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From hand-me-downs, household appliances and hidden treasures to collectibles, clothing and bargains, to the weird and wonderful, you can find it all in Warkworth’s many second-hand stores.
Mahurangi Matters discovered that while our local op-shops, thrift marts and vintage boutiques have many characteristics in common, they each have their own distinct identities.
The aptly named Generosity Corner was originally set up by owner John Bass, an English expatriate who says giving to charities is far more enjoyable than his previous line of work as a private investigator, which he did for 30 years in the UK.
“When I first arrived in the country, I wanted to do something different so I volunteered at hospice. It’s nicer helping people than trying to track them down,” he says.
Originally Generosity Corner was a not-for-profit organisation, but it’s now a registered charity giving to a multitude of causes throughout the area.
“I always wanted it to be a charity because it just runs better when you’ve got a board of people who can come together to discuss who in the community gets funding. There’s about 30 charities to,” he says.
During covid, Bass says he needed to invest $30,000 of his own money and borrowed about $10,000 from the government to keep the shop going.
“As well as paying off that debt, we have still been able to help out a lot of people. Last year we gave away around $30,000.”
Generosity Corner is located at the top of Mill Lane and occupies a cavernous building with almost every square metre accounted for, both on the shop floor and in the storerooms.
There’s a kids’ area, furniture and clothes sections, a space for tools, a library, linen room and plenty more – it feels closer to an emporium than a second-hand store.
“We basically have another three shops out the back. It’s huge, it just keeps on going,” Bass says.
And everything’s donated: from artwork, comics, coins and books to couches, beds, clothing and appliances.
Some of items that get dropped off are very valuable, he says.
“You’ve got to be astute with that. Technology is helpful. You take a picture of something and then ask questions about it using AI, which has become a good tool for identifying high-value goods.”
He adds, “Everything we get in the store, we try to sell here first. And if we don’t sell it, we’ll put it on Trade Me – then it goes to a wider audience.”
Unfortunately, people are sometimes generous with their rubbish as well, which all too often gets unceremoniously dumped outside the front doors.
“It costs us about $7000 a year, so it’s a big problem. I’ve walked in some mornings and we’ve had three-and-a-half cubic metres of rubbish dropped on our doorstep. I’ve put in signs and had to put cameras up to deter people. It annoys me, because that $7000 could go back into the community,” he says.
Unlike Generosity Corner, which donates to a variety of charities, Hospice Shop Warkworth is one of 17 stores that fundraises solely for Harbour Hospice, the specialist palliative care provider for North Shore, Hibiscus Coast, and Warkworth/Wellsford.
Harbour Hospice’s Emma Oliver says they raise around half of their annual fundraising needs from these hospice shops, with all proceeds going directly into patient, family and whanau care.
“Our compassionate care is free of charge, and most of our care is provided to patients in their homes.
They may come into our inpatient units for short periods of time for respite care, symptom management or end-of-life care.”
Hospice Shop Warkworth is an integral part of their fundraising efforts and “boasts quality, pre-loved clothing and accessories, gifts, household items, books and toys”.
Manager Liz Sanderson, who’s been with Harbour Hospice for roughly 10 years, coordinates around 70 volunteers across Hospice Shop Warkworth, Tickled Pink, and The Bach stores, which are situated together at 58 Queen Street.
She also gets some much-needed hired help from her high-end specialist Sam Gray, whospice for about four years.
So what attracted Liz in the first place?
“Everyone seems to be touched by hospice these days. Dad was five years ago. During that time, even though we cared for him ourselves, hospice came on-board in the last week or two.“So just the overall picture of what hospice is and what it stands for, raising the funds for our patients, nurses and doctors.
I’ve been in this community all my life, so it was a way for me to give back,” she says.
The Warkworth Museum Op Shop, affectionately dubbed the ‘mop shop’, is on Baxter Street. Coordinator Lois Burton says they sell everything from a needle to an anchor.
“We’ve had huge soft toys, like elephant teddy bears that are absolutely enormous. The jigsaws in the book section are very popular, so is the craft area. We’ve had a lot of unusual jewellery and that always sells well,” she says. “Some things come in and we haven’t got a clue what they are. But even the quirkiest items find a buyer.”
Lois adds, “We’ve got wonderful volunteers. Nobody gets paid, it’s only the power and the rent that goes out and the rest all goes to the museum, and at the moment we’re fundraising for a lift to be installed.
“A lot of elderly people, including our volunteers up there, find the stairs between the first and second floors a little bit daunting, so it’s time to put one in, which will cost about $90,000.”
Her husband Clive Burton says they started the op shop at the museum.
“We had a trestle table set up there for bits and pieces, homemade jams and all sorts of weird things. It developed from there into what it is now on Baxter Street,” he says.
Just up the road, Station Master’s Vintage also offers plenty of unusual items, from the kitsch to the gothic and everything in between. The shop is nestled in one end of the old Warkworth Post Office on Neville Street, a historic location that provides the perfect setting for owner Elaine Church’s eclectic range of vintage goods.
She says ‘vintage’ these days means anything at least 20 years’ old.
“Most of what I offer is 20th century. I have a few pieces from the 19th century and some contemporary things that I like the design of, or they’re quirky, or they fit my aesthetic in some way,” she says.
As the name of her store suggests, nostalgia is a big part of what attracts Elaine’s clientele, with more
than a customer or two giving an item a wistful glance.
“For many people it’s about finding things that might bring back a memory, like their family home or grandparents’ house.”
Elaine’s shop has multiple rooms, including the original post office vault, now the ‘Vintage Vault’, selling everything from furniture, glassware, pottery and kitchenalia to artwork, jewellery, clocks and clothing.
“It’s all about me really, the contents of my brain splurged out. I have quite a strong sense of what appeals to me visually,” she says.
“I look for inventory online, in garage sales, junk shops. I look at collections people have, or things they no longer need.
“Often it’s saving stuff from landfill. So it’s stopping beautiful things, interesting things that give us a little window into the past, from going unsustainably off to the tip.”
She adds, “I also clean art and reframe things. I fix a lot of stuff that would otherwise be a goner.”
Elaine picks items to stock that visually appeal to her, but also what she senses somebody else might like as well.
“There really is something for everyone here,” she says.
A sentiment that could apply to Warkworth’s second-hand shopping scene in general.
Download the Driving Miss Daisy – Vintage, Recycle & Op Shop Tour Map.
