Changing the face of thrift stores
Harrisonburg stores updating the image of thrift shopping with trendy clothes, unique experiences
Posted on February 4, 2008
The key to finding a great place to shop is to think outside the box. The abundance of thrift stores and antique shops in Harrisonburg is overwhelming, but all of the merchandise is unique, affordable and surprisingly stylish.
Second Time Around has been in Harrisonburg forround 16 years and has a pleasant ambience accompanied by an unexpected and friendly greeting from a parrot as you walk through the door.
When asked what distinguishes her store from others, owner Rachel Hinegardener said, “The quality of our selection and the shopping environment… Our customer service is above other thrift and consignment shops.”
The merchandise at Second Time Around includes shoes, casual and more fancy apparel, belts, handbags, jewelry, scarves as well as home décor and books. The merchandise selection process involves sorting through what is brought in and the most current styles and brand names are selected. A few of the brand names observed were Abercrombie & Fitch, Vera Bradley, Nine West, Jessica McClintock and French Connection, and the average price for an item is around $20.
Tried and True is a quaint and friendly store run by Ken and Deb Layman. All of the proceeds benefit relief programs of the Church of the Brethren Global food crises fund and the Mennonite Church HIV/Aids fund.
“People don’t realize they can fight world hunger and aids just by giving used items in good shape that they don’t need,” owner Deb Layman said. “Just by doing this you can benefit so many people.”
Tried and True accepts all merchandise brought to them according to the owners. This includes all donations of clothing, household items and books. More information on Tried and True can be found at triedandtruethrift.org.
Rolling Hills Antique Mall is owned by Jeff Bradfield and managed by Betty Smith and has over 50 dealers. It is an enormous store with many rooms loaded with antique jewelry, post cards, magazines, posters, calendars, ads, license plates, books, oil lamps, glassware, furniture, primitive handmade pieces, quilts, bottles, vintage clothes and hats, Civil War and World War II collectibles, kitchenware and more. One thing that particularly stood out was the copious supply of Life magazines dating back to 1939.
“Our quality and how things are displayed; they are easy to get to and the store is well lit,” Bradfield said when asked what makes his antique store unique. “We have true antiques and higher quality, not a lot of reproduction.”
Second Edition is a chic and up-to-date thrift store owned by Golda Rexrode and has a new, trendy vibe to it from the moment customers walk through the door, with racks and racks of clothing and accessories that are extremely well organized.
The store opened about three years ago and is very picky in what they choose to sell, which is certainly reflected through the quality and brand of clothing, jewelry, handbags, belts, shoes, perfume and books sold. Some of the brands sold are Banana Republic, J Crew, Nine West, Seven, Max Azria, Hot Kiss and Lucky.
