Despite its website’s tagline, there’s a sense that Savoy’s Objects is about much more than luxury vintage and home decor. Aside from the unique vintage items available, there are candles for sale that benefit the IFundWomen initiative and photos of iconic Black women prominently featured on the Instagram page. 

With a pandemic in full force, Reegan Houston found time to think about color, texture, shape, and how they intersected with her passion for home decor, fashion, and music. Out sprang Savoy’s Object, a shop devoted to refined luxury and historical context. 

“Both are of equal importance when sourcing a piece. For us, one cannot be present without the other. There has to be a certain level of luxury that fits within our brand, but the story behind that piece has to meet its aesthetic at the same level,” she said. 

Focusing on the middle of the twentieth century, Reegan sticks to a rubric when deciding what to source. First, “the curvature and femininity of a piece.” Then, it’s the era (60’s, 70’s, 80’s) and finally, a maxim to live by: “if we can't live without it and want it in our own homes.” Every month, nine objects are released with an accompanying playlist featuring artists like Alice Coltrane and Roy Ayers. The vibe is at once emphatically aesthetic and deeply reverential.  

“Since we source from a few specific decades, it has a direct correlation with each other. It's almost like Adam & Eve (if you believe in that sort of thing). One begets the other. The aesthetic of what we like highlights the historical context of why we are interested,” said Reegan. 

Houston sees the future as “a more refined version of the past” and the vintage industry as a perfect opportunity for educating the public on the culture that gives these objects greater meaning. She also appreciates the way reaching back into the past could help us out now. 

“Quite honestly, and this may be a bit dramatic, but I believe that [the vintage industry] is in many ways saving the world. The heaps of wasteful practices that have been taught to us are being stifled somewhat due to the industry. It is one industry that is (for the most part) sustainable,” said Houston. “... it definitely recontextualizes historical memory by maintaining it outside of its original confines. It's a brilliant industry that I am super proud to be a part of.”

As for Houston’s future, she plans to release original pieces from Savoy’s Objects that might one day be considered luxury vintage and home decor. You should probably expect a few playlists too.