The Savvy Picker travels around the Southeast looking for vintage merchandise to stock her brick-and-mortar and online shops. She recently visited the North Georgia Mountains, where she stopped in at His Hands and Feet Ministry Thrift Store.
Keep reading to check out her haul and pick up a few tricks of the trade.
To me, one of the best things about His Hands and Feet Thrift Store is the operating hours. Unlike a lot of thrift stores, this one is open on Mondays. And it opens at 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, which is earlier than most. This makes it a perfect first stop in a day of thrifting.
The shop has a lot of clothing and housewares, so if you are looking for these things, you are sure to find something that suits your needs. If you are a reseller searching for vintage items, you may only discover a few treasures, but this is one of those shops that just takes a minute to run through, and you’re sure to find a good deal or two when you do.
While there, I picked up two quality small frames, a monkeypod pineapple, and a small blue and white Asian bowl, all items that sell well for me. I paid a dollar or less for each of these items, and all will sell in my shop for a few dollars each. While I won’t make a ton of money on this haul, I know this merch will move.
I also grabbed this $2 faux tobacco basket. Shoppers, a real tobacco basket will be much larger and heavier, woven of split wood. While I knew this wasn’t the real deal, I also knew it would provide some nice background texture for one of my displays and that someone would probably want it even if it wasn’t real. (I put it in my shop for $12 and sold it the same day. So much for my display!)
The best deal I got here was advice from the friendly salesclerk! When I asked about other thrift stores in town, she gave me a brochure for one shop, directions to another, and tipped me off about a local thrift store that was “overloaded right now.” An overloaded thrift store?!!! I knew where my next stop would be.
Or so I thought. But when I headed to my car with my few items, I realized it was only 9:15 am, and I had 45 minutes to kill before I could hit the motherlode. Luckily, as I was driving back through Cleveland, I spotted this little building.
Since I’d skipped my morning brew, Farmhouse Coffee was certainly a sight for my baggy-caffeine-deprived eyes. I beelined right to it. Stepping into the small, delicious-smelling space, I found myself in line behind a local police officer and his significant other, who were chatting amicably with fresh-faced baristas. How amicably? Well, when the couple left, one of the baristas yelled, “I LOVE YOU” after them, and the officer returned the salutation. Now, I don’t know whether the parties involved were related or whether Cleveland is just the friendliest town on earth. I prefer to think the latter and hope that yelling I LOVE YOU is just the Cleveland way!
A few minutes later, I was served a piping hot latte and scrumptious scone, and although no one yelled I LOVE YOU after me when I left, the friendly baristas invited me to keep coming back to Farm Fresh Coffee throughout my stay in the North Georgia Mountains.
After enjoying my breakfast, I headed to the “overloaded” store the friendly salesclerk told me about. Her description was accurate, and I wasn’t disappointed! You’ll be reading about that experience in the next Savvy Picker article.
His Hands and Feet Ministry Thrift Store is located at 66 Blalock Mill Drive in Cleveland, Georgia. Store hours are 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday – Friday.
Who should visit: Early Birds!
Score of the day: Great tip on an “overloaded” thrift store nearby.
Re-seller takeaway: Follow this shop’s Facebook page! They periodically run “Everything is a Dollar” specials, and these are advertised on their FB page.
The Savvy Picker publishes bi-monthly on Now Habersham. For more great reads and finds, click here. For additional tips on tracking vintage treasures, visit The Savvy Picker website.
