Op-shops are all the rage: Vinnies officially opens largest North West shop

The shop located at 64 Barnes Street in Taminda opened for business with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, February 22, attended by volunteers, community members, and St. Vincent de Paul workers.

The North West area manager, Julie Crosby, said this had been a 'dream' three years in the making.

"It has been a huge journey, and there are lots of things we have had to overcome, but, through the resilience of my team, we were able to get there in the end," she said.

And as an added bonus, the team behind the new site has installed three large donation bins.

"We understood there was a need to make the donation process simpler. This is an easy shop to come to, so people can drop off their donations on the way to Bunnings," she said.

"It is a little bit scary to have them, as we feel like all of Tamworth will just drop off all their donations here."

For a number of years, Vinnies has operated out of small shops throughout Tamworth, but Ms Crosby said the team had outgrown those sites.

"The smallest in the area was one located on Duri Road - we outgrew that 10 years ago," she said.

"The site wasn't comfortable, not nice to work in, dark and dingy; just entirely wrong.

"Our volunteers are the most important thing to us, so we have to make sure they are comfortable and their work environment is safe."

The new Taminda store will be the first and only in the region to sell second-hand furniture due to the larger storage and display areas.

"The Duri Road and Peel Street stores did not have the floor space for furniture, and we had to decline offers often," Ms Crosby said.

"We could see there was a need and that there was a need, and we can now take furniture."

Vinnies in Tamworth will also distribute stock to locations in smaller towns, including Narrabri, Moree and Barraba.

In an era of fast-fashion, more people, particularly Gen Z, are choosing to shop more environmentally friendly.

Ms Crosby said the St. Vincent de Paul team took this into consideration when collecting stock. The Taminda store includes a new range of recycled homewares, clothing, and sustainable options.

"Our aim is to offer good quality standards at an affordable price - we keep the best we get, we don't offer anything substandard," she said.

"We have to also honour the person who donated the items. So, if someone donates something of high value, we do put a higher price on it. We are a fundraising centre, so we need to make as much money as possible."

Ms Crosby said each donated item is thoroughly scrutinised.

"We reject items with stains, missing buttons, zippers that won't zip, or something that is misshaped or pilling," she said.

"When it comes to furniture, we don't take anything dirty, stained, or chipped - that is the hardest thing because we do need to have a process where we cannot take everything.

"Think good quality - if you would give it to your family or friends, then we would take that."

The new Taminda, located at 64 Barnes Street, is already taking donations. The shop will be open seven days a week from 9am onwards.