Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolyn Bender.
Hi Carolyn, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up in Memphis, TN. My Dad had a retail store that was “home furnishings”, which was really everything for your home but furniture. Sheets, towels, bedding, tabletop, accessories. I worked there as a kid,
I always loved food, fashion and decor. My first love was fashion which I followed and worked in for years until I had kids.
Then the food followed where I began entertaining quite often and soon cooking for others. I started a catering business from my own kitchen when my kids were toddlers. I would cook while they were at school or after they went to bed all night. One thing led to another… I started going into people’s homes in Westchester, NY where we lived, the clients started asking me to plan more than the food. I began planning events from intimate and elegant to grand and outrageous. From 8 to 800, The majority were in people’s homes.
Little by little I started helping them with all their entertaining needs. I was buying anything from serving pieces and silverware to dish towels and sometimes small cocktail tables or pillows to enhance the area while we planned the parties. I was running around everywhere buying things and on the internet.
I started to “blog” about it thinking everyone wanted to know where I got things and ask advice on “how to entertain”. Fast forward the world shut down and I moved to LA. Someone suggested I do a POP store and I thought it would simply “buy a few things” I put the thought aside and then just as things started to open up again I was introduced to the owner a clothing store, Amy Atelier, in Scottsdale on a special event they were hosting “fashion and entertaining” so I went thru the drill to get some merchandise- little did I know I was about to open an entire store online. May 2021 was the event it was amazing and a great success. www.shopcblifestyle.com was live and open for business! All from a temporary apartment we were living in. Very quickly our second bedroom was packed and I was looking for a “studio”. I was looking for months and nothing seemed right and a real estate person asked me to see Brentwood Town Center. I knew right away this was it. I was all a sudden opening a retail store. SO everything pretty much came full circle 360 from my days as a kid at my Dad’s store. Voila. Here I am in Brentwood.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think my novel before kinda lends itself to my long road! I never had a grand plan for any of my stages of my career but each move seem to flow from one step to the next.
Actually opening the store was a quick move and it was pretty smooth in terms of moving. I pretty much moved in like it was an install for a party. 1, 2, 3 were open and ready!
Stressful only because I didn’t have the help needed. My boyfriend has been amazing. I’m so lucky how much he does for me on the sidelines…my friend Deb was on the floor pricing things, my oldest best friends flew in and surprised me from Memphis for the opening just to run the registers, but the fact is we opened and it’s me now with very part-time help.
I am the buyer, the marketing dept, the accounting dept, the creative, the florist the cleaner, the salesperson, I have had part-time staff which is helpful but getting committed and interested staff has been the biggest hurdle.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about CB Lifestyle?
We are a retail store with a focus on entertaining at home. I carry lots of tabletops, dinnerware, stemware, flatware, candles and accessories. Gifts and decor. I am known for a finely curated collection of goods from all over. We carry the finest goods like Ginori, Vista Alegre, Lobjet, Kim Seybert, Mottahedeh, Sabre, Cap Deco, Alain ST Joanis-known names and other names not so recognizable. I would say I have a fine tune eye so I search high and low and we intersperse the luxury goods with more mainstream items too.
My experience working in people’s homes as an event planner- of all different styles enables me to understand and offer a varied selection of styles.
I really work one on one with the customers. They send me photos, bring their mom’s dishes in and we update them to make the look their own. It’s very personal helping someone with things in their home or a personal event. 20 years of events and entertaining at home since I was literally 16 years old… I have a lot of tips and tricks. I can barely figure out how to turn on the TV with all the remotes, but I can pull together a dinner party in a couple of hours! I have been curating style and entertaining my whole life it’s just what I do.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Our home is our haven. No matter how small or large your space is when you make your surroundings comfortable you feel more comfortable.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @cbealifestyle
- Facebook: CBealifestyle
Image Credits
CB photo by Public 311
