Goodbye to Savers Dandenong

Just a reminder - Savers Dandy closes TOMORROW. I am not impressed that my closest Savers is moving, but can't do much about it I suppose! I already shopped up a storm there a few weeks ago, and have just come back from lots of flea market shopping in Tokyo (pics here and here if you are interested) so won't be going, but check it out if you want some bargains!

Three Great Op Shops Worth the Drive

This turned up on The Age's website today:

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/about-town/three-great--opshops-worth-the-drive-20111214-1ots3.html

Think I'll start casting my net further afield especially as the Savers stores are so picked over.

Weekend Haul

Tommy Hilfiger vest $10.49 - Savers Dandenong (with the 20% student discount available every Sunday)
French Connection cardigan $12.99 - Savers Dandenong (with 20% student discount available every Sunday)

Mirror $10 - Oakleigh Vinnies

Savers 50% off clothing

Monday 6 June 2011 - Savers is taking 50% off the marked prices of all clothing. One day only sale! Always very popular so make sure you get in quick to avoid missing a bargain! :)

See www.savers.com.au for more info and store locations.

Savers Savers Savers

Hello lovely op-shoppers. I LOVE this blog and am so excited to be a part of it! I'm a huge fan of pre-loved treasures and am an avid collector of tins, bags and more recently board games. The really old vintage board games are hilarious.

Here are some gorgeous tins I've recently found in Savers.

A litte international flavour for my desk. I especially love the double decker which now holds my jewellery and lip balm @ 99c Greensborough Savers. I use the Saks 5th Avenue tin to keep all my bobby pins safe (they are always disappearing!) @ $1.99 Brunswick Savers.

This is one of my favourite tins. Its tiny at 6cm high. I keep my wooden tacks inside. Too Cute @ $2.99 Mill Park Savers.

Visit me to see my other favs!

Savers.. and Salvos.. and Vinnies.. AND Uniting Care..

Did anyone else go to the Savers 50% off (clothing) sale yesterday? As usual at their sales, I hardly bought anything, but I did get this glass painting of a tiger for $12.99. Tacky, but cool. 

I also got a skirt there for only $2.50 thanks to the sale, but it's pretty formfitting and without a person in it you can't tell what it looks like, so if you're dying to know, head to my blog in the next few days as I will eventually put an outfit shot up.

It actually took me a while to get to Savers because I hit the three other big op shops in Dandenong beforehand and really took my time in there. I used to have to rush my visits there as I went on my lunch break, but no longer being employed at my former workplace, and having just completed a huge translating job, I was in the mood to spend, spend, spend. And I did! Here you see most of my purchases:

I won't go into detail about the clothes as I will do outfit posts on my own blog at some point, suffice to say I found an AMAZING long pink wool skirt for $8 at Uniting Care which you can just see under everything else, plus a brand new blue cardigan made of 100% merino wool for $8. Also at UC I got this tray thing for $4. The guy working there told me it was for threshing rice, but it's too heavy and awkward for that. Any idea what it could be?

 

Maybe just something ethnic looking that was made in China and sold at one of those interior stores, but I have a feeling it was used for something agricultural/culinary. I might use it for a tabletop.

I also got this cool black leather handbag at UC for $6. 

Also Le Specs "Roller Disco" sunnies for $2!! (Quite happy about that, although if I were being picky I would have said I preferred red ones).

At Vinnies I got two batik hankies for $1 (I looooove batik), a voile scarf for $1, and some books for $1-$2 each. Also a linen jacket for $8 and a dress which was free because there was a deal on summer clothes (two for one, or something like that, I didn't pay attention so it was a nice surprise when I got to the counter).

At the Salvos I got some jewellery for a few dollars and also found a black ceramic cat for $1.99. I already had two but got this one anyway, and now it's like my cat couple have a kitten. Aww. (I actually saw another set of these cats at Savers later, but they were more like $5 each and not in such great condition).

 

So all in all a very successful and exciting day, although now I have to actually work out where all this is going to fit in the house!

Savers sale 7th March!

It's 50% off clothing at Savers on 7th March, woo hoo! Doors open 8am, close 9pm. Mark it in your diaries now!

I scored at Savers Mill Park

Some of you might have already seen my post about what I ended up getting after the catwalk show at Savers Mill Park on Wednesday night, but I wanted to say a little bit more about what I got and have some questions for you too so am putting things up here as well. 

As part of the modelling deal, I ended up keeping my outfit (which you can see on my blog) of a boy's wool jumper ($3) and a suede fringed skirt and top ($20), here's the top, which will require much thought, attitude and - in practical terms - some thonging to go through the loops at the back if I am ever to wear it. A serious challenge, but they kind of made me take it as it was part of the set.

 

I also kept the Italian leather heels that I wore with the outfit, but had to pay for them ($10), and got some accessories for $1 each.

 

I also found this fabulous shoe horn with a monkey figure on the top. He was $3 (well, $2.99, but who's quibbling?) and made in Japan.

 

He looks like wood but is actually plastic. I love the detail with the bow tie and how the plastic is coloured to make it look like well-worn wood. Bit of a pity that he's missing an eye but that didn't put me off.

 

Has anyone ever seen anything like this and do you have any idea how old it would be? I'm guessing it was from about the 60s-70s. Look at his back with his little tail.. isn't it sweet?

Another reason that I'm doing this post here as well as on my own blog is to find out about this embroidered picture. Gina E commented on my original post that she has three of these that she got from her mother in law. 

This picture has the phone number and address (in Moorabbin) for the framers on the back, and the number is only six digits long (two at the start and four at the end) as opposed to our eight-digit ones now. That alone makes me think it must be at least from the 70s if not earlier, does anyone know when Melbourne still had such short phone numbers, which would give me a clue as to the age of the picture? The strange thing is though, that the number is printed on a gold label in excellent condition, and I don't think gold adhesive labels were around much earlier than the 70s... it's a kind of mystery!

Savers Mill Park is GO!

Savers Mill Park opens TODAY!! Get excited! I was at the official opening last night, working the catwalk as a model, but of course did not get any shots of the fashion show because I was in it. So here are just a few pics of the store - I'll put up a more detailed post later and show you what I got to keep from the fashion show as well as what I ended up buying. 

It was so weird to be in a really neat, tidy Savers store with hardly anyone else rifling the racks, sort of felt like a strange parallel universe... I have to say there seemed to be a better collection of collectibles and retro knick knacky things (like these hairbrushes) than in other stores, and the prices seemed slightly less expensive. But seeing as I don't usually go looking for vintage hairbrushes, I can't really say.

If anyone is after latchhook kits, they have quite a few (randomly specific thing to mention, I know, but every so often I get the urge to consider latchhooking despite never actually ever finishing one). On a more general note, I can't say that I noticed any furniture, maybe they are not offering it at this store.

Anyway, I'll post again on here and on my own blog, so please visit! (By the way, I've got a giveaway running at the moment so check it out if you like to make soft toys).

Crush on coral at Savers

Normally I'm not someone who wears much pink, but I got a double shot of it at Savers Brunswick recently. I found this coral coloured woollen cape for $4.99 and the huge earrings were the same price. If you want to see what the cape looks like in motion, go to my blog!

 

Just a hint about capes - this one happened to be sitting on the rack outside the change rooms because someone must have just tried it on and rejected it (who was that foolish person!?), but I noticed that on the price tag it was categorised as "bed and bath". I found a cape in the Salvos that was put into that category too. I think it might be because neither of the ones I saw were actually tailored, they really are just rectangles with a split up the middle so they look like blankets. Anyway, just a tip for you - if you're looking for a cape, make sure you check out the bed linen and towel section of the op shop, you might just get lucky!

Sacred Heart Video

While looking up Sacred Heart's op-shop opening hours, I stumbled across the organisation's new video about op shops. It's mostly promotional, but I did discover that a lot of their unwanted stock gets picked up by Diabetes Australia and Savers (instead of going to the tip).

Last Finds of 2010

Hi Everyone,

it has been ages since I posted my op shop finds so here I some things I picked up this week. I got this Ladakh dress at Dandenong Savers for $14.99, and I got the belt ages ago for like $2 from an op shop in Mornington. I got the bag on the left from Noble Park Salvo's - it is a brown leather Nine West bag and it only set me back $4.99! The bag on the right is from Savers Dandenong and it cost me 6.99 - best bit is that it is an Hermes! (well, a pretty good knock off if it isn't actually the real deal!)

Me and my big mouth

... so I went to Savers as I had said I would last Wednesday, but did not get to look in the storeroom. Sorry to get your hopes up (and mine)! And sorry if you are a size 9 or 10 in shoes as I took nearly every pair... well, it's your own fault for having model-sized feet, I took them because I need to use them in the fashion show for Fair@Square this coming weekend.

I get to do another Savers raid this week as us fashion show coordinators are also styling the mannequins for the Savers tent at the Fair@Square festival. Please come and check it out, it would be great to see you at Fed Square!

Inciting envy in the hearts of op shoppers everywhere

Another short one from me, and no pictures at all! The reason for this is because this is a teaser post... tomorrow I get to live the dream and visit the Savers warehouse in Brunswick. I will get to cruise the racks in the store and the warehouse to pick out outfits to use in a fashion show and stall at the Fair@Square festival (Dec 11 and 12 at Fed Square in Melbourne, it is free so come along!). Hopefully I will be allowed to get pics of this momentous occasion and post them for your vicarious enjoyment!!

Savers Haul + More!

At yesterday at the 50% off all clothing sale at Savers I picked up a few great bargains! I also took the chance to visit a few other op shops. First stop was Savers Frankston where I picket up a tan H&M coat for $5, a black Bardot coat (pictured) for $6.50, a sportsgirl tshirt for $5, a Rusty tshirt for $5, a Pierre Cardin tie and a silk Liberty tie both for $5 (pictured).

We then checked out the RSPCA op shop in Frankston, and I found these vintage Oroton sunglasses (pictured with the ties) for only $1!

Next stop was Savers Dandenong where I only picked up a black London Fog coat with military style button detailing (pictured) for $6.50.

We then checked out the National Jewish Womens Association op shop on Hawthorn Rd, Caulfied where I picked up 2 books for $1 each (pictured - 'The Woman of Rome' and 'Montana 1948')

We then popped over to Oakleigh Vinnies and I picked up the other books pictured (between 50c and $2 each)

What did everyone else pick up at the Savers sale yesterday??

Savers sale this Monday!

Not much explanation needed really. You know the drill. 8am-9pm, 50% off clothing only. Get excited NOW! (Oh, and do you want to win a Savers voucher? You do? You'll have to fight me for it, but I like a bit of competition... Go here where there is a $50 voucher up for grabs - and check out the rest of the site too... yes, this is a shameless promotion for Fair@Square festival for which I am helping to run a fashion show!!)

SAVERS 50% CLOTHING SALE

Savers are having a 50% off clothing sale on Monday 15th November from 8am-9pm.

Finds From Yesterday

Ring $2, Noble Park Salvos

Inside of bag
Pale pink skirt, $4.99, Noble Park Salvos; Leather clutch $4.99, Dandenong Savers

Coat $7.99, Dandenong Salvo's (the one near Savers closer to the city centre)

Handy Storage Finds

I always seem to get my necklaces and earrings all tangled up, so when I saw these two items I knew they'd come in very handy!

The one on the left I got on Monday at Dandenong Salvos for $5, and the one on the right (which I assume was one of these mobile phone holder type gadgets that come and go) from Greensborough Savers a few weeks ago for only $1!

All fine and Dandy-nong

Despite knowing that Savers was having a sale on Monday, I couldn't restrain myself last Friday and hit Uniting Care and Vinnies in Dandenong (well, I had to warm up for the Savers sale, right?). I got a few things which I haven't taken pictures of yet and which look horrible on me at the moment anyway so I'll post about them on my own blog once I've altered them.

I also got this cute little brown wool cape for $5 at Vinnies - for once I bought something that is fine as-is, although I am considering adding some leather buttons which I found at Vinnies Ferntree Gully a while ago... or should I just leave it like this? (Full outfit pic here)
Seeing as I didn't end up getting anything exciting at the Savers sale on Monday, here are two recent purchases from there that ARE exciting...
Clip-on earrings in the shape of leaves with acorns on them (or berries, as they don't seem to be oak leaves, so why would they be acorns?) for $4.99:

A potholder (on the reverse of the label it says this brand make teacosies so it's my uneducated guess that this might be quite old, as I don't recall seeing new teacosies anywhere recently) which I think was about $2.
I love the retro print and colours, but obviously the person who donated it didn't, as the packet hasn't even been opened!