metropolitan area, naturally, brunch is the most important meal of the day so I would start there. Some of our favorite JC brunch spots to spend lazy afternoons include Hamilton Inn, Mathew’s, and Light Horse Tavern. Jersey City is a pedestrian city so we spend a lot of time walking around our neighborhood to see what we stumble upon. My husband and I always say that in a city you have to enjoy the journey as much as the destination. We have wonderful vintage shops, record stores, galleries, and Italian bakeries! The city also has a Mural Arts Program so it’s filled with incredible works of art to admire while strolling.

As a brunch alternative, we sometimes stop at our neighborhood cafe, Prato Bakery, for a coffee and delicious pastry and travel over to one of the many parks in the area. A favorite being Van Vorst Park. I love to start my mornings there, it is so serene with an incredible fountain and a sort of wild English garden surrounding it! Not to mention, the most amazing architecture and historical homes nearby.

Being so close to the waterfront we often bring family and friends to see the New York skyline, truly a stone’s throw away. If the weather is right, biking to Liberty State Park is a lovely way to spend an afternoon. We always find ourselves stopping at one of the fun places to eat/drink overlooking the Hudson River like Surf City, Lutz, or if you are feeling fancy, Battello. Sometimes we will hit one of the beer gardens like Zeppelin Hall or Hudson Hall.

During the evening we might head over to Newark Avenue, which is a pedestrian street full of bars, shops, and restaurants. No cars are allowed, and there are picnic tables and string lights set up throughout. The sunset is gorgeous over this area, and the street is often filled with families enjoying the evening. Children run around there after school and in the summers there is live music; it’s really just perfect.

Some of our favorite dinner spots to head to afterward are Broa (Portuguese Cuisine) and of course, Madame Claude’s Bis (French Cuisine). If we are feeling more casual we would sit on the roof at Porta (Neapolitan Pizza), or in the backyard of Pet Shop (Vegan Bar Food) and play Jenga or Guess Who! Pet Shop also has a cozy little basement wine bar with live music called PS. Long story short, I could basically live in there.

For another day of adventure, we may travel to Jersey City Heights. We would stop into Busy Bee Organics, a beautiful cafe full of healing elixirs, gluten-free and vegan options. Their Mocha Mushroom Latte is actually life-changing. We can take our snacks across the street to Riverview-Fisk Park that has a stunning view of Jersey City, Hoboken, and Manhattan across the water. And finish the day at Corto, a cozy BYO Italian spot with handmade pasta.

When family and friends come to visit my favorite thing to share with them is the wonderful culture and community that exists in Jersey City. Jersey City was voted the most diverse city in the country in 2020, so there are always cultural community events and street fairs to attend. For a city, there is still such a prevalence of mom-and-pop shops, family-owned and operated restaurants, and businesses. It’s a really fun and unique place to live and visit!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am fortunate that I come from a long line of creatives and a family who has chased their passions to build careers. I remember my father saying to me once, “If you don’t go to college for what you love, you are on your own,” and my mother who declared, “You will not be successful unless you are doing what you love.” While it was support disguised in threat, it has pushed me through my hardest moments of wanting to give up. It is a hard concept to process: turning your art into your career. There is not the same “guide book” there is for other industries. Both my maternal and paternal grandmothers were creatives, which gave my family a better understanding of my desire to create, even if I was constantly creating messes of catastrophic proportions around the house. My shoutout is wholeheartedly dedicated to my parents who allowed me the freedom to actualize my dreams.

Website: https://lovetheclutter.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovetheclutter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovetheclutter

Image Credits
Photography by Ryan Sacco on location at Mill House No. 1 by Homestedt