uptowngirl
uptowngirl

Thrift Shop Spring Event

So today when I was out and about , I chanced upon my local Housing Work's Spring Event where I scored a sweet framed print for $20. The store was extremely crowded with people shopping up a storm on the Upper East Side no less. While I was paying the cashier went on to tell me that these Spring events were being held at various Houseworks stores across the city and there is even a warehouse event scheduled for March 13th at the Thrift Shop Warehouse in Long Island City-http://www.housingworks.org/events/detail/ware3/
I am planning to go as soon as I figure out how to get there on public transport.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
What kind of stuff do you think they'll have there? I mean, where does this stuff come from? Donations, I presume?
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
I wonder how many people are going to be there? Hopefully it's a massive event with a lot of good stuff, which would make it worth a trip.

@uptowngirl Did you figure out what the transport would cost you?
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
I love vintage shopping! Thanks for the information. Not sure I can match the $5 gorgeous framed,faux-gilted reprint of a 16th century map onto (faux) gold leaf I found last week at an outdoor fair, but I sure can try!
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DBlack
DBlack 2yrs+
That looks like a great event. It's now on my calendar...
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayyBK Just figured out that I can get there on the public bus .. have to take the Q32 from 58th Street and Second Avenue. Only hope that I make it good time before all the goodies are gone.:) This is turning out to be an insanely busy week for me..

@Neversleep yes most of the stuff Housing Works has is from donations.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Everybody: Is the thrift shop spring event only at certain places, or is it at every thrift shop in town.

By the way, when I see a yard sell, I stop sometimes to see what bargains I can pick up. What is another man's junk is another man's treasure.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@hhusted this particular event seems to be a warehouse event at the Housing Works Warehouse in LIC but there are other spring events and all the various housing works throughout the city.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
So I wonder if this is a bunch of stuff they've been trying to sell for ages, but it wasn't working? You know? I wonder if this is just an essential giveaway of all the stuff no one wants. Or maybe they collected the stuff just for this event? Here's to hoping.

But the idea is really great - I'm tempted to go just for the fun of it.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@NeverSleeps I so want to go to this event but the forecast mentions heavy rain for this weekend and I hate rain even more than I hate snow. I do hope the rain doesnt nix my plans to attending the event.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@uptowngirl Why does it have to rain when there are so many things I want to do this weekend?
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBk my thoughts exactly ... oh weather gods please give us a break havent we suffered enough?
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Agh, it's today and I had so intended to go. But I doubt I'm going to haul myself there in the rain.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish I so wanted to go myself.. have been watching this wild monsoon rain all morning and have been willing it to stop..maybe they will hold it again if they dont have much attendance?
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Everybody: I hate to tell you this, but according to accu-weather, it is suppose to rain heavy at times all weekend long and into Monday. Yuk and double yuk.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@hhusted I have no choice but have to venture out to see a girlfriend who recently gave birth to her second baby..hopefully I will get a cab in this miserable weather.. reminds me of the Monsoon season in Mumbai where we get three months of torrential rain...
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DBlack
DBlack 2yrs+
Yeah. The day's pretty much shot.
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Miserable rain! At least NYC has tons of "inside things" to do. What do you guys like to do when it's raining? I enjoy sitting at the Barnes and Noble cafe with some books and magazines then heading to a film - as long as I bring a jacket. Those air conditioned theatres are cold!
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DBlack
DBlack 2yrs+
I'm going to a movie tonight, most likely. When the weather's good I'm not nearly so patient about sitting inside a theater, but for rain days like this...
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@uptowngirl Did you end up getting a cab? I walked about eight blocks in the East Village from the train, looking for a train the entire time and not finding one.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
How can it possibly rain for so long? My friend's apartment actually flooded this weekend, due to several leaks that his landlord never bothered to fix. What would you guys do in a situation like that? Withhold your rent?
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@NeverSleeps: Your friend has the right to have everything working correctly. If there are leaks, it interferes in his enjoyment of the apartment. As such, he has the right to withhold the rent until such conditions are met. But he has to write a letter to the landlord and send it certified. Then take the money and place it in escrow until the leaks are fixed.

@Everybody: When it rains, I stay in and write. I am currently working on a screenplay. I work on that. If I am not working on my screenplay, I'll watch a video. If I am not watching a video, I'll work on an assignment for a client.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK I was really lucky got a cab easily both while venturing out as well as when I was coming back home. It was truly yucky and I was hanging on to my giant umbrella for dear life while I was on the street as I didnt want it to be wrecked by the hurricane like winds.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@everyone I was really bummed that the weather prevented me from getting to the Housing Works Warehouse sale but in case anyone is interested many of the UES thrift shops like Spence Chapin and the Council Thrift Shop are having their spring sale events this week as are many of the Housing Works locations around the city.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
@uptowngirl Do you have any more info on those sales? And I wonder how the Housing Works Warehouse made out sales-wise. You would think that a lot of people who were planning to do didn't really make it.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
I'm really sad that no one went... I was hoping to hear whether such a thing had any really great offerings or not. Though I suppose thrift store events are all in the eye of the beholder...
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@uptowngirl I had no problems getting a cab on Friday night, several times, but on Saturday night when it was really coming down I had no choice but to brave the rain. I did get a cab home, but that was much later and the rain had virtually stopped by 4am... So, you ARE very lucky!
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@NeverSleeps just checked their website it doesnt say anything about the warehouse sale being rescheduled but offers a list of the spring sales at various locations-http://www.housingworks.org/social-enterprise/thrift-shops.
The Spence Chapin Store's Spring Event is scheduled for Wednesday the 17th as is the Council Thrift Shop's event.
@BroadwayBk I am scouring the thrift shops for art to take with me to Hong Kong. I am not shipping my Indian art to Hong Kong but leaving it behind in NYC. I have until now scored two framed prints which I am very happy with.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@uptowngirl How do the thrift store art offerings tend to be? I usually stick to bags and accessories in my thrifting adventures.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBk so far I snagged a nice water color and a silk print in my thrift store adventures but most of the offerings seem be quite dull and dark or framed prints of flowers and plants. I am looking for cheerful and colorful works and am hoping that I can land some more stuff in the coming days. If you want you can have a peek at the auction website of Housing Works to see what I am talking about-http://www.shophousingworks.com/listing.cfm?page=category&categoryID=174
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Thanks for the link, @uptowngirl. I love Housing Works! Glad you found something nice!
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Everyone: I usually go to thrift stores to see if there are any old records that are there for sale. Just in case you started to laugh or say records are outdated, don't. I do have a record player. In fact, I found that record players are still being made.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@hhusted Purists (or whatever you want to call music geeks) are definitely still into records - it's supposedly the best way to listen to music. When you turn a song into an MP3, it actually somehow modifies the sound because you are losing part of the file as you make it smaller. Most people can't hear the difference - I can't - but there is a difference.
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Indeed, @BroadwayBK. My mother is still convinced that vinyl > cassette tapes, which in turn > CDs, which are > mp3s and so forth. She has a point; the sound of our old cassette tapes is so much richer and warmer than my mp3s.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Everyone: Any time you have sound that is converted from one format to another, there will be some quality lost. The file has to be minimized to a point and this chops off some of the higher frequencies to make the entire signal smaller. This is why when you listen to music on a record or tape, and listen to the same song on CD or mp3, there is a slight difference. You don't here the true stereo affect. The background sound, if you want to call it that, is missing.

Studios are trying to find ways of digitally mastering songs without losing any quality at all. They have sophisticated equipment that will allow for such conversion. If you purchase a DVD from a store, and it has the words "Digitally Remastered" this means they took the original record, placed it in a record player with a record feature to it, and recorded the entire record onto a machine. This mic is so sensitive that it picks up the slightest noise. This way the original sound stays intact as it is being burned on DVD.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
But you have to admit that a lot of old recordings sound better once they've been remastered. I really wish someone would go through Love's catalog and do some improvements. Their album Four Sail sounds like it was made at the bottom of a well, which is a shame because it is so great.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@NeverSleeps: it is the equipment they use. When you don't have the right equipment, such a thing can happen.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
Um. They are recordings from the sixties, soooo...
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
I doubt that there is anyway to compress a file without somehow altering it. But, I continue to be surprised by technology, so here's to hoping? But I will always love records - there's something about putting a pin down on a giant revolving vinyl disc that never fails to delight. Screw CDs.
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Ah, forget it - I'll just listen to music live....
Although I've gotten used to the rather "tinny" sound of my ipod...
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@everyone the warehouse event which all of us seem to have missed because of the rain last month is on again in April. On the 3rd,10th and the 17th for more info -www.housingworks.org/events
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Uptowngirl: Great. I will have to make it my goal to get to one of them.
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Which thrift store do you guys think is better for books - Housing Works or The Strand? I think the Strand has a much better book selection, although given that Housing Works is a charity, I try to shop there when I can.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Ajadedidealist: To be honest with you, I never went to any of them, so I can't say. However, you have given me food for thought. Perhaps I'll investigate and find out which one is truly the best one.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@ajadedidealist I think the Strand definitely as you say the HousingWorks Book Shop is mainly a charity shop and the selection depends on donations. I actually discovered another intriguing thrift shop opposite the Chelsea location of Housing Works, the Angel Street Thrift Shop which seems great for clothes and shoes. Currently it has tan Ferragamos on offer in addition to several other brands.
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JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
The static on the record player before a song starts is my favorite sound in the world. It's creepy and soothing at the same time.
I'm gonna definitely have to go with the Strand on this. Their selection is unbelievable: my favorite store in NYC.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@JenMac: I remember some of the original recordings done on records, and know what you are referring to. That scratchy sound is not found on CDs, DVDs, and mp3 players.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@ajadedidealist The Strand for sure. I can spend hours there. Housing Works can't even compare.

@uptowngirl That's good news about the event being on for April! Now we can all go.... Also, have you ever noticed that vintage Ferragamos are at just about every flea market and vintage store? It makes me wonder if they were once a somewhat affordable shoe, as they seem to be everywhere.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Everybody: We have already planned a trip to Coney Island as community, why not do the same to the thrift shop spring event. Just decide what place to go to, and when you are going, then we will all work out our schedule so we can be there at the same time. This way we can meet each other. Is that a good idea?
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