29 Jun News from Experienced Goods July 2021
From Jennie Reichman
What were you doing last year at this time? Working from home? Picking your groceries up curbside? Struggling with securing unemployment benefits? Learning to bake with sourdough? It was such a mixed bag of experiences and emotions, ranging from fear to grief to boredom to a sense of reprieve, a chance to hit the restart button. I remember, after the initial adjustment to mask wearing, sanitizing and social distancing, feeling like I’d been given a gift of time: To garden and sew and work on projects around my house, to write and play music and think. Maybe it’s because I grew up as an only child in a very rural setting, but I have no trouble entertaining myself, indoors or out. When we re-opened Experienced Goods last July, even though I was excited to welcome the world back to our beloved thrift store and begin raising funds for Brattleboro Area Hospice again, I let go of my time of quarantine with a certain regret. In the year since then, I have tried to nurture a little of that feeling of expansiveness, of giving myself permission to slow down, to think and create.
It didn’t take long, though, to feel reinvigorated by a busy and functioning Experienced Goods. Customers and donors were overjoyed that we were open again, and that happiness was contagious. It has been such a pleasure being a part of the process of bringing the shop back to life, and spending each day with my wonderful co-workers. We took the opportunity to overhaul systems and spaces that had outlived their usefulness and continue to tweak and refine the shop to look and feel welcoming and run smoothly. We are as busy as we ever were, maybe more so. And now, as restrictions regarding mask wearing and travel are easing, we are noticing an uptick in visitors from out of the immediate area coming into the shop. Vacation travel is a thing again, and (who knew?) Experienced Goods has become a destination.
As I think I’ve mentioned in this column before, I grew up shopping in thrift stores. My economical German mother bought many of my school clothes at a little consignment shop called Colleen’s Closet, in an era before thrifting and secondhand clothing were as popular as they are today. It was a cramped little store in an old house, and I used to beg to stop there on our shopping trips to town. I was pretty young when I learned to riffle through the racks looking for a stylish prize, and usually my mother would let me pick out one or two items that suited my fashion taste more than hers. So I caught the thrifting bug early and have never looked back, seeking out and exploring thrift stores wherever I have lived and visited. But I have always felt a bit like a renegade, choosing to buy secondhand rather than new clothing. I have always had thrifting buddies (treasured friends who have the same tolerance for shopping that I do) and know that thrift stores are vastly more common than they were when I was a kid, but lately we are seeing groups of visitors, whole families even, who stop and enjoy Experienced Goods as part of their exploration of Brattleboro. Now, I know I am biased, but I can honestly say that in all my travels I have never visited a thrift store as abundant and enticing as ours. That sentiment has been repeatedly echoed, though, as visitors giddily look through the racks and shelves and buy cartloads of clothing, housewares, books, jewelry and linens. They tell us how fabulous the store looks and how enjoyable it is to shop there. “What time do you open tomorrow?” is a question we hear several times a day. “I love this place!” issues from the mouths of shoppers of all ages, from tots to seniors. It used to be that we saw tourists in the shop mostly on weekends, but lately as summer kicks into high gear and happy people are traveling again, we welcome them daily.
Shopping in thrift stores has come a long way from being a matter of necessity and economics. For people who love a treasure hunt, it’s fun and thrilling. It’s a fantastic form of recycling. Since many thrift stores raise funds for charities, it’s a great way to support one’s community and help provide resources for people in need. I hope the folks from out of town who visit Experienced Goods take the idea of a well organized, inviting thrift store back to their home communities, maybe even plant the seed for opening a similar venture that will benefit their region. I warn them though: If you build it, they will come!