Hamilton Op Shops


View Hamilton Op Shops in a larger map


Op (opportunity) shops are *brilliant places where you can
get second hand clothes, furniture, cutlery and almost anything
that people are willing to give away. People give the op shops
things they no longer want/need, and the shop then sells it cheap,
using the money generated for the charities they are part of.
They are usually staffed by volunteers.

Op shop shopping is brilliant because

1) you are reducing waste and helping the environment
2) you are challenging the consumerist mindset
3) you are saving money
4) money spent goes to a good cause
5) you find very interesting things

Op shopper for life!

UPDATE: .pdf file available for printing. write to feddabonn AT gmail DOT com to get a copy.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very helpful map thanks.. I have added in a couple of my favourites; St Vincent de Paul in Frankton and the Hospice shop in Hamilon East.
Kay

feddabonn said...

thanks kay! this map-making (heh) is fun, no? [grin]

Aduhi Chawngthu said...

What a nice concept. Wish I could visit one, there would be so many surprises.

Malsawmi Jacob said...

Making the map must've taken a good effort. Real brilliant idea, the op shop. Wish i could join-- give and shop

feddabonn said...

@aduhi: lots of nice stuff. think this sorta thing is workable back home? i wonder if this feeds better off a consumerist culture...connecting this to your post on mizoram clothes...what happens when clothes go out of 'fashion'? what do people do with them then? could they be transported to (say) shillong, a less style conscious place and sold cheap? from my knowledge of the bara bazaar second hand clothes shops, most of that stuff comes from abroad, no? could it work internally?

@mesjay: it can also be rather tempting to buy things you don't 'need', lol. the map wasn't very much work...an hour or so, i think.

Aduhi Chawngthu said...

The church women used to come around collecting old clothes and would then have a "Jumble Sale", but I think they don't do it anymore. Your idea just might work, the internal second hand thing. Or we could simply open our own Op Shop - but this might not work in a place like Aizawl, the place is too durned small and you dont want to be seen wearing someone else's old stuff, again the fashion consciousness. See, I too am affected.

Anonymous said...

we regularly visit the local Salvation Army which runs an 'op shop' every saturday and bought many an item from there - most of them useful and a few just because they were so reasonably priced :) in fact, we have become addicts, i think. come saturday morning and we almost always end up there. we sometimes find nothing very much worth buying but we just have to be there - the fear that we might miss out on a great bargain is just too much. :)

Blind Dayze said...

Hey.. next time i want the location of MiddleEarth, Gandalf the Wizard's
home and Frodo's too.. :-)

Nice Op Shops..... i'll enter one over a swanky shopping mall anyday..

dr_feelgood said...

The Salvation Army here in Aizawl has opened one, though its called a 'Charity Shop'. My wife has given a few stuff. It is a good feeling when you get rid of stuff which may be useful to others.

feddabonn said...

@aduhi: lol. we all are...it was in response to the 'fashionable' that i started tearing visible labels off my clothes and shoes...well before i read no logo!

@ruolngulworld: the sallies (as they are affectionately called here) are rather good eh? being broke has curbed my buying-old-things instincts, though i am finding many interesting bottles in the neighbour's trash...

@blind: we're not too far from mount doom and the shire...we're half thinking of doing the shire to mordor walk...

@dr_feelgood: definitely a good feeling! do people buy anything from there though? there is another idea called freecycle, where people give away anything they don't want to people who do. i've got a few empty jam bottles, a weighing scale and an entire set of piano keys!

Sam Jacob said...

Great concept. Worth emulating.

feddabonn said...

@samda: not sure it'll work everywhere...people also need to be willing to *use second hand clothes, plates and such.