Two undergraduates have teamed up to create Brown's first student-run thrift store, providing an outlet for students to donate, exchange and buy used goods. The Vault, which opened two weeks ago, was started by Hannah Winkler '13 and Tara Noble '12.5 in the hopes of providing various environmentally friendly ways for the community to handle unwanted items.
Since its opening about two weeks ago, the Vault has had three days of sales — one in the Salomon Center lobby Monday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., one on the Wriston Quadrangle April 15 and the opening sale in J. Walter Wilson April 8. About 50 students attended the second sale day on Wriston, which made substantial profits, Winkler and Noble said. "Considering we have no overhead, (the sales) are great," Noble said.
Aniqa Anwar '14, who visited the store on Wriston, said the Vault was "a great concept because it's really difficult to get rid of clothes with such a busy schedule." She said she traded in some of her own clothes for store credit and bought a T-shirt, but added the store should work on its selection because some items were "not fit for reuse."
Winkler and Noble first began working on their business during the fall semester. Through partnership with the Brown Student Agencies, the Vault was provided a temporary space and advertising funds. Noble said the process was lengthy and arduous.
There are three components to the Vault — a thrift store, an item exchange and a workshop. The thrift store currently sells clothes, jewelry, books and other accessories donated by students, and Winkler said she also hopes to offer housewares in the future. For the item exchange, Brown students can bring in their unwanted clothing or other items to receive store credit for other goods in the thrift store. "The Vault is very Brown … with student-to-student interaction," Winkler said.
The Vault is also unique in that it offers various workshops that align with Winkler and Noble's goal of upcycling, a process that converts old or useless materials into items that have more value and a positive environmental impact. The Vault offered a T-shirt workshop Monday in Salomon, where students could bring in used clothing and upcycle them into other items, such as bags or wristbands. Noble said other workshops are also planned for the future, on papermaking, repair-and-mending and seasonal workshops.
The Vault is "very environmentally motivated," Noble said.
Winkler and Noble said the Vault is still getting off the ground. "This is our trial period. … Since it's going to be an establishment, (growth) is going to take longer," Winkler said. "The primary hurdle is getting a space," Noble said. With a stable location, "we'd be so much more efficient and reach out to a lot more people," Winkler added.
"It's an organic evolution," Noble said.
