b: I am a charity shop regular. My bookshelves are brimming with books, and my drawers are full of patterned jumpers and beaded tops that I've found tucked away at the back of my local charity shops. Luke, however, not so much. Whilst he was a charity shop volunteer, and once brought home Prison Break season 1 for £2 (!!), he rarely ventures into the vast array of shops on our local high street. With this in mind, I thought I would propose a little bit of a charity shop challenge to see whether it was possible to buy gifts for one another with just our loose change. The rules were simple: Luke and I had £5 each to spend on gifts for one another and we had free range of the 10 charity shops that grace the high street of my hometown. We managed to stumble across a lot of finer things but lets start with Luke's finds first!
watercolour painting, wooden jewellery box, CERAMIC CAT
luke'S MUSINGS on his finds
Now as Bee has already informed you, I didn't know what to expect when taking on this challenge. I was hoping to stumble upon a mysterious little shop, like the one out of Never Ending Story, and find a shop assistant who could give me some sound book recommendations, or at the very least offer me some free Frogurt. Aside from these adventurous aspirations, I also set off to find something that would catch my eye, and it didn't take long until something did. In the very first shop I went in, in the centre of the room, was a little CERAMIC CAT that looked just like Bee's tabby cat Charles (who I am constantly competing with to be the favourite!). I think that's one of the things that makes charity shops so brilliant. Even if you go in not having a clue, you can, more often that not, find unique yet personal gifts that you can be almost certain the recipient will love. The second gift I bought was found in the third shop on the route, a large hand painted WATERCOLOUR PAINTING in blues and purples of a sailboat on a lake. The painting caught my eye instantly, and I couldn't help but wonder as to who its creator may have been, and where they took their inspiration from. This, again, demonstrates the uniqueness of the charity shop experience. The third and final gift I bought Bee was a little WOODEN JEWELLERY BOX that had been very well made, and remained in very good condition bar a few small scratches. I saw the third gift as something Bee and I could refurbish together. The great thing about buying from charity shops, along with the donation to charity, is that you have a bit of money left over for customisation and refurbishment. Alas, that's another challenge for another day....
bee's musings on luke's finds
I was so impressed with Luke's finds, especially as he's not a regular! The first gift that I received was the beautiful WOODEN JEWELLERY BOX, and soon as I saw it I could see its massive potential. The dark wood and the neon yellow innards weren't going to deter me! We are going to sand it all down, give it a lick of paint, re-upholster it and then it'll be good as new. I'm going to paint it white so that it fits in with my other furniture, but I may do a little stenciling on the top. What do you think?! The CERAMIC CAT is absolutely gorgeous, and so thoughtful because it really is a deadringer for Charles. He has since taken pride of place on my bookshelf. Whilst it's quite large and not something I would normally gravitate towards, I actually think the WATERCOLOUR PAINTING is beautiful and a perfect fit for my wanderlust! I'm going to re-frame this piece because the current frame is a little dated but I've already been eyeing up a spot on my wall for this beauty.
1984 by george orwell (978-0-141-19120-1), the incredible hulk comic (dec 1995), the maze runner by james dashner (978-1-906427-50-4), wolf hall by hilary mantel (978-0-00-723020-4), the children of hurin by j. r. r. tolkein (978-0-00-725226-8)
BEE'S MUSINGS ON her FINDS
I thought I'd find this challenge a lot trickier than I actually did but, thankfully, the charity shops did me proud! The first purchase I made was the vintage INCREDIBLE HULK COMIC. This little beauty is a '95 edition and I think it looks awesome. Luke collects graphic novels, and loves superheroes, so I think I did quite well with this one - even though the Hulk isn't one of his favourites! The rest of my finds were, surprise surprise, books. Luke wants to read more widely this year so I picked out some books that I thought he'd really enjoy, as well as ones that may challenge him a little. He loves Tolkien's other works so THE CHILDREN OF HURIN was a pretty good find! I also knew that he wanted to read some modern classics this year, particularly those in the science fiction genre, so I grabbed 1984 when I saw it loitering at the back of the RSPCA shop for a mere 50p. I'd heard quite a lot about WOLF HALL, as it won the Man Booker prize, and Luke quite likes historical fiction, so I was pretty chuffed to find it in brand new condition. Lastly, I picked up THE MAZE RUNNER because Luke enjoys popular YA series', like The Hunger Games. What do you think of my choices?
luke'S MUSINGS on bee's finds
I guess I should say to begin with that I wasn't surprised to see Bee had got me a number of papery goods from her charity shop adventure, as I am so used to seeing her bookcase overflow with her finds. Nevertheless, I was really impressed by the books Bee bought me. THE CHILDREN OF HURIN will be such a fascinating read, what with me being such a fan of Tolkein's other work! Similarly, I can't wait to start reading 1984 as it's pretty much a pillar of the modern science fiction genre. Sadly my novel reading pales in comparisons to my film watching, something I really want to change in 2014 as I think reading can enhance the viewing experience. For example, watching Game of Thrones on television after reading the book series makes them both all the more awesome (but, sadly, still horrifically depressing at times - SPOILER: poor Ned!). WOLF HALL is another novel I plan on reading this year but I have to admit I wasn't too familiar with it, but hey I guess that could be a good thing and I'll just have to trust Bee's judgement (and those of the Man Booker Prize people, of course!). It was nice to see THE MAZE RUNNER make it onto my bookshelf too, as it's probably a book I would have been likely to overlook myself. Admittedly, I have left THE INCREDIBLE HULK COMIC till last because its the one that surprised me the most. Although I'm not the greatest fan of the Hulk, despite him being such an approachable and relateable character...I really did not expect Bee to go out and find vintage comic books but, then again, why not?! Can anyone really say what you can or can't find in all the charity shops you find scattered up and down the land? I say no, and that's why you should go and explore them, especially if you loved the goody bags that you got from birthday parties as a kid. They're pretty much like them but for everyone!
now that we've shared our finds, TELL US...
• Would you consider buying gifts in charity shops?
• What are the best things you have bought from a charity shop?
• Do you like our picks? Who did best? ;)
with regards, THE FINER THINGS CLUB.
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