The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Thrift shop focuses on quality used goods, upcycling
Thrift store enthusiasts, antique hunters and those looking for all things used merchandise should stop by Junk Monkey in North Ridgeville.
“I started out having a space inside Jamie’s Flea Market,” said Mike Oradini, owner of Junk Monkey, 6287 Lear Nagle Road. “It was something where I was inside there, and for folks that have been to Jamie’s, you really get overlooked when you are inside at that place. Plus, it is only open two days a week. I really didn’t feel like I could grow the way I wanted to over there, so I opened up my own location here in 2019.”
Oradini said the business also has a revamped website — a necessity because of the novel coronavirus.
“Our online presence was Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist,” he said. “We had to shut the place down for two and half months, but we still needed to make money. The way we did that with no contact was we built a website where you could actually buy something on the website and come and pick it up. Instead of shipping it, this was our no-contact option. It was creativity out of necessity for us.”
It took some time to get the website going, he said.
“It took a while because we had to take all our inventory and get them SKU numbered,” he said. “It got complicated, but we had time to do it. The thing is you can buy the same items online and in the store. We also have a request-item option for folks for certain items, and we end up doing the shopping for them. It ends up where everything is going through Junk Monkey, and some people make money on this stuff. I encourage that.”
Oradini said he also works with other vendors.
“This includes vendors that we work with and supplying things for their stores, too,” he said. “That is where the warehouse (on
Center Ridge Road) comes into play. It’s not a public spot, but that’s how we are able to facilitate transactions with other vendors.”
Oradini said the business focuses on quality.
“We take in used items of quality, and we sell or rent them to the general public and businesses,” he said. “We are selling quality used goods, and we also sell upcycled goods that we take in and restore to make sure they are not going into a landfill. We also take donations, help companies in cleanouts and we rent props to movies. We have been a part of about 25 to 30 movies; they rent the prop and then give it back. We work with Cleveland Indie Film Club on a lot of that. We’ve worked on everything from the one Russo Brothers just did, “Cherry,” to (“The Fate of the Furious”).
Oradini said Junk Monkey is also doing various promotions and rewards for folks.
“We are always looking to build the community,” he said. “We have certain things like rewards cards that reward you for frequenting the shop. We have a take-it or leave-it section, where donations can be made and free items can be picked up. We have a variety of different deals constantly and we are constantly turning the inventory over, so you will see different items every time you come in. For example, right now we have a 50 percent-off sale.”
Oradini said the community is also expanding on Facebook.
“We also build the community through stuff like our Junk Monkey Pickers Club on Facebook,” he said. “It gives the public the option to list their own stuff through our name. They can sell it, meet up here and exchange it. We don’t get any commission for stuff like that. We are trying to build up that buyer and seller community here.”