11.26.16: It Feels Good To Give

Göteborg is rife with amazing thrift stores. Big ones, little ones, fancy ones, funky ones, community ones and church-y ones. Every neighborhood’s got one and everybody and their brother is there during those certain days of the week (you need a special calendar to keep it all straight) when they fling open their doors for bargains galore. Today Maria takes us on a tour of the good the bad and the ugly, from Ringön to Gamlestaden. Highlights: heaps of weird holiday stuff (these folks are Christmas cr-azy and you can really feel it starting to amp up this weekend), a pile of lipstick-red rotary telephones, awesome arrays of bakelite-handled cutlery, rubber raincoats, and in-store cafes with home-baked treats so you can get your fika on and replenish your energy for even MORE shopping.

Why do Swedes love thrifting so much? An urge to keep stuff out of landfills? Appreciation of a great deal? Hoarder mentality?  A commitment to supporting social causes? A peppy middle-aged blonde volunteer at Smyrna Second Hand spelled it out for us: “It feels good to give.”