Get down with Thrift-ola

Being unique is always a good thing. People want to be different from others and to establish tastes of their own. The trend of vintage and second-hand goods has been growing for quite a while now, possibly as a backlash against mass-produced products that are pushed on to us on a daily basis, but it seems that the market for buying vintage is bigger than ever. All you need to do is have a wander around a charity shop or look at the popularity of bidding sites such as eBay to see what effect it has on us. This is why Thrift-ola, an online thrift shop run by a girl called Leona, is such a good idea.

Thrift-ola, based in East London, is jam-packed full with a mad variety of second-hand rarities that Leona herself finds in the depths of car boot sales and charity shops. Leona then painstakingly picks and chooses the precise items that she wants to appear on her website, in order to give her customers the best selection of what is out there for very reasonable prices. Leona says on her website that she is “very picky” with the pieces that she buys and sells, seeing the website as an opportunity for more people to buy good quality second-hand goods. Many of these people will simply not have the hours to rummage through the rails of second-hand shops!

Allowing people to buy second-hand, who may not have previously had the inclination to do so, is a pretty cool aim to have; especially in a world where throwaway culture is king, reusing old gems of design from eras past is very enchanting and a renewable way of living. Not forgetting the fact that you will proably never see anybody else wearing the same brooch or belt as you, unlike shopping in Topshop or Ikea, where this would most definitely be the case.

You can even make her an offer for any item you see – every Monday the website bustles with “Make Me An Offer Monday.” What you do is email her the item name and make an offer for it and see what happens. It’s as simple as that and a brilliant idea.

As Leona says herself, Thrift-ola takes her on a “never-ending treasure hunt”, so dive into her website of gems and join her by clicking here.

Rebecca Saunders