Talk Shop: Anna Marinelli // Town & Sea
Photo by Julia D'Agostino
ABOUT ANNA
Anna Marinelli launched Town & Sea in the Fall of 2020, but her love for art, home decor, and design started long before that! Following her graduation from Boston College in 2013, Anna worked for an Art Collector in New York City. Coincidentally, one of her first assignments was to sell her employer’s George Smith Sofa from her Brooklyn home. Fishing through spam inquiries on Craigslist and eBay, she knew there had to be an easier way to sell furniture! Little did she know then, that years later that same instinct would be the concept for her future business, Town & Sea.
Since launching Town & Sea last Fall, Anna has grown her team with 4 curators who are young mothers like herself to assist in cataloging sales across the NY and CT region. The Town & Sea team handles all steps of the auction process from photographing sales to overseeing the auction pickups! What differentiates Town & Sea from other auction sites, is the merchandising and curation of the sales. Her team does a great job with marketing sales via their Instagram account and is known for their weekly “Design Inspiration” stories comparing items on the site to similar items styled in designer rooms. Their Instagram following is often engaged with questions and polls allowing the Town & Sea team to take the pulse of what items are popular with their audience. House Beautiful even recently mentioned Town & Sea as a go-to site for "major scores!"
What’s next? Anna is currently working on building a delivery management software, The Final-Final. Her hope is that this new software will provide Town & Sea customers a simple solution for coordinating furniture deliveries for their auction wins! Stay tuned for more information regarding the launch of The Final-Final, now in beta-testing mode! For now, enjoy our conversation with Anna :)
Describe your style in three words or less:
Classic, comfortable & collected.
What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:
The different jobs I’ve held, the cities I’ve traveled to, as well as the homes I have had the opportunity to photograph sales in have all played a role!
How did you start your company, and/or what is your favorite thing about what you do:
When my husband, John, accepted his first college coaching position in Arizona, I realized how hard it could be to sell and shop for furniture in a new part of the country! This, along with the large number of friends and family back home who needed help clearing out their basements and attics, motivated me to create an online auction platform last Fall. I wanted to create an approachable and user-friendly website for neighbors in the community who were looking to furnish their homes with unique pieces and find great local deals! What differentiates Town & Sea from other auction sites, is the merchandising and curating of the items. I love to promote sales on our Instagram account @town.and.sea and pair items in our sales with designer rooms for inspiration! My hope is one day be able to scale the Town & Sea model to markets across the country so that everyone can have a trusted local marketplace to shop estate sales in their communities! BTW if you see something you love on Town & Sea and you aren’t local, we have some great shipping partners we can connect you with! For shipping quotes and referrals, please email us at logistics@townandsea.com.
My favorite thing about what I do is that I get to build a brand with a team I love working with!
Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:
Yes! She was a former employer of mine. Her name is Betsy Perry and she has taught me so much about the home furnishings business from identifying antiques to great customer service. She has been a huge positive influence on me professionally and has become a dear friend along the way. She and I are currently working on building a logistics management software together, The Final-Final, which (fingers crossed!) could be the answer to everyone’s prayers looking for complete transparency and updates on their furniture deliveries!
What does your home say about you:
Our home is definitely a “collected home”. Just about everything in our home has been sourced from auctions, consignors and estate sales - I truly love the hunt!
Where do you find inspiration:
I find a lot of inspiration at photoshoots in clients' homes as well as browsing Pinterest and Instagram...one of my favorite things to do is share inspiring images on @town.and.sea stories, especially when they tie in items on the site!
Who are your style icons:
In the design world, I absolutely love the work of Henry & Co Design, Lee Ann Thornton, Sarah Bartholomew, Mark Sikes, Ariel Okin, McGrath II (just to name a few!). These designers have brought on a traditional design renaissance and are masters of mixing old with new!
What are your key ingredients for entertaining:
Great friends are all you need!
Do you collect anything:
Every month I look forward to a new Architectural Digest arriving in the mail! I save all of the issues and every now and then I go back and look through some of the dog-eared pages I have marked over the years. My husband likes to joke that one day I’ll have a library full of the Architectural Digest White Spines... why not!?
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:
@arielokin, @thetraditionallist, @markdsikes, @sarahbartholomew, @henrycodesign, @leeannthorntoninteriors, @mcgrath2.
Favorite auction houses (besides your own) or places to find vintage/antique treasures:
I love browsing Charish, Live Auctioneers, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace...but there is an unmatched feeling of walking into an antique shop and discovering pieces in person! Frank Rotondo at York Antiques (who recently relocated his shop to Mamaroneck, NY) is a third-generation antiques dealer and has been an incredible mentor to me while providing a wealth of information about the business!
What design “rule” do you always follow, and which is made to be broken:
If you love it, you will make it work! I always tell clients to hold on to the items that hold sentimental value to them. It is those pieces that will make a house feel like a home. As for rules to be broken, I am very tired of the “grey all over” look...let’s bring color back into the home!
What are you working on right now:
Juggling being a new mom with running a business...any tips on sleep training my 5-month old would be greatly appreciated! ;)
Wardrobe staples:
I like to keep it simple. Blue jeans and white blouses are my go-to’s.
Favorite fabric/wallpaper:
Oooh there are so many out there! I love everything by Galbraith & Paul, Peter Dunham, Carolina Irving & Lisa Fine Textiles.
Best interior advice you ever received:
Someone recently shared this quote in a post, “Collect the things you love that are authentic to you, and your house becomes your story.”
Best career advice you ever received:
Go for it. It’s better an oops than a what-if!
Types of home purchases you invest in, and save on:
I have a hard time shopping for anything at retail today because there are so many great deals at auctions and estate sales out there! I do believe in investing in quality upholstery, you can find a great designer sofa at auction and then splurge on the reupholstery in a fabric you love!
Your greatest extravagance:
I always make an effort to grab fresh flowers on my grocery runs.
Favorite places to shop for home:
Estate Sales and Auctions! I also love following my friend Molly at @notallbeige because she has a very talented eye and shares the best auction deals in her stories!
Most prized possession and why:
My family. No home would feel whole without them.
Your interiors motto:
Surround yourself with the things you love.
Your life motto:
Happiness is the ultimate mark of success.
Advice for someone looking to define their own interior style:
Start with the pieces that you love and go from there! Pinterest boards and Instagram are great tools to save designs that resonate with you. And when in doubt, there are so many amazing designers out there to help pull your vision together!
Advice for someone just starting out with auctions/estate sales:
For auctions, make sure to pay attention to the details such as the closing date, buyer’s premiums and pickup instructions. And for estate sales...bring a friend along, it’s always more fun to shop that way!
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: New York Pizza
Drink: LaCroix Pamplemousse
Film: Feel-good comedies.
Hotel: I am dying to visit the Mayflower Inn in Washington, CT!
City: Detroit (I grew up outside the city!)
Bedding: Matouk
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): Iced Coffee, Black.
Playlist: Jack Johnson Radio on Spotify
Weekend Activity: My husband is a college football coach so Fall Saturdays are slated for football games with our family. Go Illini!
Design Book: “Beautiful” by Mark Sikes, next to his second book “More Beautiful”!