Listen to the interview here!
Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece. Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Laura Henkel-Sauer with me. Hi, Laura.
Laura Henkel-Sauer: Hi. Thank you for having me, Toni.
Toni: You are quite welcome. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Laura: I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, a small suburb of the area, and I attended school in Germany at the University of Maryland overseas division, where I studied European culture and German. Now I’m a small business owner. My business is Vintage Lace and Table, right here in Berks County. We specialize in vintage china rentals and event styling.
Toni: Thank you so much for showing up for the Get Inspired! Project.
Laura: Thank you.
Toni: Let’s go into the first question. What does inspiration mean to you?
Laura: I find inspiration in many ways. I believe that inspiration is what motivates me to design in a work sense, and I continue to look to my mother as my greatest inspiration. Although she’s not with us any longer, I continue to look to her. She was a wonderful, caring woman who always loved entertaining as well as being a very talented interior designer. My sister and I at a very young age were designing tablescapes in our home and designing our home for large parties and festive occasions. Our table was always the center of our activities, our festivities, because for us, feasting was as important as the festivity. She has inspired me greatly.
I also find inspiration in natural beauty, art, and also in the beautiful and functional objects of the past.
Toni: So what inspiration means to you is it’s almost a legacy. It sounds like your mother. You were inspired by your mother.
Laura: Yes.
Toni: And beauty, right?
Laura: Yes, indeed.
Toni: But when you think about it, inspiration happens for you when you put into action this legacy your mother has left you. That’s what I heard.
Laura: Yes, that’s right. I feel also that this historical aspect of it, it connects me to my family and their past, as many of the pieces that I have are from my family. I find that that has inspired me to have this sustainable. I reuse and repurpose and upcycle pieces, and this has motivated me in a way to form a business philosophy.
Toni: And what is the business philosophy?
Laura: That I believe in reusable, repurposing, and a sustainable business plan whenever possible. I’m happy about that. I also really enjoy seeing people connect to the past, their own past, and using these vintage items at their tables and for their events. I find that they often make comments about a piece being just like their great aunt’s or grandmother’s. They reminisce, and it’s really quite gratifying to see people enjoy these pieces.
Toni: You’ve answered this a little bit in this first answer, but can you give me more examples of how you put that type of inspiration into practice here in Berks County?
Laura: Yes. For events, I work with people to design and create whatever they imagine using these pieces in my collection – china, silver, salvaged vintage pieces, and many other rustic pieces and so on, just to create anything that they are thinking for these events. I find that by reusing them and recycling – even the broken china we will recycle and reuse to perhaps embellish a frame and use that – I find that really gratifying to be able to continue to use these items and keep them out of the landfill.
Toni: That’s important, isn't it?
Laura: Yes.
Toni: Who in Berks County inspires you?
Laura: I think that there are some amazing organizations here in Berks County. I’m very inspired because I feel that hunger affects so many people here, and poverty. I’m really very inspired by the work that the Greater Berks Food Bank does and Peg Bianca, the director there, has been at the helm for so many years, and they’ve really grown that organization. I think even now they are growing into Schuylkill County. That inspires me to want to give more to my community as my business grows.
In a smaller way, one of my associates through a network that I have is Wray Sargent of Through My Garden Gate. She also gives back to her community. She has an organization called the Reading Area Peace Kitchen. They go to all of the farmer’s markets collecting as much as they can, as often as they can, usually monthly or weekly, and collect the produce that’s not used. They will take that and donate that to the different shelters as well as cooking meals for the homeless. They have an event once a year where they have a free meal. It’s a completely free event. I just find that very inspiring, and I would like to grow my business in that way as well where I’m giving back to the community. I do so now in any way I can, but as I continue to grow, they inspire me to want to give back to the community.
Toni: What would you like your legacy to be?
Laura: I think it’s kind of humbling to think about that, actually. I hope that my family and my friends will think of me as somebody who has loved more than is loved, and who has given more than is given. I really hope that new businesses will maybe try to also embrace in their own way sustainability in the ways that they can.
Toni: Thank you so much. What a great answer that was. Thank you for being part of the Get Inspired! Project.
Laura: Thank you, Toni.
