Buying nothing new @ Hunter Gatherer & BSL

Has anyone else out there taken the Buy Nothing New pledge? Don’t be shy, make yourselves known! As I mentioned a few days ago, I was one of the stylists for Fashion Friday last week, which meant I got to hang out at the Brotherhood of St Laurence’s stores for a few hours and help people get used to the idea of op shopping. I started off at the city store (in Royal Arcade), which is called Hunter Gatherer and is more like a vintage store than an average op shop.


If you like the idea of retro gear but don’t have the time or confidence to sift through the high volume of stuff at the regular BSL stores (or any other op shops, in fact), Hunter Gatherer is quite handy as it offers a curated selection of clothing, accessories and curios like this London-themed picture which is made from clock workings…

… or these handmade coral-esque bangles (Hunter Gatherer supports local artists as well as stocking second hand stuff)…

… or this gilty looking dog/cup stand…

… or a little handbag and some earrings…

After a little while at Hunter Gatherer, I headed to the Brunswick branch of BSL, which I cannot believe I had never been to as it was HUGE and a veritable treasure trove of op shop goodness. It used to be well known for its furniture, and still has lots of stuff for the house including white goods. I think we used to have a fridge with this logo on it when I was little!

There’s a Hunter Gatherer section in the front of the store too, which is where this cute rack of “fresh kicks” was…

Comic book pages used as wallpaper in the kids’ section…

I’ve been to Ephesus in Turkey, so was quite tempted to get this plate, but resisted…

For some reason there are quite a few rugs at this store too, all from $25…

I ended up buying this one, which I’m sure was a huge bargain at $25 as it’s possibly from Morocco or Turkey. It’s hand woven!!

Cute kitschy doll… (Korean, perhaps?)

In honour of the occasion, I wore an op shop dress and boots… then again, most of my outfits are from op shops, so it’s not like that was anything out of the ordinary for me! You can see how big this store is in this photo…

… and in this one too. It is seriously massive! And seriously messy, which, personally, is how I like my op shops. It makes shopping more like a proper treasure hunt.

…Lots of books… I have this one already, or I would have snapped it up.

I got very excited when I found this dress, which unfortunately didn’t fit. But maybe it’s the right size for YOU?

After my stint at the op shop I headed back to work and showed off the rug that I bought. I had to laugh – my workmate asked what I was going to use it for and was surprised when I answered, “um, a rug!?”. He’s so used to my tales of dresses made from sheets, shawls, and just about everything I can lay my hands on that he obviously didn’t think I could simply leave something alone!