Charity Shopping - bargains galore for 2021!

bsuije

Lovely to be able to read about so many charity shop adventures in recent weeks! I have to say, I really missed the shops and I have a day off this Friday so I've made a list and fingers crossed I'll find something worth reporting back on. 

@goldfinches - that wrapping paper looks great! I'll need to remember to have a look in the Oxfam I'm planning to visit on Friday. 

@Magpie100 - your charity shop game is strong, woman!  I love seeing all your buys on Instagram, too! 

@DigForVictory - I always wanted to ask (and cannot remember if I did previously), but what do you do with all the Denby?! I like to imagine that you run a little Museum of Denby in your garden shed... hehehe  In any case, I love the Denby education - never knew there were so many ranges! 

Btw - my tip for finding charity shops in an area I'm not familiar with (other than asking here, of course) is to type "charity shops near [name of place]" into Google and it usually comes up with a list and shows on the map where everything is. It's not 100% accurate (BHF shop in a residential street with no other shops - I don't think so!) but it does give you a pretty good idea about the general situation. 

gattona_2

Wildrose said:

@gattona_2 You want St John's Street in Bury St Edmunds. One of my American friends calls it The Charity Shop Street. There are a few on Abbeygate Street too. Good bargains to be found. I learnt how to charity shop  in Bury St Edmunds in the 70s when I commonly picked up Edwardian and Victorian clothing and jewellery  for well under a pound. I was stylishly dressed in those days!

Thanks @Wildrose I remember those days of charity shops too.

Pollycat

bsuije said:

Btw - my tip for finding charity shops in an area I'm not familiar with (other than asking here, of course) is to type "charity shops near [name of place]" into Google and it usually comes up with a list and shows on the map where everything is. It's not 100% accurate (BHF shop in a residential street with no other shops - I don't think so!) but it does give you a pretty good idea about the general situation. 

I use yell.com and just search for charity shops in a certain town/city.

You can list by location which is nearest the town/city centre.

It has maps too so you can plan your route.

Wednesday2000

I went back to the hospice shop this morning and bought a lot more. They had a £1 rail of winter clothes and I got a green Monsoon cardigan, a blue and white Primark checked shirt, a dark grey Dorothy Perkins plaid short skirt, a dark blue M&S midi skirt, a dark red short skirt and a grey short skirt. They are winter clothes but I can wear all the skirts in the summer and probably the shirt too. I also got a red dotty long sleeved top but light enough for warm weather and a green hand bag I wanted to buy yesterday.

I think this will be my new go-to shop in the future as they have lots of quality things.

Miró

Came across a couple of nice finds recently - yesterday in the Martin House Hospice Shop I got a Monsoon shruggie-type cardi in ivory cotton with 3/4 sleeves and bow detailing on the back hem and sleeves, BNWT and originally priced at £35....chazza price £4.  Perfect to go with the summer dresses if we ever do get a summer!  Then today in one of the Otley charity shops I found a pair of M & S black, slim bootleg, jersey trousers with a 'secret slimming' thingamidoo skirt round the old tum tum!! Again BNWT and originally priced at £29.50...chazza price £4.95. 

Potternerd

A bumper haul:
Blue Cornishware tea, coffee and sugar jars £4.50 for the 3. Not sure if they are real Cornishware they say Leonardo homeware on the bottom. But they are in excellent condition and are to use rather than collect so delighted.
A pale blue butter soft leather BNWT Boden clutch bag with the tag from the factory that made it for Boden £6.
VGC Chicco lightweight buggy for when DGS comes to visit £15.
Rose gold Converse £5
Ralph Lauren white ruffle fronted short sleeve cotton blouse (a bit Mrs Slocombe) £3
Red and white striped George vest ( a bit Where’s Wally?) 50p
Black t-shirt with Crazy Potter Lady (which I am) in big white writing £2.50.

balabooberlies

Confession,......cannot draw, paint, knit etc to save my life.  Hand eye coordination can be disappointing.

My first charity shop buy ?

Paint by numbers kit !

 

bala 

DigForVictory

DigForVictory - I always wanted to ask (and cannot remember if I did previously), but what do you do with all the Denby?! I like to imagine that you run a little Museum of Denby in your garden shed... hehehe  In any case, I love the Denby education - never knew there were so many ranges!  

You know the Great Wall of China? It's on a hill in Lancashire, hogging space my family are beginning to really loose their sense of humour about. Anyway the Denby lives in storage boxes, walling one corridor & at some stage I will empty it all, sort it & re-home some of the patterns.
Well, the Colourroll years (whilst still splendidly functional) are not as beautiful to me as the years before (which again, are beautiful but also can be a bit odd - a nearly foot high tall pillar coffeepot, I ask you, Arabesque!), and I've no reference book to the years After 1997. So I may be taking photos, writing a beseeching email to Denby & asking if I can have their help writing a spotters buyers guide, or I may just curl up on my hoard like a small plump Smaug. The good stuff just curves into your hand, says she, who has been spotted cuddling pieces as a verification test - not all pieces remain basestamped. (My sons tend to wince somewhat, but recognise shapes, glazes, basestamps etc too. Trained from the pushchair, poor coots.)
I observe my Husband has been rejoicing in easing of lockdown by returning to charity shop amblings & keeps coming home with more finds, but then I weaned him off flowers & onto Denby decades ago... Bless him, in his joy at being back allowed to hunt, he's let the Acquisition Committee rules on price slip, but the charity shops remember him & keep the pots coming... I'm a lucky woman.

C_J

I really love hearing about your Denby hoard and the Acquisition Committee, DfV.  Prior to all these pesky lockdowns, I had started keeping an eye out for Denby in the charity shops and Nettlebed sales - not intending to buy any, but just out of curiosity inspired by your enthusiasm. I think you must be extraordinarily fortunate with your finds, I hardly ever spotted anything! I must have been perpetually in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This morning I had a brief look in the PDSA shop in Kidlington, where I snapped up a couple of lovely bargains - a brand new, unopened DMC cross stitch linen shoulder bag kit, and one of those large dog bowls intended to stop your greedy pooch from gulping down his dog biscuits.  Both just £1 each. The linen will be quite tricky to cross stitch I think as it is a very fine weave, but it looks gorgeous and will be a smashing summer project for me.

Magpie100

@Potternerd rose gold converse? Tell me more! 

Great to read what everyone has been up to. Today I had a big clear out and took lots of bags of donations to one of our 'warehouse'-style charity shops. It's an amazing place - supports a local wildlife reserve, and they price everything at abut £2. I didn't spy anything I wanted there, but then moved onto a warehouse hospice charity in the same industrial park (I must say it is very nice not to have to lug bags of donations too far - these out-of-town shops have excellent parking). 

The hospice shop has a 'designer' section and there I spied a pair of blue brogues that set my senses tingling. First off, they are a 5 and a half, which as well as conveniently being my size, made me immediately think 'quality', based on my new theory that for adults half sizes are only to be found in decent-ish brands. They are a brand called Waldlaufer - which apparently is a brand of German 'orthopedic' shoes! All I can say is I can't wait to be in need of them as they are very nice, and pricey: https://waldlaufer.com/

Am chuffed with these shoes - they were £5 and smart but quirky. Midnight blue with a subtle shimmer. Will chuck them on Insta in a bit if anyone wants a nosy. They have the most comfy soles! 

The 'designer' sorter must have been asleep on the job when my next find arrived - a light blue 100% extra fine cotton by Massimo Dutti, with tan faux patches on the elbows. I say this not because I am actually a snob about these things (well, only a bit), but because they class Next, Topshop and Zara as 'designer' in this shop, so old Massimo certainly was mis-priced as he was a bargainous £2. A great find for this time of year as it is such lovely thin, fine cotton. 

and finally a shocking pink vest top, BNWT, which comes to me all the way from Australia: https://fellahamilton.com.au/hedrena_landing

The top is merino wool, and a large, so it will be slouchy and oversized on me. I LOVE the fact that it has been inspired by an Australian sheep farm, and also that it was also £2, which is madness when you look at the prices on their website. It feels so nice - really lovely quality for the summer. 

Happy hunting this long weekend! M100