Christian Travelers Guide

Bright Eyes - Save The Children Midland Op Shop Review

What we thought was going to be a lazy Sunday a couple of weekends ago turned out, as many of you know, into a trek to Midland and Guildford. I have been pushing for a visit to all the lovely curiosity / antique / furniture shops in Guildford for some time and finally hubby suggested we go. Given we'd been unpacking boxes for an age, doing something completely different was totally welcome. I'm only really familiar with Midland from a work perspective and therefore haven’t really had the chance to explore it fully. I know I do love the history it oozes and I can now say I’m a massive fan of the growers markets…possibly that was helped by the fact that I got my bargain $5 Johnson coffee cups as well an opportunity to browse some other seriously cool second hand goodies.

Nath had pointed out a Salvos on our way in, but I excitedly pointed out the Save The Children store RIGHT OPPOSITE where we parked the car. And with Sunday trading now allowing more shops to open, there was categorically no way I would not be popping in!

This particular Save The Children store is bright and bubbly. I loved that there were three vollies working this day, they were all lovely and all dedicated to keeping the store in awesome shape (I did note a matriarch of sorts manning the front counter who, I suspect, keeps the store at its ultimate best heehee!) features all the requisite sections, however on a smaller scale to some of the oppies you may have visited. Not that this is a bad thing, but just as general information for you thrifters, tis a small one. Nath described it as quaint.

Op Shop Rule 18: Small Shop Courtesy I have recently been witness to some pretty, ah, crap behaviour during my op shopping adventures (as I'm sure you all have!) and it never ceases to amaze me how rude some people really can be. Mum and I had an experience recently in a smaller op shop where a woman decided, due to the lack of viewing space, she would just stand right in front of us, and block our way.

The Scorpio in me started to twitch its stinger when I found myself in the same predicament with this lady whilst browsing the clothes. I was, however, able to snicker at her when she dropped a few things (hey, its the small things!!). I also witnessed a woman recently knock several things off hangers due to limited aisle space. She looked at them - looked at me - looked back at them... and then walk away. Sigh.

We all know that some op shops can be small and may also stock heaps at the same time, which can make for a bit of "excuse me, pardon me" to your fellow op shoppers, but if you can work with the old adage of "if it's meant to be yours" then have faith that it will be. Besides karma doesn't reward rudeness haha.

You’ll find all the clothing on the ground/street level – all set out well and eye catching (bright colours are everywhere!) and even broken up into sizes (ie S,M,L,XL etc) which is mighty handy. I know personally, there is nothing worse than finding something awesome and having to put it down again cause the size is all wrong.

And so it’s down here that I found my $5 nanna bird skirt and $3 gold flats, so that meant already I was pretty stoked! I think there is a great range of sizes and labels here, I kind of feel that what the store lacks for in size, it makes up for with a good selection of clothing.

There’s even a section of handmade goodies too, which are made by a local group to help raise funds for the charity. You’ll find a sign pointing you in the direction of these.

There's a small men’s section along the left hand side of the store and Nath did spend a bit of time going through various collared shirts but unfortunately didn’t come away with anything. But there certainly is a choice here.

While I fossicked around in the clothes, I saw Nath head upstairs – which is kind of like a landing, you can see over the little balcony to the downstairs area which gives it its ‘open’ feel. Just a word of warning, the stairs to the landing are quite narrow and steep, but there are plenty of handrails to help you along your way haha. I must say though I didn’t attempt to bring anything back down with me, that had the potential to fly out of my hands and break!

So I too had a good look around the top part which features a small book shelf to your left and then to the right a small selection of bric-a-brac, rugs/material, games, glass/crockery etc. The middle table was done up with a few retro collectables, so I would imagine that changes regularly with new stuff.

This little place had people coming and going during the time we were there, so I think the close proximity to the markets & town centre on Central Avenue, as well as Sunday trading, really works well for this little place. And given it’s an op shop, why wouldn’t you go in??!

I really liked this one, even if it is on the smaller scale. I think that if you’re not from around that area, you may want to make a day of Midland and investigate all the local oppies. However, if you are a local, I can see this one as a good ‘lunch time’ breather (like my Bentley Red Cross)!! Or of course, after Sunday morning brunch.

And while you’re there be sure to check out the grower’s markets too, as you’ll get another hit of thrifty goodness from the second hand stalls & their wares….unless I’ve been there first! Kx

Go For: Cheering up on a Sunday
Try Somewhere Else For: Books

Save The Children
8B The Crescent
Midland
Open Hours: Mon-Fri 9.30am-4pm / Sat-Sun 9.30am-1pm
www.savethechildren.org.au

YOU GOT THAT AT AN OP SHOP REMINDERS!
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