Secret Thriftstore No More

Pssst. I have a secret thrift store. However the sad news is my secret thrift is closing. I am sharing my coveted store now with all of you, so you may take a piece of it with you in its last breath. The days are numbered for this basement oasis of amazing finds that is open only Saturdays and goes by the name Store II. Located off of Killingsworth near Michigan in North Portland across from where the rowdy Jockey Club lived & the long gone Renaissance Market where one could buy grape Shasta. The neighborhood is changing, the rent is going up. Old favourites must go. That's life I guess. This store is not where you go for clothes or furniture, but the place you go when you need a jello mold for a wedding, or 1/4 hole punch (it was there!) or pink dollhouse bathtub.

[True Story] About twice a year Store II has a half off basement sale, so sometimes when I see something I want but want a cheaper price I'll hold out. On one such day when I knew I could get a little pink dollhouse bathtub for $2 instead of $4, I marched down to the shop to make it my own. I looked where it was, and *gasp* it was gone. So I asked the white-haired elegant owner if she knew where it might have gone. She said she hadn't sold it, but maybe it was moved to another area. So she lad me back in the layered depths, and as we turned the corner, She looked back in horror, and whispered, "oh no, that lady has it in her hands! Maybe you could make a deal?" When I turned the corner I had a big laugh. It was my friend Cathy Pitters who had told me about the tub in the first place. She had it, but was saving it for me.

Last week I stopped in to say goodbye and stock up on some goodness. It was half off, but I know I got a deal since for $5 I left with a garbage can, gardening gloves, gardening tool, vintage 50s beach towel, cutters, plastic case with a handle, a scrabble board, jar of paint, and a 50s toy iron.

Go friends Go, I give you Store II. The secret is no more. (By the way, the bargains are downstairs! Upstairs it looks like a traditional antique store)