Most of the time we were in Moab last week it was raining and extremely windy. Jay was willing to brave the elements to mountain bike, but I decided to check out what indoor opportunities were available. I discovered Wabi Sabi Thrift Store. As most of you know, I am a serious thrift store shopper. I recently bought my wedding dress at a thrift store in Fairfax, Virginia and found great deals on ExOfficio outdoor wear in a Phoenix thrift store near Jay’s parents house. Well, Wabi Sabi was my favorite type of thrift store: 1) it benefits multiple local nonprofits, 2) they have sales (it was 50% EVERYTHING the day I shopped), 3) the employees seem to enjoy working there, 4) everything is neatly organized and labeled but they do not price different items of the same type differently.
Halloween Costumes that I tagged
So after spending 1.5 hours and 10 dollars at Wabi Sabi, I thought to ask if they used drop-in volunteers. It turned out that they were getting the Halloween room ready and could use help in the next few days. I signed up for a 2 hour shift and was excited to learn more about this organization.
My tools
When I showed up I was given volunteer guidelines to review and then immediately put to work. Excellent. I got in touch with my past retail experience, realizing it had been over 10 years since I had worked a price gun, but really it’s just like riding a bike. =) It was my job to price the halloween costumes that had already been sorted into boxes. I got to work across from the store’s manager. The other two volunteers that afternoon were two high school aged girls who were seriously enjoying sorting through the halloween garb and putting them up for sale. This was a coveted role, because in the process you could keep an eye out for the best costume to set aside for yourself. Even better, you earn store credit by volunteering ($7 per hour), so all of us could get a costume. I didn’t find anything that spoke to me, but this “big bad wolf” number was pretty fun (see picture below).
checking out the Big Bad Wolf costume
I really enjoyed my shift and will make time to shop at Wabi Sabi anytime I’m in Moab. The proceeds benefit 12 different local nonprofit partners and shoppers can vote on which nonprofit they would like to benefit from their purchases.
Jay Holt
sharontb
Interesting, to come across wabi sabi twice now in a month. The docent and the Gamble house used those words to describe the Greene brothers thoughts about their design and details of the house. Simple forms, shaped to indicate wear and age….
Interesting. I figured Wabi Sabi had to have a relevant meaning, but I never bothered to ask.
Thank you for the great review! – Jeff Cohen, Executive Director – WabiSabi