An op shop without clothes is a bit like a pub with no beer. Nonetheless, that’s what I saw today.
There I was, blithely wandering around the ERMHA (Eastern Region Mental Health Association) op shop at 13 Buckley St, Noble Park, thinking ‘Sheesh, that’s weird, there’s furniture and books but narry a stitch of clothing’ – and almost wandering into the ‘staff only’ section in search of it – when the penny dropped that another op shop a few doors down had eerily similar signage, and was full of clothes.
Ding.
Anyhow, the furniture version of this shop has some great, kooky stuff. I saw ovenproof, American teacups and saucers in gorgeous 50s pastels; an odd 60s-ish coffee pot (one of those painted glass ones with a polished copper top) sitting in a metal frame above a space for a tea light candle (so you can keep the coffee hot, I suppose), several well-made figurines, a couple of nice mid-20th century timber coffee tables, etc. Basically the usual clientele seems to go for the modern and functional jazz, so the weird, pretty and old stuff tends to hang about. There’s also a heap of books, and prices are reasonable.
Down the road, the other shop sells clothes (obvs), with equal parts men’s and women’s wear, with a smattering of kids’ wear, a decent array of shoes and some sewing patterns, Manchester and sewing/craft supplies.
It’s your typical op shop situation – mostly average quality, drab, relatively recent clothes with a few good quality pieces and a few gems thrown in. There is a surprisingly high amount of tweed here, both in skirts and men’s and ladies’ jackets. A few nice blouses. The dresses were nothing to write home about.
There were some great vintage shoes, though – I picked up a lovable (though wildly impractical) pair of 1950s magenta pointy stilettos in excellent condition for a mere $6 (Photos to come, ishweartogawd, I just don’t have any image software at the moment – if you know of a way to compress images other than Irfanview that a PC will have then PLEASE TELL ME).
The jewellery was mostly junk, though it was in a few small boxes under the counter, so if you want to have a good poke around you’ll have to ask.
The other notable thing was a collection of three pieces of Australian, handpainted Carlton-ware porcelain (a jug, a saucer and a dish which had sold – the label was still there) from the 1930s. These were pricey and small (the most expensive piece was $35) but compared to what this stuff would fetch at an antiques fair or retail store, this seemed very reasonable. Especially as Australian pottery seems to be getting more collectable/expensive.
Anyway, this matching pair of ops isn’t worth chartering a private boat/helicopter/malamut-drawn sleigh for – they are quite small, and not total Aladdin’s caves - but if you’re nearby I’d definitely recommend dropping in, as there are about four op-shops in this little strip, and the prices in both shops are reasonable and the staff are nice (if somewhat confused – one vollie had to try three times to give me the right change).
Been out this way? Thoughts, recommendations?
May 6, 2008 at 8:03 pm
[...] St Aidan’s Op Shop, Noble Park In the same strip as the two ERMHA op shops is this single room clutterfest, which was devoid of staff for most of the time I was in [...]