#whyishopgoodwill

Why do you shop Goodwill?

Use the tag #whyishopgoodwill for a chance to see your name in lights (or in the newspaper too).

Grand Opening: blue Boutique, Olympia

blue

A Goodwill Boutique

The new Olympia, Washington store opens today September 5th at 10am. Customers and neighbors will find themselves surrounded by high end second hand items beautifully merchandised and priced to sell. Did I mention free cupcakes? YES! First 50 customers courtesy of Bonjour Cupcakes in Olympia. And, don’t forget to enter the drawing to win a $250 gift card.

Personally, I never knew Olympia had such a cute little downtown core. The tree lined streets are full of activity: small coffee shops, antique stores, hip bars, and of course the new blue Boutique! Just make sure when you type in the address to your GPS that you specify Capital Way SOUTH (not north.. woops).

Social Media

Store Front

Store Front Display

To the average thrift store shopper that enjoys the hunt and the fantastic deal, this store may not quench the treasure hunting thirst. But to the novice thriftier who doesn’t like to get their hands dirty, this is the place for you. Yes, it’s priced a little higher than a normal Goodwill but consider it a convenience fee. Clean and bright, organized and perfectly merchandised, this store feels like you are in a cozy well stocked boutique (’cause you are!). All they are missing is the smelly soaps, lotions, and hand made greeting cards.

Store Manager Candra Hooker and her team take pride in their work. The merchandising is flawless! Well coordinated outfits around the store inspire creativity. There is something for everyone. When you walk in the carefully selected, like-new housewares are displayed on clean and gorgeous shelving.

Shabby Chic

A house is not a home….

Decor

Junior’s Display

Directly to the right of the door a distinguished reading nook and library sit warmly lit. The men’s section next to it contains many high end numbers. A Seahawks Jersey (Thomas #29) new with tag at less than half the price it would be new, white great condition Ecco slip-ons, heavy flannel coat, and manly collectables. All a guy needs is a cigar and he’s set (there’s already a flask….)!

Seahawks!

Collectables

Why buy your kid brand new clothes when they’ll just out grow them in a month or two? Goodwill is the perfect place to shop for your kid. The back of the store has racks of clothing from newborn to toddler and above. At least half of the merchandise I saw was new with tag.

Kids Section

Kid’s Collectables

Kid’s Collectables

Kid’s Shoes

The woman’s section in the middle of the store leaves nothing to be desired. The color coordinated Jewelry Case begs to be stared at.

#dreamcloset

Spiked Wedge Booties

Wedge Peep Toe

Fall Layered Look

Jewelry Case

Jewelry Case

Leopard Heels

Everyday the store receives new shipments from the distribution center of the crème de la crème Goodwill donations. You can also bring (small) donations to this store. The storage in the back is very minimal but they will gladly accept your gently used items. Of course the proceeds from this store go to support all the community services Tacoma Goodwill provides. So you know that the $15 you pay for that new pair of jeans will go to help someone get their GED or to someone learning the food service ropes at Tacoma Goodwill’s Neighborhood Bistro.

Things to Remember:

1. Bring quarters for parking; $1 will buy you about an hour. Almost all the streets are metered 3 hour limit. I had no problem finding a spot on a busy Wednesday afternoon.
2. Today an umbrella is a good idea (and tomorrow for that matter). You will probably have to walk a few blocks through a bustling cute neighborhood.
3. Located on Capital Way SOUTH between 5th and Legion (click here for Google map)
4. Hours: Mon-Sat 10-7 Sunday 11-4
5. Hit the Olympia Goodwill store afterwards! Just a few minutes away….

Follow us here at Goodwill Hoarding and check out our WA Goodwill Guide to get info and specifics on Goodwill stores around Washington State. If we haven’t been yet, we will be to a Goodwill near you soon! Stay posted for upcoming  tales from the road after visiting Lakewood, Olympia, Shelton, Lacey, and South Lacey Goodwill Stores. Like us on Facebook and see where we will be going next and our finds around town!

Road Trip: Lakewood Goodwill

This post marks our 1 year anniversary here at Goodwill Hoarding! Thanks for reading! The past year has been full of adventure and great discoveries.

This Road Trip started with a trip down memory lane.

Ten years ago my husband and I got married. Beginning the rest of our lives together meant starting out with sacrifices. We moved out of Seattle down to a suburb of Tacoma called Lakewood (about an hour Southwest-ish of Seattle) where he would attend school and we’d save money on rent. From liberal-organic-granola-bike wielding-fitness enthused-single-Seattle to mullet- flannel wearing-republican-conservative-child-rearing-Lakewood, my life drastically changed. Soon the newness wore off and we grew accustomed to the small suburb town life and made new friends.

Initially, one thing saved me from loneliness; the Lakewood Goodwill opened the year we moved in. I attended the grand opening and spent many days searching through the cluttered racks of that store. It served as a little piece of home just a few miles away. Those days I obsessed over sewing projects and homemaking. I searched for good fabric and cheap clothing; anything to save a buck.

Not a lot has changed since then…. I still love to search through the shelves of Goodwill. My priorities have changed and my tacticts are more refined, but that’s how life goes. Right?

First visit back to Lakewood Goodwill: Road Trip stop #1

I haven’t set foot in Lakewood since we moved back to Seattle 8 years ago. Today’s the day! Make sure that when en-route to Lakewood Goodwill you understand your directions. The location sits quite a few miles off the freeway and the location proved somewhat confusing for me even though I am familiar with the area.

GWH Rating Strategy (if you need a refresher click this link)

GWH Rating: 6

• Store Size: M
• Prices: 3
• People Crowded: 3
• Furniture: 3
• Quality & Quantity: 3
• Clothing and Accessories:  new/trendy
• Housewares: new/trendy

First things first… Bathroom! After an hour drive sipping on coffee, I was slightly desperate. Walked all the way to the back of the store to find I had to get a key from the front. Walked all the way to the front and then found out I had to walk back to wait for an employee to let me in. Thank god most Goodwills have bathrooms.

Housewares

The housewares section boasted the best Pyrex finds of the day. A Butterfly Gold baking dish $7 and a piece of Copper Filigree Pyrex dinnerware $2. The square baking dishes are actually pretty hard to find. So I was enthused with this purchase.

Butterfly Gold Baking Dish

Copper Filigree Pyrex Dinnerware

Cute Little Mushrooms

Clothing appeared typical to most Tacoma Goodwills. I found an awesome Pegasus shirt and my jeans were falling down so I picked up a belt as well.

T-Shirt

Hmmmmmm…. not sure I can get behind a used underwear section. I’m pretty open minded when it comes to thrifting, but I think I’d rather not……

Under garments

Not so sure about this…

The Media section was nicely organized and well stocked. RIP Tom Clancy. There was an entire section devoted to Western and Sci-Fi.

Media

Books

Sir John

Overall I enjoyed this location. Well stocked and bright in a newish building. The bathrooms could use a re-model (or deep cleaning)… but that is really my only gripe.

Of course, while traveling to unknown places, I have to cram everything into one day. So I had arranged a Pyrex trade in the parking lot that morning. After waiting in my car for a few minutes, my date arrived. A beautiful tall blond with a German accent. She was so lovely! I had never met her before but she greeted me with a hug and a huge smile and as we exchanged our Pyrex trades she inquired after my finds for the morning. I showed her the Butterfly Gold Baking dish. Her eyes lit up obviously in love. I gifted it to her knowing that it would have a happy home. It seemed the right thing to do and she was so happy that it was definitely the right thing to do! (I hoped secretly that my Pyrex Karma would be boosted.)

My road trip continues and I visit 4 more stores in the South Puget Sound! Stay tuned…..

Sillisculpts

When the end of summer comes I feel a little sad knowing that the next 6 months of my life are going to be spent in the cold, damp, dark world of Seattle. But a few things brighten the horizon, one being The Washington State Fair held in Puyallup every year. I love walking around looking at the animals, eating scones. I really enjoy the hobby hall too. The things people collect amaze me. I dream of submitting a Pyrex collection one year….

Remember these?

This year, however, the Hobby Hall was destined to finally reveal the identity of my obsession. While my comrades were peering at the collections of Strawberry Shortcake, Star Wars, Gumby, CD Roms, and Assassin’s Creed memorabilia, I was staring at the answer of what has been a year long question: “What ARE these things?!”

Why yes… yes I do!

Sillisculpts:

Those weird statues with googley eyes and funny/strange/endearing sayings on the bottom.

Sillisculpts

I remember when I first posted a question about them there was speculation from my readers of them being from the 70s. Nice work; you all are so smart (or is it that they are just so ugly that they could only be from the 70’s?…..)! They first appeared in 1968 made by Russ Berrie of R&W Berrie, a company that manufactured trinkets and collectables for gift shops and mom n pop dime stores.

And then it all came together. A greeting card is fleeting. It can be thrown away and forgotten, but an ugly statue with googley eyes lasts forever. This is the meaning of their existence. It all makes perfect sense now! Well… sort of. It still doesn’t quite explain a few of the really weird ones. I mean….. who would want a “sex relieves tension” greeting statue? I honestly can’t think of a scenario where I would be flattered to receive it (If a guy gave me that there would be a lot MORE tension in the room and no relief in sight). Where would you put it? In the bathroom? On your night stand?

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Of course, as with all collectables the rare or different are more desirable. So I guess if you want to actually collect these, the colored ones or large ones are more “valuable.” Also, different manufacturers copied these after they became popular. The original Sillisculpts are made out of a plastic/resin material that resembles ivory, filled with sand so they are heavy, have felt on the bottom, and are marked with the year, company name, and ID #.

The Devil

After all this, I have to admit that I don’t hate them so much anymore. They’re actually kind of endearing. Still, I can’t imagine having a collection of them staring back at me from a shelf. But hey, to each his own… right? Some of them are pretty hilarious.   Do you have memories of these? Leave a reply and tell us about your Sillisculpts! Like us on Facebook and post your pictures of Sillisculps for us to see. We will always keep an eye out for them too. Read more about a personal collection of Sillisculpts {Humble Pie Vintage} {Info on Sillisculpts from Pop-Cult.com}

In Other News…..

I recently figured out where these ugly statues come from and am researching them for a new post. Stay Tuned!!!

And Then There’s These….

Whenever I’m at a thrifty spot I run into these ugly awful statues. It always makes me wonder… who bought these and who gifted them and who collected them. They are ugly, and crude, and…. beige. They would make a great “white elephant” gift this Christmas.
Here’s my photo collection so far.

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What do you think? Aren’t they kinda great?

I bet they made a lot of mothers disappointed over the years… and fathers too for that matter. If I got one of these for my birthday I would be seriously underwhelmed. I kinda like he idea of giving one of the raunchy ones to a special friend though…..

Labor Day Sale @ Seattle Goodwill

All stores open at 8am!
Also stop by the Seattle Ravenna Goodwill which specializes in furniture; they will be having a 40% off used goods sale!

Happy Thrifting

Look Out Olympia, Wa.!

September 4th is the next road trip day where we will be heading down to preview the opening of the new blue Goodwill Location at 534 Capital Way, Olympia! Tacoma Goodwill continues to expand and we are pleased to go discover what treasures are in store for us. Of course we’ll need to make some other stops along the way…. Stay tuned

First Annual NW Pyrex Collector’s Picnic

Finally, after a little planning and effort, the Pyrex Picnic day arrived!

7 of us = 7 TONS of food, all carefully packed down to the water in 90 degree weather. Now that’s dedication! Strawberry rhubarb pie in a Pink Flamingo Pie Plate, pasta salad in a Spring Blossom Big Bertha, 5-ish layer taco dip in a Snowflake Space Saver, bbq chicken in an old Pyrex Roaster, grapes and strawberries in a Vintage Grapes Promo, and chips and dip in a Balloons Chip and Dip (just to name a few of our babies).

My only regret is that I didn’t take home more pie… or rice crispy treats…. or chicken.

Pictures courtesy of Bonnie Brooks.

 

 

Save the Date for the Seattle Goodwill Glitter Gala

Corynn and I dream of someday being able to go to the Glitter Gala……. This year the event takes place on  Saturday, November 2, 2013, at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel’s Grand Ballroom.

The Seattle Goodwill’s Glitter Gala fashion show is sponsored by Nordstrom and other local companies; the proceeds support Goodwill’s job training and education programs, which last year served 8,498 students at 10 Job Training and Education Centers in the North Puget Sound area.

Want to get dressed up and enjoy the show? You are most welcome! All community members, Goodwill enthusiasts, and supporters are encouraged to attend for a night of fashion and entertainment (not to mention a tasty meal!).

DETAILS:

*   The Glitter Gala includes dinner, raffle, silent auction and the Glitter Gala Fashion Show.
*   Event ticket prices are from $175 – $350. For tickets and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.seattlegoodwill.org/glittergala
*   This spring Seattle Goodwill collaborated with The Art Institute of Seattle to host the 6th Annual Glitter Gala Design Competition, with a theme of Through the Woods.  Top designs from the competition will be showcased at the Annual Glitter Gala.

For more information about the 2013 Gala, check out visit the Seattle Goodwill Website or like Seattle Goodwill on Facebook.

Seattle Goodwill Industries is a private, nonprofit organization that has served the central and northern Puget Sound since 1923. It provides free job-training and education programs and services that help low-income and underserved people obtain the skills they need to secure employment so they may achieve economic self-sufficiency.