National Thrift Store Day is on August 17th and Women In Need is celebrating it by continuing to give back to the community through partnerships with ‘thrift influencers’, such as myself. I was contacted by WINS’ PR team and invited to host a ‘how to thrift’ session at one of the WINS thrift store locations.
Women In Need has always held a special place in my heart. It was my mom’s favourite thrift shop and was always a stop on our list of errands to do. When she passed away, her ‘unofficial will’ stated that anything our family and her friends did not want for themselves, she would like donated to Women In Need. We donated over 20 garbage bags full of clothing, shoes, and accessories to WINS on her behalf, and I continue to donate to them now.
Beyond that, though, WINS is an amazing place to buy decor and furniture for styling your home. I find myself stopping in at least once a week to score trendy, neutral decor for staging – and sometimes I hit it big with Le Creuset pot holders worth $100 that I pick up for $3, or beautiful ceramic pillar candle holders with a $45 Pottery Barn sticker still on them and a WINS $3 sticker over top. I curate items of all types that I deem to be worthy of my client’s homes and either use them for occupied staging jobs or selling for design projects.
And so, when I got the call to support WINS in their National Thrift Store Event, which was actually being held on August 14th from 11am – 2pm I didn’t hesitate for a moment. And when, after accepting, they offered me a spot on the news to be interviewed about the event, I felt truly grateful.
Here is the Global News Morning Thrift Store segment:
I will be at the Fisher Street location (my favourite decor thrifting location) and during the event I will be meeting 1 on 1 with local Calgarians to teach them how to shop for decor and furniture for their own homes and projects. We will go over why thrifting is perfect for interior design, the types of items to purchase for both staging your listing and designing your home, and some brand names to look out for should there be hidden gems worth far more than their price tag.
As a sneak peek, here are a few top tips when thrifting for decor for staging and design:
- Glass Jars with Lids: You can fill small glass jars with cotton balls, cotton swaps, Epsom salts, and other bulk items and use them for styling your bathroom. Large glass jars are hard to come by, but if you do find some they are wonderful for storing laundry detergents and dryer sheets in your laundry room. Very insta-worthy.
- Hard Cover Books: I am always looking for super cheap larger hardcover books. Remove the dust cover and take a peek at the hardcover itself. If it is a nice neutral colour, it will be perfect for styling shelves. You can use these to stack (either spine or pages side out – depending on the colour you need), and top with your favourite figurines and souvenirs. If you google ‘#selfie’ you will see lots of examples of styling shelves, and most have horizontally stacked hardcover books.
- Picture Frames: You often have to come back a few times to find what you need, but I have lucked out with some pretty amazing ornate frames from WINS. Gold metal oval frames, clean white beveled IKEA frames, rustic wood frames – you name it, you can find it for less than $1 (usually only $.50). If you are doing a gallery wall, these frames come in handy for putting around art (paper and 3D if you pop the glass off). Keep an eye on the larger artwork pieces too – the artwork may be ugly, but the frame is likely worth a lot and you can repurpose it!
For more information about the event, visit WINSYYC.ca.
Hope to see you there!