Shelter takes thousands on first day of annual sale

The Shelter charity shop in Stockbridge took in more than £14,000 on Saturday – on the opening of its annual sale of designer brands.

The shop had held back some top labels including Armani, Gucci, Valentino and Jimmy Choo, all donated by the public in recent months and stashed away by staff.

Savvy shoppers queued from 7am on Saturday to snap up bargains, which also included rare books, vintage jewellery, classic toys, vinyl records and ornaments at a fraction of their original prices.

The homelessness charity’s Stockbridge shop has become famous for its annual week-long sale of rare and designer items, which has run in early January since 2003.

Around 75 people were in the queue at 10am when the tissue was removed from window displays and the doors opened to reveal this year’s range of rarities.

Shop staff handed out hot sausage rolls to help keep people in the queue warm in the cold weather.

Within an hour the main shop and book section had taken more than £3,727 as early birds rummaged for rarities, and by the end of the opening day customers had spent £14,092.

Designer garments sold included silk scarves by Liberty and clothes from brands including Hobbs, Jigsaw, Brora, Ralph Lauren, Barbour and All Saints.

The sale is so popular that staff can only let a few customers in at a time while other bargain hunters wait patiently for their turn to browse, and even at 4o’clock the queue had not abated.

One of the first through the doors snapped up a pile of books for around £1,000, including rare illustrated copies of Jane Austen’s Emma and Sense and Sensibility, priced at £300 each, and a late 17th century financial book for £150.

An illustrated stamp holder, part of early merchandise for Alice in Wonderland, and a tiny booklet on writing letters, by Lewis Carrol, were sold for £100.

Meanwhile, a rare 1968 mint condition vinyl Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience was sold to a music lover for £100 and a Georgian silver condiment was quickly snapped up for £150.

Remarkably, another queue formed on Sunday long before the shop opened at 11am for the second day of the annual event, with some new items put out on sale to entice them.

Pete Jew, the Stockbridge shop’s manager, has worked with Shelter for over 30 years and organised the annual January sale since 2003, describing it as “a legendary event and a well-oiled machine”.

He said: “The opening weekend has been another big success.

“This is our 23rd sale and every year it gets bigger and more colourful. By the time we closed the doors on Saturday we’d taken £11,680 on the nose (in designer clothes and other rare objects) and books had taken £2,412 so that’s over £14,000 for the opening day alone and the sale runs for a week.

“We’ve had an amazing array of things this year, from Jimmy Choo shoes to hallmarked silver and some really great vinyl records by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, which we sold for £100, and Jesus and Mary Chain, which we’ve still got.

“People were standing out three hours before we opened on Saturday and there was another queue waiting for us this morning, which just goes to show the support from the community.”

Edinburgh Bargain hunters Julie Koehler and Katie Ostrander were among the first customers to emerge from the shop laden with “treasures”.

Julie, 48, said: “I got here early and was eighth in line so I had my pick of treasures. I got a little cow milk pourer, some beautiful bowls, a shirt, a fuzzy hat and some fun Lego for the kids.

“I got all that for £40 so it was definitely worth the wait.”

Pal Katie, who bought an Armani coat for £60 as well as treats for her son and daughter in a £99 haul, added: “My husband said I needed to come home with some great items because he’s watching the kids so ‘come back with some treasures’. I think I did a good job.”

Last year the shop raised a record sum of nearly £32,000 over seven days — beating its previous best by over £1000.

Alison Watson, Shelter Scotland director, said: “Scotland’s housing emergency now means there are more than 10,180 children in Scotland with nowhere to call home and without urgent long-term action, homelessness will rise.

“Your support keeps us in the fight against homelessness, so ahead of this exciting event I’d like to thank all our customers and donors for their generosity.”