SHEPHERDSTOWN – If someone frequents thrift stores or Goodwill regularly then they know the thrill of finding something they had no idea they were searching for.
They cannot simply walk into a thrift store and not be surprised by clothing, shoes, housewares or accessories. The opportunity to mold certain things to their own style begins at the door of a thrift shop.
There are many reasons people go to thrift stores. Some go to find that winter coat they need but don’t want to spend too much money, some go to add to their own wardrobe of distinctive clothing and some even go to cut up the items they buy to make other things.
“I like to make patches out of little kid T-shirts,” said Ellie Lipsit, an employee at Goodwill in Shepherdstown, W.Va. “I get a lot of pieces of clothing that I didn’t like until I cut them up.”
According to The Association of Resale Professionals, the number of thrift stores in the U.S. has grown 7 percent a year during the past two years. Thrift stores are beginning to become more important to people due to their low prices and interesting finds.
Chris Dunphy, a resident of Shepherdstown, goes to Goodwill or other thrift stores for “the diamonds in the rough.” Those diamonds include “epic flannel, bad records, rollerblades and sweet boxers,” he said.
Not only do people go to thrift stores for the individual items, but they also go to avoid spending their entire paycheck. Thrifters can find clothes that normally may have been $80 but can find them for $20 or even $10.
“I don’t like to spend a lot of money,” said Jessica Fettner. She said her favorite store is Goodwill and she goes to whichever one she can or if she sees them while driving.
“You always find something good somewhere,” Fettner said.
Going to thrift stores has many benefits and saving money is one of them but there is definitely more to the picture.
“If you think of it in terms of energy and how objects can hold and store energy, clothing can do the same thing. It’s just interesting to think of the memories people made in clothes before you buy them,” said Cassidy Ponton, a resident of Shepherdstown.
There are tons of memories embedded in clothing due to the places they’ve gone and the people that the clothes have interacted with. All of those memories are there but they don’t get passed on to other people without the employees of thrift stores or the communities that surround them.
“Everything in here comes from this community and we’re so thankful,” said Cheryl Baume, the manager of Goodwill in Shepherdstown. She said that she knows of other Goodwill stores that are really struggling but the community of Shepherdstown just keeps giving to her store.