Willow & Twig

I came across the Final Cut Instagram account nearly four years ago. The account feed was populated with snapshots of discounted furnishings and decor from Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters and Terrain. The beautiful pieces looked dingy against the backdrop of the neon-lite warehouse, but it was clear I had just stumbled upon a treasure trove of deals. Prices started at 60 percent off retail.

The downside? Final Cut was located in Augusta, Georgia. I racked my brain for reasons to make the pilgrimage. To sweeten the temptation, Final Cut sporadically has flash sales where items are marked at an even deeper discount. For example, this past weekend they offered anything red, white or blue for an additional 40 percent off the discount pricing.

Fast forward to 2020 when two things happened. First, Final Cut announced they would open a popup sale once a month at an URBN (the mother brand) distribution center in Indiana (insert excitement), a small town in Pennsylvania (insert confusion). Yes, there is a small town tucked in the hills of PA called Indiana. Very confusing. But it was a mere 7 hours from Grand Rapids.

The new location was announced at the same time Simeon and I were working through negotiations for our latest fixer upper. It just so happened one month earlier Simeon, in the heat of a competitive mini-golf game, had bet me a a trip to Final Cut if I made the last hole-in-one. Guess who supernaturally became an excellent mini-golfer? Me.

About the same time everything closed due to Covid. Furniture stockpiled at the warehouse and when Final Cut announced it’s reopening sale in June, merchandise was an additional 50 percent off. Yes. 60 percent off, and then an additional 50 percent off. Mind blowing.

Conveniently, Lena — my adventurous friend from college — had also just had an offer accepted on a house. She lives in Cleveland, a quick three hours from Indiana (Pennsylvania).

I rented a car, drove five hours to Cleveland, stayed the night. Lena and her equally fun sister-in-law, Jenna, and I drove three hours to the Uhaul rental next to the URBN warehouse. I picked up the Uhaul, and arrived at the warehouse an hour before the sale opened. Here’s what I found:

200 people also interested in deeply discounted furniture. Within an hour the line grew to 500 or more people.

Honestly, if this had been a local sale, I would not have stayed. But because we had made the trek, we waited 4.5 hours and a free sunburn to get in.

The Sale… Alllll the Details

Now to the part you actually care about. How was the sale?!? By time we got in, the inventory was already picked over. Additionally, there were little to no vases, lighting, linens and decor, while the Augusta location carries ample. Regardless, I did find some steals:

Remember, these prices include the additional 50 percent off, so on an average day pricing would be double (still a sweet deal for many of these pieces).

Now, who wants to road trip to Augusta with me? (Kidding. Not kidding. Definitely not kidding.)