Treasures For This Week

This is the first time I have contributed to 'I op therefore I am'. I'm feeling a little privilaged right about now.

I love looking at all the things that everyone finds and how much and where they got them. It's so inspirational.

Here a few of my finds in the past week.

Found this straw handbag in almost perfect nick at the Glen Waverley Salvo's for $3.99

These Demonia Mary Jane's in perfect nick at the Rotary Clothesline on Mitchum Rd, Mitchum for $4.50. I was so stoked to stumble across these!

These Nine West shoes for $8.00 at the Vinnies store in Mitchum.

I also picked up some old, hard back classics at the Adra Op Shop in Mitchum for 50cents each. Am finally going to read Doctor Zhivago.

You can read/see more of my op shop treasures by visiting my blog and clicking on the 'op shops' label in the side bar.

Hope you all have a great week and find some fabulous treasures while op shopping!

~ Ky x

Oakleigh Lions Op Shop

Having a job interview just down the road from the Oakleigh Lions Op Shop (in Neerim Road, Murrumbeena, just outside Murrumbeena Railway Station) was too great an opportunity to miss a visit. These Grosby shoes were just the ticket for my clodhoppers, particularly after a disappointing experience a few weeks ago with a pair of shoes (from a chain I won't mention by name) which turned into sieves in the rain. A mere $4 for these black beauties, and I think they've hardly been worn.

A good sized red handbag from a rack all priced at $4. I'm not sure if I'll use this myself, or use it as a canvas and paint on it.

A cute little wooden bowl, for the grand price of a dollar. Destined to be a canvas for ink drawing or perhaps some practice with the wood burning tool.

Venturing further afield

I ventured to a slightly different suburb this week on an errand and decided to check out some new-to-me ops. This painted metal tray is from an op shop in Sandringham, opposite the pub. The back says: "Chatsworth, Derbyshire. Home of the Dukes of Devonshire". A bargain at $1, and the kind lady behind the counter threw in a pair of green knitting needles for free. I was going to use it as a painting surface, but I may keep it as is - it's growing on me.

A round batik table cloth, $4 from an op shop near Moorabbin station. Destined to be refashioned into a full circle skirt.

Background is a black and white sarong, $3 from the op shop in Bay Road, Sandringham (to be refashioned into a skirt or possibly a tunic). Purple flats with gold bows, $2, same shop. The book is Arthur Mee's Book of One Thousand Beautiful Things, $1, same shop (will become an altered book, I think). Black leather handbag, lable inside says Made In Italy, $3, same shop. Two leather belts, $2 each, from the Moorabbin op shop (for an art project/experiment).

Egyptian Mythology, $2 from Vinnies in Crewe St, Oakleigh. Sculpture book, $3.99; Old Macdonald, 99 cents (love the illustrations, I may adapt some for applique); The Wonder Book of Kittens, 99 cents (too cute to leave behind) - all from the Salvos in Atherton Road, Oakleigh.

Free knitting needles from Sandringham op shop, resting on folded Liz Claibourne skirt - a linen/cotton mix, feels lovely and soft - $3, from op shop in Bay Road, Sandringham (destined for embellishing/upcycling with pen, fabric paint and thread). Barbie clock, $1.99 from Salvos in Oakleigh. The lady behind the counter suggested that some lucky little girl would be thrilled to have a Barbie clock - I thought, but refrained from voicing, "Not when I've finished with it!". The clock is intended for, um, refashioning of a sort...

Quite a lovely haul! I did hit another Salvos and a fabric store (no purchases to report), after which I was pretty much op shopped-out. I must make an effort to range a little bit wider than my local oppies in future, that trip was fun.

Do I have an eye?

I found this great bag at the Salvos in Gisborne (15 minutes from Sunbury) for $2.

The more I see it, the more I like the contrasting colours. It's so odd-looking, it talked to me from where it was hanging out with the plain and brown ones.... It said "I'm designer! I'm designer!"

Well, for $2 I thought it would be good reminder of colour inspiration for an out-there quilt. I've got a hen's doo in a week, I will take it along for some fun outfit co-ordination.

Here is the label on the inside.

So, do I have an eye for Kookai? Does it look right? What do you think?

Finally found what I'm looking for

Hello, this is my first post here. In AA meeting style, I'm Hayley, and I'm quite addicted to op shops. Although, I can say that I don't go too overboard and my place isn't filled with things that I don't need because I usually think through everything I buy. I've already been down that cluttersome path and have since gotten a lot better (limited space and money helps).

I often shop for secondhand supplies at op shops (fabrics, notions or garments to reconstruct) for my little clothing line, heidi and seek, for which everything is made from reclaimed materials. In future I'll take some 'before and after' shots of clothing I've bought and reconstructed.

In the meantime, here are my most recent purchases:

Overall shorts for my one year-old daughter
Five sewing patterns to use as packaging for heidi and seek
Faux leather handbag, which is in perfect condition

I love the bag, I haven't seen anything quite like it before. I've been looking for an everyday bag with a long strap for a while now and I'm glad I held out until this one. I'm quite picky with bags - it has to be interesting and unique but not so busy looking that it overtakes my outfits. This was a perfect find for me, although it is a little smaller than I'm used to.

You can find out more about me at my blog, heidi and seek and ethical fashion, which includes outfit posts from my largely secondhand wardrobe.