Back to School and Beyond: Being Thrifty with Arc Thrift & Maggie Scivique

SPEAKER 01 : 0:00

It’s Mike Turing with Crawford Media Group. We’re joined by Maggie with Arc Thrift. So good to have you, Maggie. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:07

Excited to be back.

SPEAKER 01 : 0:08

Yeah, we want to know what’s new. What’s new at Arc Thrift? What are you doing?

SPEAKER 02 : 0:12

You know, it’s that time of year again. People are starting to get their back-to-school stuff in order. That’s probably top of the list. And then they’re starting to think about Halloween, which, you know, I can’t believe the weather just hasn’t turned yet. I’m not there yet, but our stores are definitely headed in that direction. Right.

SPEAKER 01 : 0:29

Well, we had a weathercaster the other day say, you know, the first freeze is only I think it’s now about six weeks away on average. Oh, wow. Which seems crazy when it’s 90 something outside. It’s just if if for especially kids and adults that want to look really sharp for Halloween, they kind of have to get on it early. And you guys are the place.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:50

Absolutely. And, you know, parents are on a budget more than ever this year, especially. I feel like people are really, you know, conscious of those things that are really hurting their wallets. And let’s not let it be our kids’ clothing for getting them back to school in style, one-of-a-kind outfits. You can really do an amazing job of preparing for every season at Arc Thrift Stores. As your kids grow and grow out of these clothes so quick, it’s so expensive. And anymore, we’re finding that young kids love to shop thrift. They want to be one of a kind. They want to be unique. They want to stand out from the crowd. And what better way to do that than at a thrift store?

SPEAKER 01 : 1:28

You know, we have a super user here at the radio station. Producer Tanner loves Art Thrift. He told me he goes sometimes every week, which is and he’s not he’s not an influencer or someone doing it as a small business. He just goes because he loves going, loves the staff, the team, the ambassadors, and he finds something new every week.

SPEAKER 02 : 1:50

Yeah, and we’re hearing from young people that they have a heart for not only our mission, but for not shopping fast fashion. They feel really strongly, you know, they’re going to inherit this earth. They hate to see how much is going into landfill. And, you know, one simple thing that these young people can do, not only for their wallets, but for the future environment, is make the switch to shopping secondhand. And the cool thing is not just clothes. Tanner is the perfect example. His entire apartment is outfitted in arc thrift, fines, furniture, housewares, kitchenwares, small furniture. All of that stuff can be found there, home decor especially.

SPEAKER 01 : 2:29

When you’re a young adult and you’re making young adult earnings, it’s a gift to say, look at that. Okay, we can use that in our apartment. We don’t have to buy it new at who knows how many times the cost. It’s such a blessing for those guys. Huge.

SPEAKER 02 : 2:45

Absolutely. And they’re so proud to say, oh, thanks, it’s thrifted. I only got it for $5. And I love that it’s a point of pride now for these young people. And I hope it spreads and continues from here until the end of time. We can only hope it continues and that more people do it.

SPEAKER 01 : 3:01

Yeah, 100% agree. And he, Tanner, looks sharp. So when he buys merchandise at Arc Thrift, people need to know. I mean, some of this looks like it’s never even been worn. And I’ve heard there’s even more selection for women there. So it’s just pretty, pretty amazing.

SPEAKER 02 : 3:20

Oh, yeah. People are very proud. New with tags is kind of our slogan because a lot of things come to us new with tags, especially in the ladies department. Whether you’re looking for that next outfit for an interview or for a special evening on the town or a wedding, we’re going into fall. There’s going to be all sorts of events coming up. It’s that time of year where those special things really need to come to your closet and you need to do it on a budget.

SPEAKER 01 : 3:46

Yeah, that’s a good point. Now let’s talk about the recycling part of it because when, you know, I don’t want to sound negative, but when we recycle at home, sometimes you wonder, is this actually getting to a recycling center and being recycled? But at Arc Thrift, you know somebody else is going to be blessed by that item. And if for some reason it doesn’t sell, you have a really specific way of dealing with it in a really good way.

SPEAKER 02 : 4:13

Yes, I so appreciate you bringing that up because many people don’t understand how valuable our recycling is. We’ve actually been named one of Colorado’s largest recyclers. And of course, our first plan is to get the items that you donate to our sales floor so that They can get a second life. But if they’re not sellable here, we do work with local vendors to responsibly recycle skis for ski chairs, electronics so they don’t hit the landfill. We work with local vendors first, and then we also work with third-party brokers that only source to ethically responsible recyclers around the world who are doing good things here. so that we can bundle those things up and sell them for pennies on the dollar often. But they are going to ethically responsible places and not contributing to landfills across the world, which is really important to us.

SPEAKER 01 : 5:07

We’re speaking with Maggie with Arc Thrift. And Maggie, I think something I thought you mentioned before is that some of the clothing items get donated to places in the world where they don’t have clothing. Is that still something that you do?

SPEAKER 02 : 5:21

Absolutely. Many third-world countries and developing countries have really thriving second-hand markets, and those are really important businesses for these emerging countries. For instance, Pakistan, India, we sell to only ethically responsible places that don’t have huge landfills that are polluting or incorporating child labor and all of that. But you’re absolutely right. There are several countries around the world – Oh, it’s funny. My warehouse guy just walked into my office, too. How funny. Off topic. But there’s lots of different countries that do really great work with third party. And we work with Canada. The name of our company that we use, a third party broker, is called Bank and Vogue. And again, they’re working day and night to make sure we’re only working with countries who do ethical practices of recycling. But we start here, Mike. So those things that can be recycled here in Colorado, that’s first.

SPEAKER 01 : 6:16

Good. That’s good. And I think people get a sense hearing this interview of how intelligently thought out things are at Arc Thrift. Because unless they hear this behind the scenes, they don’t know how strategic those things are and how you carefully pick your partners for Arc Thrift instead of… We’re a thrift store. That’s what we do. Okay. That’s all we do.

SPEAKER 02 : 6:43

And people often think that we just automatically throw things away. I mean, there is, I mean, overconsumption is just a byproduct of all this. People have too much. That means we have too many donations, but really we try our hardest to prevent things from hitting the landfill. That’s what I want really people to understand is, You can trust us. We are going to do our due diligence. We have dedicated partners. We have dedicated employees here at Arc Thrift locally that are doing their best to make sure that we’re making responsible decisions.

SPEAKER 01 : 7:13

Now, your warehouse manager just walked in, but that speaks to something. You keep turnover in the stores really significant. I don’t know if I’m saying that the right way, but basically there’s something new literally every day, many new items. Speak to that, please. Yes.

SPEAKER 02 : 7:29

you know there’s 5 000 new items a day the goal is to have fresh product and like i said we have so many donations there’s never a shortage but people are very savvy shoppers our regulars want to see it turn they don’t want the same items on the shelves day after day so it’s super important that we are on this cycle where we’re refreshing our product every single week we take that really seriously and making sure that there is a selection of season so for instance you’re not going to find a christmas tree in july Now, you will find a Christmas tree in November, but people want to shop seasonally. They’re not looking for a Christmas tree in May and June and July. They’re looking for it in November and December. So we have a storage program where we actually save for the seasons. So we are treating it like traditional retail, which the feedback from our customers is that’s why they like our thrift stores. They can get that long sleeve knit when it’s that time of year. But right now it’s 90 in Colorado. We still need tank tops and short sleeve knits on the floor. Super important that we’re thinking about seasonality.

SPEAKER 01 : 8:31

That’s, again, part of that intelligent approach, knowing arc thrift stores, how many years? 30 plus, right?

SPEAKER 02 : 8:38

Oh, my gosh, 50. We’re almost at 60 years, 55 years. I know I had to do the math, 1968. So we’re over 55 years and still going. And, you know, we just opened a store in New Mexico, and we’re going to Glenwood Springs, Mike. Very excited for that store.

SPEAKER 01 : 8:55

That’s great. And we have people that listen out towards Glenwood, believe it or not. So that’s so cool that, you know, they’ll have options. And by the way, those of you out in that area, get ready. It’s going to open when?

SPEAKER 02 : 9:09

Gear up. Yes, we’re hoping by the end of the year, Mike. We’re really excited. And I’ll call you so you can let your listeners know grand opening date as soon as we’ve got it.

SPEAKER 01 : 9:19

Super. So, Maggie, in our last couple of minutes, talk about the seasonality. You talked about going back to school. So the items that can be, you know, that can be… found at Arc Thrift, but also in Halloween, that kind of thing. But also in terms of donations, what do you need? What do we need to do to support you well at Arc Thrift?

SPEAKER 02 : 9:40

You know, I’m going to ask your listeners. They are so amazing and so generous with their donations. It’s like your audience just knows what we need. And I attribute that to you and Tanner really getting the word out for us. We’re so grateful. But it’s all about those home decor items right now. We call it brick brack in our environment. But those things that are tchotchkes, those things that you’re using to decorate your home, your kitchen, all of that houseware type item is really what we’re on the hunt for right now. We are doing free pickups of that. You can go up to 20 boxes and bags. We will pick it up from your house for free. You can schedule online or give our 1-800 number a call and schedule. We’re a couple weeks out, but all you have to do is box up those house good items, put them on your front porch. We will come pick them up for you for free. And again, up to 20 boxes and bags, Mike. What could be easier?

SPEAKER 01 : 10:37

That’s crazy. So even if there’s not furniture involved, there’s still pickup available for people that just can’t get out for whatever reason.

SPEAKER 02 : 10:44

Yes, and you are the first to hear this initiative. We were really requiring furniture. You’re the first public display of us talking about this, changing that policy. We will pick up just those 20-plus boxes and bags, a minimum of 10 boxes and bags for us to do a free pickup. But we’ll do it at your house, and you don’t have to include that large furniture item. We need your Brick Brack.

SPEAKER 01 : 11:07

And a hack, secret hack here, not so secret now, get your neighbors involved. Because if you don’t have 10 bags and boxes, not a problem. Involve a couple of neighbors and they’ll say, you’re going to organize this for me? All I have to do is bring it over? That’s awesome. Oh my gosh, we make it so easy. Stage on the porch, whatever you need to do. Is that typically what people do is put it on the porch?

SPEAKER 02 : 11:31

Yes. They put it on their porch, and people are so good. If it’s soft goods, if it’s your clothing items, put them into garbage bags. If it’s your hard items, put them into boxes. We take tubs. We’ll take anything for your hard goods so they don’t break down. And we’re very careful with them. This is often easier for people than loading up their car. Because loading up your car, yes, you can do it. And we love the people that do it. We’re so grateful. But if you can’t, some of those breakables, put it on your porch. We’ll take care of it. We’ll ensure it gets to the right place. And it goes to our stores and goes on our floors to help people.

SPEAKER 01 : 12:03

So good. And it has to be in a box or a bag, right? I mean, that’s just logistically. And if you’ve been to Arc Thrift, you know why. It just can’t be handling little miscellaneous items. It’s just too hard.

SPEAKER 02 : 12:15

Yes, please box and bag. And most people are so familiar. I mean, again, your listeners, especially seasoned veteran donors, they get it.

SPEAKER 01 : 12:23

Yeah, they do. They do. And you have a lot of those. Well, it’s Maggie Skavik. Maggie’s with Arc Thrift. And Maggie, tell us, how do people get connected? What do they do?

SPEAKER 02 : 12:32

The best way to find us, please follow us on all of our social media, Facebook, Instagram, now on TikTok. But you can always hit up our website, which is just arcthrift.com. And we’re everywhere. You can just hit us up for any of those channels. Everything can be found on our website at arcthrift.com.

SPEAKER 01 : 12:50

Maggie, you, Lloyd, the ambassadors, your entire team, man, you’re such a blessing to our listeners and you’ve helped so many. So thanks for doing that. And we’ll look forward to talking to you very soon.

SPEAKER 02 : 13:00

Thanks so much, Mike.