Speaking of Brunswick. If you're after plain, white cotton T shirts, I saw a heap of them at the Brotherhood in Brunswick for about $1 each. New, mid weight and not seconds. Good for tie die, sleeping in, or just wearing. Can't beat that price for pure cotton.

Coathangers + Green Collective + Introduction!

Hey everyone! I'm coldlight, a new contributor to this lovely blog!! I am a student and a crazy op shopper so hopefully i'll be able to post my findings quite regularly from now on :)

Last week I visited the Green Collective, which has a store at 318 Victoria St, in Brunswick just off Sydney Rd. It's relatively new and used to be called Eekos. I don't think it's on the op-shop list yet. Anyway it has a big range of environmentally friendly/sustainable products, things like fair trade coffee and chocolate, and also handmade items and items made locally. It also has a nice selection of second hand clothing, shoes, books, toys, etc.
I ended up buying a whole bunch of plastic coathangers they were getting rid of, they were 10 for $1. I bought 10 normal ones and also 10 ones that have clips on them. I have way too many clothes in my closet, and a girl can never have too many coathangers! I went there again today and there are still some left if you get in quick :)

I also went to the Don Bosco Op shop on Sydney Road and I found quite a few of these hideous looking yellow tops, for $1 each. Normally I wouldn't look twice at these kinds of tops, but I thought they would be perfect for a costume that I was making! My friend's 21st was on Saturday and she had a "Superheros and Supervillians" theme, so I decided to go as the Silk Spectre I (from Watchmen). The yellow tops I found were surprisingly very similar to part of the character's outfit, so I bought 3 of the tops so I could use the fabric. Love being resourceful and it was cheaper than buying yellow fabric! (pics of the final result of the costume will be up on my blog soon!)

When I got home I checked the original intact price tags and the tops were originally being sold in stores for $109. Yes $109! They had then been reduced to $55, then $25, then $5 until the poor things finally ended up in the op shop selling for $1 each. No wonder, really! But it does make you think about how expensive clothes can be priced as, even when the design and quality is not that great at all!

Well that's all from me for now, hope this first post was appropriate enough.
You'll hear from me again soon and feel free to check out my blog Sweethearts and Celebrations!
Love, coldlight

Huntin', shootin' 'n' fishin'

I'm not really into the whole huntin', shootin', fishin' thing as such, but I find myself strangely attracted to images from that (probably) imaginary world that I loved so much in novels of the early twentieth century, that seemingly quintessentially English world of grand houses and weekend parties that always featured a hunt. Or Agatha Christie's stories of English drawing rooms and high body counts. This tablecloth came from Dandenong Savers for the princely sum of $4 (after Sunday student discount). I think it's printed damask, a nice weight.

I'm not sure if I'll keep it as a tablecloth, or treat it as fabric (as I do many of my op shop treasures - I gravitate instantly towards the textiles, and then the books) and transform it into a garment. It would make a great skirt or blouse, if I can creatively cut it to use as much of the pattern as possible.

Brotherhood bargain bin.

In my weekly visit to the Brotherhood shop in Eltham, I found a couple of small goodies. A friend likes wicker and cane stuff, so I bought this basket to show her, figuring for $2 if she doesn't want it, I'll just re-donate it back to the opshop!


Couldn't pass up this kitty vase for 50 cents, and the single aqua ear ring for 20c, which I'll keep in the button jar for use on patchwork projects.

St Vincents - Hoppers Crossing

Just a quick post to let you all know that St Vincent's Op Shop  (10 Costas Drive, Hoppers Crossing) are open on Sundays from 11am (not too sure it could be 10am) to 3 pm. This is the only op shop, that I know of, which is open on Sundays AND their items are still reasonably priced!

Do you know of any other op shops that are open on Sundays? If so do tell!

Till next time...

VF

P.S. I'm holding my first ever giveaway! Make sure you enter at http://www.vintagefokus.blogspot.com/

The Op-Shop ladies of Emerald Hill

Before I became a stay at home Mum, I worked in South Melbourne. I would visit the Emerald Hill Op-Shop at least once a week and found quite a few bargains over the years. I dropped in when I was last in South Melbourne, which I think was some time last year. The shop had changed and it was quite pricey. I found this movie on ABC iView all about the ladies that have run the shop for years.
You can see an excerpt here.

Books and a sheet

An unexpected op shop visit to the Red Cross Shop in the mall in Oakleigh yielded this pretty floral sheet for $5. I'm going to use it for fabric - I've already created a lined wrap skirt for my Etsy shop, and there's still quite a bit left to make something else.




Vinnies in Crewe Street, Oakleigh, is great for books. Au Revoir by Mary Moody (once a presenter on Gardening Australia) made me want to run away to France, too (mind you, I'd run away to almost anywhere I'm so keen to go travelling again!). The red book is a great basic guide to knitting, in the Pelham Craft Series (I have another of these on soft toy making) and published in 1973. It might actually encourage me to learn a couple of new stitches and make something other than socks and scarves! Each of these was a mere $1.