HAVE you noticed a few opportunity shops popping up around Bendigo at the moment?
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Lieutenant Chris Marsh, of the Salvation Army Eaglehawk Corps, believes competitive prices, quality goods and a sense of sustainability are among the reasons people are choosing to shop at thrift stores.
The corps celebrates the opening of its new shop, in Ironbark, at 10am on Saturday, August 19.
Formerly home to a motorcycle store, the shop at 2 Marong Road is quickly filling with clothing, accessories, books, bric-a-brac and furniture.
“The old store wasn’t big enough,” Lieutenant Marsh said.
The Ironbark store replaces the one at High Street, Eaglehawk, which closed about 18 months ago.
In addition to pricing and sustainability, Lieutenant Marsh believes collecting goods and a trend towards retro fashion are contributing to the popularity of op shops.
He said people were also conscious that money spent in op shops, rather than in chain stores, would give back to the community.
Items sold at the Ironbark Salvos store will support programs run by the Eaglehawk Corps, Lieutenant Marsh said.
Among them are two programs for school-aged children, which the corps is seeking to expand, and a music initiative.
“We are really lucky that we get good quality donations,” Ironbark Salvos store manager Sue Campbell said.
On Saturday, Spring Gully Kindergarten will host a pop-up op shop to support improvements to facilities, learning resources and materials.
Kindergarten committee president Emma Clohesy said the event grew from a suggested clothes swapping party.
She said it make sense to open it up to the community, after realising how much interest the idea had attracted.
About 80 families are involved in the kindergarten.
Many of them were environmentally conscious, Mrs Clohesy said.
While she said organising the event had been a big job, the families were passionate about it.
Donations were piling up in the kindergarten foyer during the week.
The pop-up op shop is intended to be a major fundraiser.
It has been a big year for the kindergarten, with big-ticket projects including landscaping and new furniture and resources.
The Spring Gully Kindergarten pop-up op shop runs from 9am to 2pm on Saturday at 131 Spring Gully Rd, Spring Gully.