Join us in this delightful conversation with Maggie from Arc Thrift as we unveil the endless possibilities of thrifting, especially as Halloween and the holiday season approach. Discover how secondhand shopping can make your spooky season brighter with unique and affordable costumes for both kids and adults. Maggie shares insights on the unmatched variety and creativity available at Arc Thrift, proving that even a DIY costume can find its moment of fame at your next Halloween celebration.
00:12:25 How to Support and Participate with Arc Thrift
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey, it’s Mike Treem. And again, we’re joined by Maggie with Arc Thrift, our friend Maggie. How are you, Maggie?
SPEAKER 01 :
Great to be on the show, Mike. Happy to chat about all the things.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it’s good to have you on. And this interview will run during the month of October. So I’m starting to think ahead to March, but it’s not March yet. So October, and we’ve got Halloween coming up. Tell us about all the cool stuff we can get at Arc Thrift.
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, I love it. People don’t always think about a thrift store when they’re thinking about Halloween. But, gosh, you know, our wallets, it’s just so expensive anymore to buy these Halloween costumes. And I always encourage, you know, young families. Get those kiddos into the thrift store early so they get excited about shopping secondhand. But in a thrift store environment, you can afford two, sometimes three costumes at the same rate you would pay retail. And, you know, costume changes is like the most fun part about Halloween. You wear something different to school than maybe you’re wearing for trick-or-treat, and all the things can be found in the aisles of a thrift store.
SPEAKER 02 :
It seems like with kids, there are multiple Halloween opportunities, if you will, school one. And the one at the business is downtown and all this different stuff. So you might need a couple outfits for them.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, and you need to find the outfit that works at night, too, because inevitably what happens? It snows in Colorado for our Halloweens. So you’ve got to have that outfit that fits under the coat and still looks like a costume. Lots of things to consider. But really, it’s about finding that one-of-a-kind and unique item. And I always tell people, think about it. You wear a Halloween costume once and it gets donated to the thrift store. These things are practically new. So wear them once. We agree with that. And give them back to us. We’ll give them another life. They can have two, three, four years of Halloween.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, and let’s talk about that part, because it’s one thing to go in a store, and I just find the Halloween, back when we used to look for Halloween outfits for the kids, and we’re in a store, it was kind of gross. Stuff was everywhere. People, their manners when it comes to trying things on in some of these stores, it’s not good, right? Our thrift seems to be a lot more orderly, and I think that’s because your people stay really on top of making sure everything’s organized. Yeah.
SPEAKER 01 :
I love that you say that. We definitely, you know, assign a coordinator to our Halloween department. It is kind of a free-for-all. But the cool thing about ARC is, yes, we have those used Halloween costumes. You can find that, you know, gently loved Halloween costume base. But then we do brand-new makeup, brand-new wigs, brand-new accessories. You can really make it one of a kind but still get that new item to kind of perk it up and take it to the next level. But you’re right. We do try and keep things really neat and orderly. Um, and people shop us hard, especially right now. And that week before, uh, Halloween. So if you can get in a little earlier, you might miss some of that rush.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Smart. By the time you hear this interview, it’s time to get in right away and you’ll be before the rush for most people. Um, how about adults? Do adults find great Halloween ideas that, uh, art thrift do?
SPEAKER 01 :
Absolutely. In fact, I think we do better than retail because of our used content. We’ve got a ton of the gently loved items, the costumes that are bought at big box retail and worn once, but then you also get those really creative, one-of-a-kind things that people maybe DIY’d and put together. People are so creative. It blows my mind, some of the homemade costumes that come to us. And we resell them. They get a new home and they get a new life. I wish the people that donated knew that they’re making somebody’s day when they donate.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, it’s very fun. I hadn’t even thought of that. And I remember purchasing a Halloween merchandise new. It was poor quality. I mean, it’s just barely thrown together. When people make something, you actually think, wow, somebody stitched this. This is actually done pretty well.
SPEAKER 01 :
And they’re so creative. We get poodle skirts. You would not believe adult poodle skirts. That’s fun. Oh, my gosh. They’re one of a kind. They’re works of art. People do really great. And then, you know, right around the corner, we’ve got ugly Christmas sweater season. And you would not believe the DIY effort people put into these sweaters. And they come to us. They’re on our shelves.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. That’s the thing. We were going to talk about the holidays coming up, too. So you’ve got Thanksgiving and Christmas. You’ve got all the stuff for Thanksgiving, right?
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, yeah. You know, I really love when people come to us when they’re hosting a party. I’m doing a big event next week. I hit several stores for the big platters, the big bowls, the serving utensils, all the bakeware. You know, maybe you’re new to baking and, you know, you’re a little nervous about that pie that you’re going to try a new recipe for. Don’t pay retail. Go and buy a pie tin from us. Give it a shot. If it’s a total disaster and you, you know, come close to burning the house down, you can just throw it away. Or maybe it’s the start of a new love of baking. I love our baking aisles. I really think we do a good job with our Tupperware, our storage containers, all the things you need to bring home, the leftovers after Thanksgiving. Kitchen aisle is often overlooked. Don’t sleep on the kitchen aisle. There’s lots of opportunity on those rows.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, I see producer Tanner being a let me try my hand at baking these cookies guy, and if they burn, he’ll just throw away the whole thing.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes, yes. What do you think?
SPEAKER 02 :
He’s shaking his head right now. He’s going, no, no. I don’t know if that’s no, I’m a great cook, or if that’s no, I am not going to try to bake something. Okay, got it. Good cook, not a baker. Good enough.
SPEAKER 01 :
Fair enough.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, Christmas, is it too early to think about Christmas stuff at Arcturus?
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, we’re right around the corner from it. We do try and hold back. It takes a little bit of, you know, nerve and inner guts to say, no, we’re not going to put it out yet. But we try and get through Halloween before we really backfill with Christmas. But it’s right around the corner. And I can tell you, I walked the warehouse last week, and that stuff is definitely front and center, ready to be shipped out to the stores. It is Christmas tree crazy. There are so many Christmas trees, artificial Christmas trees right now. I don’t know what happened, but last season people must have really, you know, done their donating. They’re sitting in our warehouse ready to hit the stores. You’re going to see amazing artificial Christmas trees ready for purchase. Think about a thrift store before you hit. Again, you’re going to save so much money.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, Container and I say thank you for not putting that stuff out right now because we know stores where Christmas is already out and it’s really hard.
SPEAKER 01 :
It’s hard. It really is. And when those big box retailers have it out early like that, it’s hard for us not to follow the lead. But we really try and restrain ourselves because we want the floors to be full right up until Halloween, you know. We’ll get into the fall, y’all. We do have the fall decor right now for sure. But we think about Thanksgiving, and then we’ve got a little, you know, sprinkling of Christmas. We’ll hit it hard later in November.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, school closed. It’s, you know, our kids are just going through stuff. Grandkids, they’re just, you know, even adults. I mean, we shouldn’t say it’s just a kid’s thing. I don’t want to just say that. Because as adults, your needs change or you find out, you know what, I need another coat or I need something else. Talk about that for us.
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, behind those Christmas trees is our cold-weather gear. It’s right around the corner, Mike. No matter what we do, you know, people are already starting to load up on the sweaters. We do have those long-sleeve knits coming out. They’re hitting the floors. That really extreme cold-weather gear right behind it. A thrift store is a great place. People get new coats every year, and they donate the one from last season, and you get to reap the benefits by hitting the thrift store’s. hitting one of our stores and finding that gem, the North Face, the Patagonia. We’ve got that stuff. It’s there. You just have to look for it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, so good. It’s kind of a bit of an adventure, right? You go in and you say, all right, what am I going to find today?
SPEAKER 01 :
The thrill of the hunt. That’s what we love.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, new merchandise every day, quite a bit of it. Speak to that because people need to know there’s a reason to stop in a couple times a week instead of just one and done.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, I mean, we just run this really unique color tag system where some of our competitors are pulling back from that system. We really feel it keeps our products fresh. We have customers, like you said, that shop us multiple times a week. It’s super important that we’re putting new products on the floor every single day. And then those color tags change, and then everything goes on sale, you know, three to four weeks in a row. And once it’s gone, it’s gone. But you can always count on new products. But every Saturday, we’re putting four colors on sale. It’s just it benefits you to hit the store often. We have lots of people who hit three stores in one day. We love that. They’re our favorites. We encourage that. We think they find the best things. And, you know, we’re getting to that season where it’s like grab your best friend, grab a local coffee, head to the thrift store, hit every aisle, spend a couple hours perusing. You’re going to find something really special. grab a local coffee she just said the key thing don’t go to the big chain go to a local coffee shop so tell us about um about glenwood springs so glenwood springs you’re really excited about we really can’t wait i mean this is such a small town we’re super excited the roaring fork valley has been asking for us to come they do a lot of thrifting there they’re definitely thrift shops We’re going to be friends with all of those thrift shops there. We know for a fact that people don’t just shop one thrift store. They shop them all. We’re just excited to be a part of that community. We’re going to work in the community with their food banks. Our chapter of the Central Mountains is a very active community. Lots of people with family members with disabilities that are going to benefit from this store opening. And we’re just really excited to be a part of that community. It’s going to be a big store right in the heart of Glenwood Springs. And we hope to be an asset to the community, partner with all the local nonprofits there and really get our foot in the door and get involved and hopefully be a resource to every income of shopper.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, Glenwood is a growing community, right? And a lot of us go through it. We’re headed to other places, Grand Junction or whatever, or over to Utah, taking kids to school, all these different trips. For people there in Denver area, would they find different merchandise there? Is there a reason to go?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, we’re excited. We really think this is going to be an outdoor-heavy community where we’re getting that outdoor equipment. This is a community of kayakers, canoers, rafters. They are so into their outdoor sports. We’re even talking about having a section of inflatables for the people who are coming from Denver and enjoying the hot springs. We’re going to have those kinds of things available to people. We definitely want to be a part of the community, though, not just the tourist community. We’re excited for the tourist community because we know they’re going to be heavy, you know, heavy foot traffic with them. But, gosh, it’s going to be so great to, like, get to know the schools. Maybe we can do tours with the schools, the food bank. You know we’d love to be a part of the community, Mike. It’s part of our core mission. And we’re excited to see the kinds of donations we get from that community. Again, that outdoor sports community is so heavy there. We’re excited to hopefully take their hand-me-downs and resell them and give them another life.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I’ve heard there is kind of a difference when you go thrifting somewhere in the mountains that different merchandise, you see some things that are very cool that you don’t see necessarily as much down here.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s great. We love to say that a thrift store is a reflection of the neighborhood, especially with our policy. We don’t move product out of a store. It stays in that store because it’s a reflection of the community. Those shoppers want to buy what’s a reflection of their community. Yeah. We’re very excited. I’ll give you a full report once we open the doors, hopefully towards the end of November. And we can’t wait to give you an update on that, Mike. I mean, having another store on the Western Slope, super important to our growth.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. So how many?
SPEAKER 1 :
35?
SPEAKER 02 :
This will be 37.
SPEAKER 1 :
37.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amazing.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. Yeah. Keeps growing. Such a good opportunity. So how do people give, get involved, donate, all the things that you need them to do?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, I mean, I always like to say every time you shop or donate, you’re helping people right here in Colorado with intellectual and developmental disabilities. So, you know, go out and shop with a friend in that local coffee. But donate at our back doors. That’s a great way to help us. If you’re looking to help monetarily, you can always visit our website at arcthrift.com. And, you know, I’m going to do a little plug here for our volunteers, Mike. We do a heavy business with our volunteers. If you’re looking, you know, maybe you’re an older senior citizen looking for something to, you know, busier days, great opportunities to volunteer in our stores. It’s fun to work with people with disabilities, and you’re really going to have a great time, you know, getting to see all the fun things that come into a thrift store.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, and getting to meet who you’re helping, right? Those ambassadors are so worth it. ARCthrift.com, ARCthrift.com, that’s A-R-C-thrift.com. Maggie, thanks so much for the time with us.
