Photography by Yuvie Styles.
How does a nomad make a home?
First off, you buy one that’s been comfortably lived in. Lakewood, with its rolling lawns and massive century-old trees, is a good start. You pick a 70-year-old home that’s had a singular owner for more than 40 years — the kind of house where height markers on a door jamb have stood the test of time.
Then you fill it with items that have been loved at least once before.
For Sara Newman, who grew up in poverty in Michigan, secondhand goods are second nature.
“Shopping at thrift stores was a way of life because it meant survival. As I got older, that became a hobby and an interest,” says 35-year-old Newman.
Her mom taught her how to sew, and thrift stores became a source for materials. She’d chop up her finds and make new items in their basement. At 19, Newman ran away to Los Angeles to pursue a fashion career.
“And when I got there, I realized that I loved the art of it,” she says. “I did not love the industry.”
She started taking classes at a community college to pass the time and joined the speech and debate team. That’s where she discovered speech pathology. The medical field didn’t seem too foreign — her mom is a nurse.
Newman graduated with a bachelor of speech-language pathology at California State University at Northridge before completing a graduate program at George Washington University in Virginia (magna cum laude at both) before moving to Seattle for her fellowship.
Each home was furnished with secondhand goods. With each cross country move, everything would be sold. Then Newman and her husband Kevin would start the cycle again.
In 2018, it was time to put down roots. They moved to Dallas, since Kevin’s family was from the metroplex.
Newman worked at UT Southwestern Medical Center for three years practicing medical speech-language pathology, evaluating and treating communication and swallowing disorders, before accepting a job as a Dallas Opera chief Covid-19 compliance officer. She is currently the opera’s occupational health coordinator — Newman also has a second masters in health care administration from Texas Tech University.
“As doors open, I tend to walk through them,” she says.
During the last six years, the Newmans bought and sold a condo in Lower Greenville, had a son and bought a forever home in the Lakewood Conservation District. They’ve fully embraced Texas — their toddler’s room has Katie Kime Dallas Toile wallpaper featuring Big Tex and Reunion Tower.
“To imagine us living somewhere forever, considering we’ve moved across the country every two years, has been pretty radical,” she says.
Once you’ve committed, you start curating a permanent collection. About 80% of the Newmans’s home is secondhand. Her husband prefers a more modern minimalist look and she favors more vintage maximalist. So for every vintage piece, there’s a more modern piece as a complement to both their styles.
“Because I think when pieces have a storied history, it makes for a far more interesting space,” Newman says. “That does mean that it takes longer to furnish a home because you’re constantly searching for that perfect piece. But the payoff is totally worth it.”
Thrift stores, online auctions, estate sales and Facebook Marketplace are some of places she finds her finds. Once, she bought a batch of 40 paintings in an online auction for $400 and drove down to Collinsville to pick them up. In the mix, there was an original piece by Texas artist Otis Huban, whose work sells for upwards of $10,000. She submitted an appraisal request from Sotheby’s.
“I don’t intend to sell it. I’m going to keep it forever,” she says. “But let me be clear that I don’t believe in conflating value and worth. I think things can be really valuable even if they’re technically not worth anything.”
About two years ago, she started documenting her secondhand adventures on TikTok as @sarathriftsintexas. She amassed a little less than 11,000 followers and is part of the Creator Fund, taking them on monthly day trips to towns like Sherman to explore Dallas shops. Newman has over 100 locations bookmarked on Google Maps.
“What I really wanted to do is help other people understand why secondhand living is a very accessible lifestyle, that it’s affordable and sustainable,” she says.
“But also just an incredibly interesting way to experience history.”
So, how does the Dallas Opera’s occupational health coordinator and a TikTok influencer spend her day?
Well some days, she starts her morning working for the opera. Then she films a video series about how to curate secondhand pieces for spaces. There’s a stop at an estate sale and a stop for ice cream at TCBY with her son. An episode or two of Cocomelon before dress rehearsal for Romeo and Juliet from 5 p.m. – 11 p.m.
“It’s a great lifestyle,” she says.
Her community both virtually and in real life has grown. She met her best friend in Dallas buying a coffee table on Facebook Marketplace, who shared a similar love of estate sales. Their kids are about the same age and seemed like they would be a great option for a playdate. Turns out, her new friend was already following her on TikTok.
Most, if not all, of Newman’s wardrobe is secondhand. One of her viral videos shows her finding a pair of Prada boots. She doesn’t have racks and racks of clothes like some secondhand shoppers, and she prefers contemporary clothes over a vintage look. But she does have a garage full of home furnishings, partly because of leftover items from her now-closed booth at East Dallas Vintage and partly because of her weekly trips.
Pieces that need major work, such as refurnishing, are passed on.
“So often, I come in contact with so many things,” she says. “I’m looking for things that are unique that I’ve never seen before, and may never see again, but also something that I can imagine having a place in my home.”
