Opp Shop Macy's

Having moved away from my inner-city neighbourhood where the opp shops are plentiful and they stock really cool, bohemian and cheap (as in bargain) buys, I now have the choice of 2 opp shops here.

The cheaper Vinnie's stock things which are common, mostly ugly and cheap (as in yucky Made In China). There had been a couple of gems in there though - the retro glass lemon juicer which I bought and The Magic Pudding book which I did not get as it was in the hands of another woman and I stalked her from aisle to aisle inside the shop, hoping that she would change her mind and relinquish that book. But she didn't. Well, you can't win them all.

The Salvos on the other hand, must pride themselves as the Macy's of opp shops. They have crystal decanters lining their shelves, all sorts of English crockery and Italian leather jackets. Their prices are Macy's-like too. I think they forget they are an opp shop and view themselves as a nice, little, retail shop in an expensive Lower North Shore suburb and hence price themselves with their surroundings.

I've seen a few things at this Salvos that I like - that lime green, soft-as-butter Italian leather jacket ($80 after a 50% discount) but didn't get (and it was gone the next day I checked), some English tea cup and saucer sets, a couple of crystal decanters. All of which I did not buy because I didn't come to an opp shop to pay Macy's prices. But today, as I was contemplating if I should buy a Noritake creamer jug with delicate flowers for $3, a little tea bowl caught my eye. Its cobalt-blue is just one of those colours I like in ceramics. I like tea bowls for their sturdy shape and their robust weight. They are simple and there is no nonsense about a tea bowl. And it was just $2. There was a potter's mark, but looks to be an amateur's mark I think.

It is beautiful, functional and best of all, it was marked at opp shop prices.