This relic of the thrifting world is set to reach this milestone over the summer.
Thrift shop 1 current shop window
Thrift shop 1 first started in a house basement on Dalmeny Street. After becoming popular amongst the local people, it moved to its current location in Bruntsfield in 1957. Its sister store opened a few years later on Lochrin Buildings.
‘It is pretty cool that we have been in the same place for that amount of time. It is mad’, Neil Gayscone, Manager for the Thrift Shops, says.
It raises funds for Birthlink, an Edinburgh based charity that offers adopted adults support. The organisation tries to find information about their past or trace them back to their estranged family.
Gayscone has worked in their stores for over a decade. He started as a shopping assistant and has witnessed the changes in both customers and thrifting trends throughout the years.
‘I think we have a lot younger crowd than we used to have. At the start, it was definitely older people coming to the shop whereas now it is like a lot of students. It is nice to see younger people come in. Because they buy wildly different things for different generations’, Gayscone adds.
The thrift shop often falls under the best charity shop tag across social media platforms. ‘A lot of people say we are eclectic, and we are the way charity shops used to be. A lot of charity shops are kind of boutiques now, whereas we still embrace the chaos of how charities used to be. It's like a car boot sale in a shop’, Gayscone says.
They barely have restrictions on what can be donated. ‘If it first through the door, we will take it’, Gayscone laughs off. Items inside the stores range from thick winter coats to antique cyclist newspapers from the 1960s. They have something to suit every want and need.
Both thrift shops are small and narrow but crowded with things, adding to their offbeat character.
Despite his ten-year-long experience in the thrifting world, Gayscone still struggles to comprehend thrifting sales. ‘It’s sometimes surprising what does and what does not sell. You get things and you think 'this is great it will definitely sell' and then it's here for like three weeks, and it just makes no sense. And then you get stuff, where you think ‘no one will ever buy this', and it goes the same day. It makes no sense,’ he says. The sales are as predictable as the thrift shop itself.
Due to the stores longevity, it has become an emblematic establishment amongst neighbours. Many consider it more of a community centre than just a thrift shop.
‘We have customers that come in every day. Often they don’t buy anything, they just want to have a chat. The good thing about a charity shop is it's like a community service as well as a shop. People come in for a chat if they're a bit lonely which is quite nice. And you get to know all the customers. Sometimes they treat it a bit like therapy. There's a guy who has been coming in since the shop opened. I mean that's kind of impressive, ’ Gayscone says.
The thrift shops are also uncommon in aspects hidden from the public eye. ‘It is great to its staff. Everyone is really nice from the top down. You can meet the board of directors, and they're like real people, they're not just like names on a board. They’re actual people,’ Gayscone comments.
Inside Thrift shop 2 at Lochrin Buildings
Unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic has put on hold any 65th-anniversary events. 'Covid has kind of stopped everything. We might try and delay something and do it next year hopefully. Cause, it's also 110 years of the actual charity so it would be nice if we could try and do something with that but covid has just got in the way of the real world,' the manager tells us.
Coronavirus was a complicated process which entailed countless, time-consuming protocols. 'At the start, we were quarantining things for 4 days It was just pretty nuts.' Once the government lifted restrictions, locals were thrilled to step back in. 'Since we reopened, we've been really busy. People missed it when it was gone. I think they appreciate it coming back' he adds.
The thrift shop also promotes a circular economy, as it re-donates what it cannot sell. 'We try not to throw anything away. So if like we have a lot of clothes, like coats, we can pass them on to homeless shelters. If we can't resell them, we can recycle them and we get pennies for them whereas at least if we donate them they're going to a good cause. We are all humans. I feel like we can get 10 p a kilo, or someone can get a benefit for years. That is what's the most important definitely,' Gayscone adds.
All the staff are delighted to take this step in Scotland's thrifting history.
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