Stylephile: ReFind

Refreshed, repurposed and recycled finds for the home.

ReFind owner Zsa Zsa Stackles
“I’m promoting a business in a town that was completely devastated—literally washed away,” owner Zsa Zsa Stackles says. “I believe in my heart that I was led here.”
Photo by Andy Foster

After more than three decades as a hair stylist, Zsa Zsa Stackles was ready for a change. A natural-born artist, she often helped friends and family with their decorating, landscaping and painting projects. “I’ve always had a creative side,” Stackles says.

After about a year of painting small furniture items for a friend’s store, it suddenly came to her: She would open a shop of her own.

Stackles, a Wall Township resident, launched ReFind in June 2014 in Sandy-ravaged Bay Head. “I’m a proponent of promoting the community,” Stackles says. “I’m committed to helping rebuild.”

ReFind’s mission is threefold: support local artists, whose work Stackles displays and sells; offer art classes for all ages; and create a unique retail environment with wares that change almost daily. The inventory includes tables, chairs, lamps, decorative accessories and collectibles such as figurines and art objects. All goods in the store, save for the original artwork, are recycled and carefully curated. Stackles has cobbled together a trusted army of pickers who scour flea markets and bring her their finds.

The 750–square–foot shop, which Stackles affectionately calls “very Gertrude Stein-y,” features an ever-changing array of one-of-a-kind items. “That’s the fun of it,” she says. “When it’s gone, it’s gone.” 

Popular items include maritime maps, accent furniture and scrap-metal sculptures. The store is open year-round. During the slow winter months, Stackles turns her energy to art classes and community projects like the giant “community loom,” woven with the help of local school children and passers-by.

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