Accessories impresario Calley Benoit Belli explains how she started seeking out the cleaning objects not for chores, but for decorating.
My obsession with sponges started when I moved into my own tiny New York apartment in 2014. I didn’t have roommates for once, so everything in the apartment was there because I chose it. I’m very particular about the curation of objects, even down to dish towels and soaps. So, naturally, that trickled down to sponges.
In looking for one, I thought, I don’t want just any sponge. I figured there had to be better options than just the green-topped yellow ones. I wanted something unique that would bring me joy and that was more colorful or a little bit unexpected. Then a good friend of mine who grew up in Seoul traveled back to South Korea and got me a colorful crochet sponge. I was like, My God, this is beautiful! It was red with a blue pinwheel shape in the middle. Later, I went there myself and kept an eye out for sponges—I had to get another suitcase because I got so many!
Photo: Stephanie Gonot
Now, I’ve become the person who likes sponges, and I often get them as gifts. I love how common yet overlooked they are. As the president of lifestyle brand Edie Parker, I’m involved in product development, so I’m always thinking about how to make everyday objects visually fun and unique so that, rather than shoving them to the back of a drawer, you want to proudly display and share them.
When my husband, Ryan, and I got married at our home in Pasadena three years ago, I had to bring out my sponges. They were all in a closet upstairs, so I picked some loved ones and put them in the sponge rack behind our kitchen sink. It was a special milestone, and I thought the things I felt special about should be included, in a way, to create a “me” feeling in our home.
For my birthday this year, Ryan actually surprised me with a shelf in the living room that he made for my sponge collection. And that’s the thing—sponges don’t have to remind you of a chore; they can be something you just appreciate. They might be functional, but they don’t have to be mundane.
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