Thrift Stores:
Unique, Unique Thrift - 3000 S Halsted St
Unique has some really cool stuff, and they have really good value days (Half-Price Mondays). Its in the average thrift store pricing range. A lot of their merch seems a degree more sorted and preselected for the customer. I found a really old copy of the adventures of doctor Doolittle, with the original illustrations. It was $2, which is steeper than what I’m used to in thrift stores.
Village Discount, 2032 N. Milwaukee by the Western Blue Line stop
I wasn’t very impressed with the selection at Village Discount, although it was pretty inexpensive (2-5 dollars for blouses). For me – I think I appreciate finding unusual stuff, and the day I went, it seemed like pretty generic stuff. A lot of mall-brand name clothing. It seemed very preselected to me.
They do have different colored tags, so half-price on a lot of items. But I couldn’t really find anything appealing. I think its probably a good place for practical items, but I rarely go to thrift stores for that reason.
Salvation Army on Salvation Army - 2024 S Western at Western Pink Line Stop
This place is pretty tiny, and seems a little dirty (it smells a little like mildew) but! It can be a treasure trove of unusual and interesting finds! And its mostly dirt cheap! I have found many incredible vintage hats (50c-1.50), very unusual books (hardbacks are 50c each), and just strange things I may be able to incorporate into art (such as large baggies of gold doilies, or stacks of round plastic cups). All for very low prices. It almost pains me to inform anyone about it. It’s the closest thrift store to me, and at my CTA stop, so I have frequently explored it. Sometimes, it feels like an archeological dig. You may have to spend a long time to find something interesting or of value. The clothing are oddly priced – some dresses are priced at $20, others at $3, with no apparent system to the purchaser. Also – after going a few times, you can kind of tell when they get a huge amount donated from one individual or family. Sometimes they get a huge amount of toys in, or boxes and boxes of books and records, obviously belonging to the same library, or suddenly have a large amount of church lady hats. The more unique things are, the lower they seem to be priced (referring to random objects and clothing).
An unrelated note: It functions in rehabilitation process for people in the punitary system. The workers are often working off probation. Most are very friendly.
Goodwill Outlet Store, in Milwaukee, Oregon
Nicknamed “The Bins”.
I visited ‘The Bins” while I was in Portland for a weekend.
This is basically set up like an enormous rummage sale, housed in a warehouse that is full of bins, full of random stuff, all piled together. It is where all of the stuff that wasn’t deemed acceptable by the regular Goodwill stores, or did not sell for whatever reason, go, before they are shipped to other countries (as rags) or sometimes to the landfill. It also functions as donation center. Almost everything at “The Bins” is priced by the pound ($1.39 per pound). Furniture / bicycles are priced separately. It’s another one of those places where you have to invest a lot of time, and get a little dirty, in order to find anything, and its one of those places that you can find unbelievable treasures. The customers range from “pickers”, who are looking for stuff to sell (I have a picker friend who found a paper dress, in its original sealed bag, and sold it for $1000), to people who are curious, to people who go for the fun of the hunt, to people who are definite hoarders. I didn’t have the time, or inclination to really hunt, but I did find a garden gnome for a friend who collects them. It was a couple of bucks. The other thing about Oregon is there is no sales tax!
FreeGeek Thrift Store, 1731 SE 10th Avenue, Portland Oregon
FreeGeek is the raddest place on earth if you have any amount of geeky nerdy computer / hardware tinkering personality traits! It’s a non profit, that will reuse old computer hardware, reconstructing and donating materials to schools (they make computers out of busted computers for people in need. You can volunteer / intern with them, and you can learn how to build your own computer while you are there – which you get to take home with you! The thrift store is a geek paradise, (or art and tech, or just artist) with chips, and monitors, all the hardware, keyboards, tvs, – and weeeird stuff! I went a couple of times when I lived in Portland. They are way into promoting the UBUNTU philosophy.
SCRAP Thrift Store Portland Oregon
SCRAP started as a little hole-in-the-wall in Portland – now its branched out to other states! It’s a thrift shop of scraps – art supply thrift store. You can donate there – stuff that as artists we might recognize as valuable materials for reuse, but most people might throw away or recycle but aren’t your run of the mill egg carton (its always different – but examples are weird tubing, beakers, hot air balloon material). Prices vary, but an armful of goodies could be a dollar or two, depending on the materials. The purpose is to promote material reuse, community art, and as a conduit for materials that are collected for donation to schools for art classes. Its really cheap, and fun, and always has new stuff, that in the context allows you to see the potential as material. They also display objects that are made by the products available, to provide a context. I went on a Monday– oops! They were closed L but it was exciting to peak in.
The Rebuilding Center and Hippo Hardware, Portland
Used building and remodeling materials. I may be living on a houseboat someday, and creating an internet radio station (hence the tinkering with gadgets and gizmos at FreeGeek). I’m not kidding – this is my plan – to have a goat and honeybee farm, near to some body of water, upon which I will be living in a houseboat (with a treehouse studio nearby). So my thrifting has become oriented toward the practical, and the D.I.Y. approach. One of the best placesto find THRIFTSTORES that cater to really bizarre needs, and the D.I.Y. approach is Portland. Two such places are the Rebuilding Center, and Hippo Hardware. I used to frame my paintings in old windows I would buy for a couple of bucks a piece at REBUILDING CENTER. The idea is – they harvest scraps from remodeling projects that would otherwise be thrown out, and sell them. Windows, doors, bathtubs, sinks…..you name it. Hippo has a whole floor dedicated to lamps and lighting fixtures. Another one for plumbing….The employees at both places are really informed and helpful. Plust – they are really great places to find stuff for art projects – installations, and scrap for sculpture – I found a bunch of stuff for my welding class a few years ago. Prices are generally more reasonable at REBUILDING – everything is in it’s scrapped form, and you can bargain – especially if you buy a lot of stuff at once. HIPPO is a little higher end, and more specialized.
NOT QUITE THRIFT
Fat Rabbit Halsted in Pilsen, Chicago
My friend Feather runs this place. One of those conduit places – a lot seems acquired from thriftstores, but the pricing is pretty reasonable – so the issue of “feeling ripped off” doesn’t happen. Its kind of fun and funky, with vintage clothes, and thrifted objects – posters, paintings, a few mid-century modern pieces – there’s always hip music, and art shows.
FLEA MARKET
EAGLES Lodge in Portland
Hosts an indoor flea market, TWILIGHT RUMMAGE SALE once a month – on a Saturday, with live DJs. It is in the early evenings, (4pm to 8 pm) and has room for about 20 vendors. They ask for a dollar donation to get in. Prices range considerably. A lot of mid-century knick knacks, jewelry, record albums - some artists and crafters rent a table to sell their wares. Most people doing this flea market seem to be regular vendors – they know what they have, generally, but you can still bargain. They rotate the vendors, because there is so little space, so each month is a new group, which is pretty cool. They also rotate the DJs, so each event is different. The nights tend to be pretty busy - it’s a fun atmosphere – with the live DJing, and the EAGLES bar and restaurant, so you can walk around sipping a beer and listening to music. I didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to walk around. I was interested in a few old photos, but they weren’t catching my fancy enough to splurge (he was asking 3 bucks a piece – for me that’s pricy!)
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