News

Changes, they are a’changing

By Patrick Adrian
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — Like a metaphorical butterfly, the Claremont-based thrift store Changes will close for a six-week renovation next month, beginning on Sunday, Jan. 19, to reopen transformed at the end of February.

On Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, the nonprofit thrift store, located on Pleasant Street, will reopen with a boutique, offering a greater selection of name-brand and designer clothing, shoes and accessories. The current clothing and apparel offerings will remain, but the store will stop selling household and non-apparel items to shift its focus entirely to clothing and apparel.

“We’re very excited,” said Deborah Mozden, executive director of Turning Points, a private, nonprofit agency offering crisis and support services to female and male survivors of domestic violence and sexual violence.

Turning Points opened Changes Thrift Store at 55 Pleasant St. about 20 years ago. Proceeds from Changes Thrift Store fund an array of Turning Points’ community programs in Sullivan County, from counseling services to educational programs and outreach campaigns. Mozden said the board hopes to generate more revenue through the boutique to fund new programs.

“The [non-apparel inventory] does move, but 80% of our sales is clothing,” said Changes Thrift Store Manager Sam Dubois, who has run the thrift store for six years.

The non-apparel inventory ranges from household items, puzzles and toys to books and CDs. In addition to more interest from area residents in clothing options, the non-apparel inventory takes more time and energy for a small staff to maintain. Changes Thrift Store staff consists of one full-time employee in Dubois and a part-time associate Shelby Petrin. The remaining staff are volunteers.

Turning Points decided on opening a boutique after researching revenue-growth options with a consultant in March. Their findings, which included data from about 125 online surveys, indicated that a boutique was their best route.

“County residents indicated a demand for clothing and accessories that are difficult to find locally,” Mozden said. “Expanding the store’s focus to clothing will broaden the store’s already diverse customer base, who range from people on limited income to customers who like shopping for secondhand clothing. Changes Thrift Store also has the retail expertise in place and can transition without much upstart cost.”

As with Changes Thrift Store’s current inventory, the boutique items will all be donated. Mozden said that some apparel retailers, like Hubert’s, donate their overstock to Changes Thrift Store. Some items get donated by a Sunapee group known as The Bag Ladies. The Bag Ladies recruit volunteers to clean out closets in homes to acquire unwanted clothing and accessories for donation.

“Many items they find are brand new, with the price tags still on them,” Mozden said.

Changes is selling household and non-apparel items for 50 cents each until Jan. 19.

“We are selling out the inventory, and new boxes of inventory is coming into the store daily,” Dubois said.

During the hiatus, the store will get a full makeover, including repainting and reorganization.

Turning Points plans to hold a grand re-opening for the store in February.

Shopping for a cause

Changes Thrift Store has an incredibly diverse customer base, according to Mozden and Dubois. The store’s visitors travel from a 40-mile radius, sometimes as far as Brattleboro or Queechee, Vermont.

But Changes Thrift Store is more to Turning Points than a revenue provider. Dubois said that many customers visit to learn more about Turning Points, or because they find Changes Thrift Store to be a “safe place.”

Dubois recalled a woman, several years back, who would visit the store three or four times a day. Many times she did not buy anything. In time, Dubois learned that the woman came because she considered the store a “safe place” and therapeutic. It was warm and inviting, and the staff were educated and connected to the Turning Points mission.

Mozden said that many men and women who eventually sought help from Turning Points began by making connections with people at Changes Thrift Store.

“Making the step to seek help can be scary,” Mozden said. “But everybody shops.”

Dubois, a longtime fan of secondhand shopping, said that among the variety of reasons why people shop thrift, the additional appeal with Changes Thrift Store is that customers are also donating to a good cause.

“It’s shopping for a cause,” Dubois said. “It’s a win-win for the customer. I’m making a donation but also picking up a prize.”

Turning Points encourages community members with quality clothing to donate, either new or slightly used, to bring them to Changes Thrift Store during open hours. Changes Thrift Store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Ed. Note: Changes will close for renovations in January, not December. The actual store hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., not 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Household and non-apparel items are being sold for 50 cents, not 50% off.

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