Nicola’s living the op shop dream
OIt’s a bit of a maze but that’s half the fun of opshopping . . . finding that
treasure.
ne idea and a few short weeks, and Waipukurau is now home to the CHB Community Op Shop. Organiser and now op shop manager Nicola Freyer is still surprised at how fast it has all happened.
“I had seen Facebook posts from people with clothing to donate, but existing local op shops were having to close to donations as they had so much stock and nowhere to store the excess.
“I hated the idea of clothing and household goods going to landfill. People were asking ‘where can I drop this stuff off?’ and I thought — it looks like our community can sustain another op shop. . .”
It was an idea Nicola had had for a while. A keen op-shopper herself, she says these second-hand stores are important to the community.
“With rents and food prices so high, anything that makes our money go further is important. And there’s also an environmental impact from recycling or upcycling clothing instead of sending it to the landfill. Good clothing stands the test of time.
“It’s a win-win for me. I get to help the community while doing something I love doing. I used to op-shop as I enjoyed rummaging. Now people are bringing the clothing to me — I’m living the dream,” Nicola laughs.
From floating the idea to getting donations was just a matter of days. A local businessperson offered a premises — 5 Cook St in Waipukurau — and it’s grown from there.
“The CHB community has been incredible. I’ve had so many donations; someone donated a $400 pair of shoes, clothing has come in with the price tags still on it. Businesses have gifted services and time.”
The old villa at 5 Cook Street is now largely filled with display racks and shelves of clothes of all sorts, as well as a selection of household goods.
“It’s a bit of a maze but that’s half the fun of op-shopping . . . finding that treasure.”
All adult clothing is $3, and while overheads will need to be paid and Nicola will draw a partial wage the rest of the funds raised will be put back into the CHB community.
“And if every week is like our first week . . . we’ll be gifting back quite a lot.”
Nicola says once the shop is operating smoothly there will be additional services on site.
“This is part of a bigger plan. The idea is to reduce waste, so I will look at running sewing and mending classes, showing people how to
Nicola Freyer
repurpose clothing, save money and be creative.”
There will also be a call for volunteers to put their skills to use — mending and sewing as well as establishing a small garden on site, teaching, sharing their skills and helping in the shop. “I want to give out a big thank you to the community, so much we needed to start the shop has been donated or loaned. And the more we can sell the more we can give back to the community.” i
The CHB Community Op Shop is at 5 Cook St Waipukurau and is open 9am-4pm weekdays and 9am-noon Saturdays. You can also find them on Facebook.