🎧 She's Making Circularity Accessible -- from Her Actual Brooklyn Stoop

NEW Pre-Loved Podcast 🎤 with vintage collector and event producer, Hilliary Bianca Salamanca of Circle of Friends

Nov 10, 2025

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When Hilliary Bianca Salamanca graduated with her master’s in sustainability, everyone was asking her the same questions: How do I shop more sustainably? Where do I find good vintage for my home? What brands are really circular?

At the same time, she was meeting incredible people working in the sustainability space — artisans, designers, dealers, innovators — but there was a disconnect between them and the consumers who were actively looking for their services.

So Hilliary started The Stoop Series: sitting on her actual Brooklyn stoop, interviewing ‘cool people doing cool things in circularity’:

@hilliaryb

Hilliary Bianca Salamanca | sustainable style on Instagram: "To…

This series evolved into Circle of Friends — a platform for events, conversations, and connections that make circular fashion feel accessible and inspiring. With Circle of Friends, Hilliary elevates the voices of vintage dealers, sustainable brands, and innovators — showing why secondhand should always be the first choice.

But she isn’t just talking about circularity — she’s living it. From pieces passed down from her grandparents to her growing collections of antiques from Brimfield, her entire 1899-era townhouse is furnished secondhand. And she’s built the kind of dealer relationships every collector dreams of — the kind where sellers remember your grandmother’s name, and save special pieces just for you.

These kinds of connections — over vintage and cherished stories — are very much within the ethos of Circle of Friends.

And if you’re a collector yourself, you’re going to love this conversation!

Hilliary shares how she fell in love with vintage markets while studying abroad in Florence. Plus, how she’s restoring her townhouse entirely with vintage and secondhand home decor finds, why she learned furniture upholstery to restore furniture herself, and all about her vintage silver collection for hosting.

It’s a really fun one – let’s dive right in! 👇

“If you compliment something in our home, just know you might then have hear a full story of how it came into my life!”
— Hilliary Bianca Salamanca

DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:

[4:20] Hilliary grew up a fashion-lover, and her first big purchase was saving up to buy a Kate Spade backpack.
[7:44] Her journey into a sustainable fashion career.
[13:14] Starting “Something Borrowed Never New” - her original Substack focused on re-use during wedding season
[17:08] Why she started Circle of Friends and The Stoop Series
[20:37] Conversations that have expanded her understanding of circularity - from fashion to food to home
[26:36] Restoring a 1899 Brooklyn townhouse entirely with vintage and secondhand finds.
[35:07] Her go-to Brimfield fields and vendors
[42:10] How she’s building and using her vintage silver collection for hosting
[48:31] Learning upholstery to restore vintage furniture herself