OP SHOPS VS POP SHOP

I don’t know why but to me buying from op shops always feels better than buying brand new. It’s not because it’s trendy. For me it’s the process of searching, meeting the old shop workers, secretly listening to their old person conversations while finding something pre loved with an unknown history.

Their concerns about life seem different. They’re volunteering, happy to be there because they choose to be there and help out. They have morning tea breaks and cherish their tea. They offer their service free of charge and you don’t expect any certain level.  They come from the same era as a lot of the things I buy, old cameras, jars, bottles.  Corks are still pressed into them and there are wine or whiskey stains inside the bottom of the bottles.

They bring a certain feeling to my home, homely, rustic, bringing life to the stark white walls…