- How often do you Op Shop for someone else? Do you hit the charity shops and sales with a specific item or idea in mind, or do you find things randomly? If you are a reseller, do you have clients that send you op shopping for specific items?
- I ask because last week I was in thrifting heaven: I op shopped for an amazing craftswoman who upcycles & refashions leather belts
- into vintage inspired bags:
Blue Check Pixie
Emma Makes Blue Velvet Pixie Bag
On my wishlist
Purple Floral Pixie
Emma’s Bags: very sturdy & hold heaps!
Pretty and versatile
Call it another case of Op Shopping Karma. A couple weeks back Emma, from Emma Makes, put the call out to her thrifting buddies. She was on the hunt for leather belts to make her fab pixie bags.
When I heard this, I knew the Wairarapa Op Shop waist cincher & accessory inventory must be pretty sparse. You see, Emma is another Op Shopping Ninja
My very first thrifting interaction with Emma was back in 2009 when she read a wishlist I posted for the Featherston Community Centre. Emma slyly dropped off an awesome Art Deco Tea Trolley she thrifted & donated to the Centre.
Community Centre visitors frequently comment on that trolley
Here was my chance to return the Op Shopping favour.
Mission: The belts needed to be under 1″ wide & colours were preferable.
After sifting through several bins & racks of men’s and women’s belts, I suspect that Cantabrians are quite conservative when it comes to their leather accessories.
Results: This was actually the second batch of belts I’ve sent Emma. I found them at the Christchurch City Mission Sydenham shop. The first batch came courtesy of the Addington Salvy, but was so excited about my finds that day I forgot to take a picture & tried to post Emma my car keys!
Why I like Emma Makes: I am notoriously hard on my clothes & accessories & Emma’s bags make the grade. While I don’t have an Emma Makes Pixie Bag, I carry one of her shoulder bags everywhere I go. It’s perfect for me & is Baron proof.
@emmamakes FYI, ur shoulder bags can carry:1lunchbox, drink bottle, 4nappies, pack wipes, size 6 shoes, hairbrush, lion, sheep, &little pony
— Heather (@thismumrocksnz) February 18, 2013
If you are interested in quality craftsmanship, vintage fabrics and upcycled accessories, I suggest checking out the Emma Makes shop. The bags are fab, homewares lovely, the stationary edgy & she ships worldwide.
Emma’s also teamed up with Alexandra Mckenzie this month to showcase items from her stationary & homewares range in an Old School/New School giveaway, which you can enter here
I’d love you to share your thrifting strategy or your own experiences with upcycling op shop finds or op shopping for someone else in the comments below. I’m all about sharing the knowledge, but if you’re one of those Op shopping ninjas who thrives on a stealth mission, I get and respect that too!
disclaimer: I’ve been compensated for sending Emma these belts…just not sure what yet (the surprise is in the post)
Linking with the lovely hosts of:
Op Shop Show-Off, The Nifty Thrifty, Thriftasaurus, Remnant, Thrift Share Monday, Magpie Monday
If you think this post rocks, then I’d love you to leave a comment, like on Facebook, or retweet it on Twitter
This Mum Rocks 
The bags are very cool. Have you come across Dotty Angel? A young friend put me on to her and I just found a book in the library by her….I think I might actually try some of her neat vintage projects.
That is a cool site! Is she NZ based? It’s kinda hard to tell by the blog.
No, I think she is English. Pretty neat ay 🙂
That’s op shop love!! I love hunting for other people too. You are building up that Op Shop Karma! Op SHopping Ninja – I love it!
Cheers Linda, love your Thermaii post this week! It’s funny I had to think about calling Emma a Ninja, as I think she’s really more a Samurai. It’s just she was really sly about dropping off the Tea trolley. One of the best days at work ever, when I arrived and it was waiting for me outside my office door.
wow you found SO many! I posted just a few off to Emma in comparison, she must have lots to work with now!
Hi Louana, I think I just lucked out, as there was a big bin of them at the City Mission. They weren’t really on display, just tucked under the rack of coats. I’m hoping Emma will be able to use them, if not I’m sure Stella at Featherstons Own, the Op Shop down the street from the Craft Country Shop will take them.
belts as bag handles, very clever! i like to op-shop presents and i know what sorts of things my friends like/collect but i dont op-shop to order as such x
Such great finds! I never seem to find great belts thrifting! 🙂
Cheers Kate! I seriously lucked out. They were hidden in a bin below a bunch of clothes and they were neatly bundled and not on display. (More a space saving issue than anything in this shop!). LOVE LOVE LOVE your googlie eyed shoes btw!
Thank you so much!