The Kind Thrifter is Open for Business in Jamestown

I had the chance to meet up with local businesswoman Amy Heglund earlier this month to talk about her new store in Jamestown. Heglund, who previously worked as a manager of the Humane Society's Second Chances thrift shop, recently opened a new store on the southeast corner of Main and 5th Streets.

The Kind Thrifter is a consignment shop that sells used household and clothing items donated by the community, with proceeds going to various non-profit organizations and other local causes. What's even better is that the Kind Thrifter is the only consignment shop that is open on a regular basis in downtown Jamestown, filling a much needed niche for low-income city residents who may not be able to make it to similar shops located one or two miles from the downtown.

Because of the way Heglund has it set up, people on fixed-incomes aren't the only ones who will benefit from The Kind Thrifter. In fact, there are a total of four distinct groups:

• City residents in need of affordable clothing, appliances and other household items 
• Community members from throughout the area interested in finding great deals on vintage clothing, music, household wares and other hard-to-find items
• People and businesses looking for a place to donate their used clothing, furniture and appliances
• Various non-profits and local causes in need of revenue to continue their operation/mission

Image from The Kind Thifter's Facebook page

During its opening week, I stopped by the store and was impressed with the selection of items it had to offer, considering it was only open for less than a week. Naturally, I went to the music section and found a cache of old vinyl records, nearly all in good condition. I purchased three records, including the Clash's Combat Rock,  Sonic Youth's EVOL and Live Rust by Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

Since only being open for a couple of weeks, several organizations and causes have already benefited from The Kind Thrifter. They include The Arts Council of Chautauqua County and the Roller Girls of Chautauqua County. In addition, Heglund says she'll try to help out as many different causes as possible in the coming weeks and months.

Heglund serves as the only full-time employee at the Kind Thrifter. The rest of the individuals working at the store are there as volunteers and she encourages anyone interested in helping the Kind Thrifter achieve its mission of serving the community to stop by or contact the shop.

Anyone wishing to drop off donations can do so during regular hour of operation (Tues. through Sat. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). And in case you missed it, The Kind Thrifter was also recently featured in the March 3 issue of Chautauqua Region WORD magazine. Here's a link to the PDF of that issue.

Location: 8 E. 5th St., Jamestown NY 14701
Hours: Tues - Sat: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Contact: thekindthrifter@gmail.com, (716) 969-6656
Facebook Page
Website: www.thekindthrifter.com