You’ve goat to love this charity shop…

I saw this brilliant story via my RSS feed the other day and had to share, while taking the opportunity to write a groan-worthy punning headline.

The folks at Age UK and Age International have been trying to raise awareness of how charity donations can help older people overseas in developing nations. So they did what comes naturally. They put goats in a charity shop in Romford, Essex. Obviously.

Image © Age UK

Yes, I know. Goats! I would have loved nothing more than meeting a little fella while browsing for bargains… Heee!

Check out this wee guy eyeing up a floral number. I suspect he probably wants to eat, rather than purchase, the skirt.

Image © Age UK

Age UK and Age International made a point to show that goats, like the ones pictured above, cost just £18 and can provide milk, fertilizer and a valuable source of income to an older person in a developing country. That is a good deal in anyone’s books.

So I have to say that I think this is a brilliant way to help raise awareness of donating to charity and helping people at home and abroad with your cast offs.  For example, a dress that sells for a fiver in the charity shop could buy a chicken for an older person in a developing country. Amazing!

Image © Age UK

As I am a big fan of donating your old goods, this little campaign has warmed my cockles good and proper. What you do think? Fancy meeting a goat one day on a rummage? :)

See more images on Age UK’s Flickr set and squee loudly. And if you’re keen to read more, here’s the news item with all the details.

And lastly… AWWWWWWWWWWWW! *explodes from the cuteness*

Charity shops and vintage clobber – recent finds

I’m getting a bit crummy with my photographs so need to improve on the snapping I think. I only have the iPhone for photos so it’s not ideal. And jeez, Scotland’s winter light does nothing for your camera lens. If anyone has any photo tips or hints that would be much appreciated.

Anyway, I digress. Here are a few items I bought in the last few months whilst passing charity shops or vintage stalls :)

First up, this brooch I picked up in the British Heart Foundation on Dalry Road. It was only £2 and I thought it had a bit of an art nouveau  feel to it so it’s gone into the fancy dress box. It’s a costume brooch but there are little glittery stones set in the feathers that make it extra-pretty.

This hat was also only £2. I think I picked it up in Marie Curie Cancer Care in Bo’ness. It’s a Topshop hat, so was probably closer to £20 when it was originally bought by its first owner. I never fail to be impressed by this little charity shop – I also got season 4 of House for the grand total of £1.50.

Warning! Awkward selfie mirror image photo coming up!

God, you can even see my wardrobe in the background. Disaster. Still, I figure I should post this photo because I like to see clothing and things on people, rather than exclusively on the hanger. I promise I am going to get better with images. I need a photographer or something (the bloke is a potential option). Still, I like the hat.

The last awkward selfie of the day is me wearing my new favourite vintage winter jumper. It was £8 from the Armstrongs Vintage concession in Miss Selfridge on Princes Street. I believe the concession has since disappeared (boo!).

Gosh, it’s warm and comfy. And green! I love green. I think it’s 100% acrylic, so it’s definitely from another decade… Maybe the 80s? Might not be a particularly cool jumper, but it’s been on my back a lot since I picked it up a few months ago…

Like the brooch, hat or jumper? Or would my £14 have been better spent elsewhere?

I definitely need to do something about the awkwardly posed snaps though! Tripod? Second pair of hands? Forget the modelling and stick to pack shots? Get a mannequin? Your suggestions are hugely appreciated :)

Some stuff I recently donated

It’s January. We all know what that means… Clear-outs galore!

I was pretty keen to get stuck into the bowels of my wardrobe a few weeks ago, because as we all know, loving charity shops does nothing good for your storage situation. A day later, I had accumulated seven bags of decent clobber, accessories and books to donate to my local chazza shop. How triumphant I felt.

There’s something quietly exciting about clearing out the drawers and knowing that all your discarded kit will eventually end up in another good home. And finding some old gems you forgot you had.

Of course, I had some of the typical plain Primark tee-shirt fodder, but there was also some really nice bits and pieces that I decided to part with. Donated shoes did especially well.

These brown heels have never been worn outside – I bought them in the US and realised when I got home that they hurt my toes. D’oh! This really cute little Accessorize bag couples well with them. Both items duly donated!

Other shoes included these little flats from Topshop (originally bought in the charity shop) and these black brogues from House of Fraser. The flats haven’t received much love from me so I figured someone else should give them a go. The brogues are too tight, and therefore completely new and unworn.

This little bag is made up entirely of discarded juice boxes. I bought it in London many years ago, and have hardly ever used it. So I decided to let it go, even though I think it’s so fun! It’s very small, so partly the reason why it’s been neglected. But hopefully a new owner will give it the love it deserves…

Clothes were not ignored in my massive clear-out, either. I donated no less than SEVEN coats (I really like coats – I have dozens of them), two of which I took a snap of. They’ve done me proud over the years, but time to say goodbye:

I also donated this purple smock dress that I bought from the petite section in BHS a few years ago. Being 5 foot 8 inches, this dress was more of a long tee-shirt and is now so small for me that I might accidentally moon someone if I decide to stretch, swivel or bend down. Some matching jewellery too!

Me and the bloke slung all seven bags over our shoulders and trekked down the hill to the local high street to donate the items. By the time I got to Capability Scotland I thought my arms were going to fall off, they were carrying so much swag. Still, all in a good cause.

I hope the items find happy new owners.Would you pick up any of this stuff if you saw it hanging/perched in a charity shop?

Inverness is ripe for rooting

I was up in Inverness at Christmas time, and took great delight in exploring the town’s charity shops and second-hand haunts. The town is home to around 60,000 folk so there were some interesting places to explore.

I found some goodies (for another post) but thought I would write up a place called Hung, which was both an art gallery and vintage pop up shop. The thing is, walking past it you’d never know there was second-hand clothing because it’s tucked away upstairs! So it’s a wee bit of a secret, really.

Downstairs is full of quirky jewellery, hand-made crafts and art from local artisans. But upstairs is where the real jewels lie (for vintage hunters, anyway!).

There were some pretty little items on show, including this gold embroidered clutch bag. No doubt it was soon snaffled up, as it was a reasonable deal at £8. I’d probably have bought it myself but I already have one that looks very similar!

I loved the ceiling decorations – it looked like money was raining down on me (I wish!).

As it turns out, I didn’t buy anything on the day I popped in, but I got a great Christmas present from the family thanks to Hung!

What do you think? I’m all about the bow ties at the moment… :)

Say hello to arguably my worst purchase to date

I thought I’d start the year with this hideous dress that I bought in November 2012; it’s a good physical approximation to some of the less good things that happened to me last year!

I bought this spectacularly poor effort in the Save the Children charity shop in Dalry, Edinburgh. Don’t get me wrong, the charity shop is a good one, but in a severe lapse of judgement I bought this 1980s Berketex dress. It wasn’t very cheap, either.

Err…

Oh dear, dear, dear, dear me…

ARGH!

Thank the other half for the headless photo. I think that and the furry slippers add something to the dress, it’s that bad. Ha :)

When I bought the thing I thought it looked a bit grim (a bit?!) but I liked the fabric. It was at least a size too big and sat on me like it had a hangover.

Even after taking this dress in to fit it’s still a monster. What was I thinking?

Not really too sure what to do with this. What do you think? Suggestions so far have included:

• Save it for a Margaret Thatcher fancy dress party (!)
• Cut it up into a pleated skirt and jacket
• Sell (it wasn’t cheap)
• Re-donate
• Hang my head in shame and pray my eye isn’t always this squiffy…

Happy new year! May your 2013 be infinitely better than this dress choice!

Vintage Christmas cards and a few other lovely things

Christmas is upon us! As I am currently miles away from anywhere that is even close to commercial, I am somewhat lacking in festive cheer at the minute. No trees, no presents and definitely no eggnog.

What I do have is plenty of time (hurrah!) so I can blog about some cute little Christmas items my friends and I picked up a while back at a vintage fair at the Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh…

I attended this superbly named fair in November, and there were lots of items on offer including jewellery, clothing, vintage bric a brac and hand-made crafty things. The Cab Vol is a great little venue too, tucked away underneath the belly of Edinburgh in catacombs and stone.

Photo: Cabaret Voltaire – http://www.cabaretvoltaire.com

I didn’t buy anything for myself on the day as it happens, but I did purchase this print for a friend who had her eye on it. I got chatting to the lovely lady who sold me the picture; she makes hand-made crafty things in Edinburgh and her business is called Blackbird Alley. Isn’t that such a cool name?

My friend also spotted some vintage Christmas cards and she snaffled them in two shakes of a bargain-hunter’s tail. I’m afraid the photos aren’t great as I snapped them in cellophane as I was standing on the main street, but hopefully you can get a hint of how pretty they were:

Some of the cards were incredibly old; the angels are from 1908. Over 100 years of festive cheer just waiting to be sent to one lucky recipient.

I had a few near misses, including a white faux fur coat that I desperately wanted. Alas, my arms seem to be freakishly long and the sleeves of the coat nestled somewhere close to my elbows. Next time, Cab Vol, next time!

Have you found any fabulous old vintage Christmas items? I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled but have seen nothing genuinely vintage since my mate’s find at the fair…

Raking on my holidays

It’s the holiday season and so I am capitalising on the theme with a holiday. In my first break since June, I am currently enjoying the driech, cold, windy Scottish weather on the west coast and loving every minute of it.

Quick snap of the view from Lochgilphead, Argyll and Bute

I’ve been pootling about the local area in a hire car, and the little town of Lochgilphead (population 3,000) isn’t too far from my humble abode. In a wonderful turn out for the books, Lochgilphead is home to no less than two whole charity shops. Splendid.

I obviously visited both the Red Cross and Scottish International Relief on my visit. Unfortunately, the Red Cross bore no fruit for me. Scottish International Relief was another matter entirely.

This is what I was presented with upon striding through the door:

Not for the faint of heart. Old school chazza shop alert!

Piles of stuff lying everywhere, tat and gems all stacked together in a glorious mess; this place was fit for a serious rummage.

There was even the obligatory three older volunteer ladies propping up the counter, regaling the entire shop with their most recent aches and pains and latest operations.

The bric a brac was flowing, the junk was spiralling out of control, and I swear the books were reproducing…

I found a two-inch thick stack of the Stratford Upon Avon Canal Society Newsletter (?), pulp fiction throwaways and a serious collection of jigsaws:

Probably my favourite item, purely for its horribleness, was this framed jigsaw of a labrador. WHY?!

Unfortunately, despite the apparent rich pickings of Scottish International Relief, I didn’t find much. In the end I only came away with this nice old map of Britain and Northern Ireland:

I thought I was in for a ridiculous bargain (25p or something, surely? I mean, look at the place!) but when I took the map to the counter and interrupted the old dears and their competitive ailment conversation I was duly charged one whole pound for the item. Which is a fair enough price :) I’m not sure if I’ll hang the map or use it for some kind of crafty project yet…

In another nice discovery, I found out that this charity shop is affiliated with Mary’s Meals – the charity that recently rose to prominence through the primary school dinner blog, NeverSeconds. The little girl who writes it lives in Lochgilphead! Fame indeed for this sleepy little town on the banks of Loch Gilp.

If you’re ever in the area make sure to pay a visit to Scottish International Relief if you love a good rake. Lochgilphead is a lovely place to visit, well worth taking a break and wandering around the high street. Even in the depths of December…

All quiet in Edinburgh

It’s been a bit quiet on my part over the last couple of weeks. With Christmas on the way, a project due for my night class and a pile of other little things, my poor blog has been a bit neglected of late.

I’ve not taken many photos recently, so as a stop-gap solution I thought I would post a lovely sixties dress I picked up at Vintage Point a couple of weeks ago.

Sorry, photos are a bit poor but hopefully this will give you a flavour of what it’s like. Despite my glum-looking gulliver, I do love it!

It’s made from a very heavy and durable fabric, almost like canvas, so is ideal for the winter months. One friend did call me a “blue nurse” and I do admit it has that kind of feel to it; I feel like an air hostess from the Mad Men era!

I will hopefully get some more finds up in the next few days – I’ve got loads to blog about…

Thrifting rap makes your foot tap

This was sent to me via Twitter a couple of weeks ago. If you thrift, it is mandatory for you to watch and chuckle lots. Very funny :)

I found another Edinburgh vintage event

Do you know the Au Bar on Shandwick Place? It’s a pretty pub with art nouveau decor, smack bang in the middle of the city’s tram works. Many of the businesses along this cursed stretch of street are struggling because of the trams, and it would seem that the Au Bar has decided to do something about it.

I was walking past it a few weekends ago when I spied a sign outside its front door…

Of course, me being me, I couldn’t resist a little peek inside the pub to see what was going on!

It turns out that on the second Saturday of every month there’s a vintage pop up stall. Yay!

I was with the bloke at the time, so thought I wouldn’t get much of a chance to investigate, but the stall-holders, Vintage Point, offered him a free cocktail whilst I had a rummage. What’s not to love about that?!

There were some really pretty items for sale. I have a bit of a thing for hats, so when I spotted this green beauty I thought Christmas had come early. Isn’t it amazing?

Unfortunately, my head was waaaay too big to squeeze it on. So I was pretty unhappy about my big fat cranium getting in the way of felt-green-and-feathered loveliness. Curses.

Still, there were plenty of other things to ogle over.

The stall holders were so sweet and lovely, too. I had a chat with them and they tour all over Scotland with their amazing stock.

See anything you particularly like? There were so many things to choose from I was a bit stumped.

In the end I had to go with practicality – I was on my way to the cinema and then off to somewhere else, so I decided I couldn’t hump a bunch of stuff around with me.

So I bought this. Practical to carry and pretty :) It was £2!

What do you think? Of all the bits and pieces on offer I probably could have come away with something amazing, but I’m happy with my new ring. It goes with my thrifted winter jacket… 

If you’re in the area on the second Saturday of every month make sure to swing by the Au Bar and take a look at all the lovely vintage and second-hand items on offer. This was a lucky find, but I will be back :)

Oh, and check out Vintage Point; the ladies were so nice I wanted to give them another plug!