Find A Guide To Lancaster Thrift & Consignment Stores here
When I said I was spending a day in Lancaster this week, there was a group of you who assumed I would be spending the day in Amish Country.
I didn't see a single Amish Person, Amish Souvenir, nor Amish Buggy, on this trip.
Which is completely different than every other day of my life, actually. Half of our neighbors are Amish.
We had tickets to hear Marie Benedict speak about her newest book, and then we planned to visit thrift and book stores for the rest of the day. (I have a lot of... strong opinions, about Benedicts interpretation of history for her books - I wanted to hear what she had to say. It didn't help. )
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First Stop - On The Way - Fancy Unicorn in Elizabethtown
117 S. Market St, Elizabethtown Pa
One of our favorite stops. Which is extra impressive, considering what a great day we had.
What we loved:
Great selection, nice quality, not too cluttered.
Hand made items such as bags and earrings, in addition to gently used clothing. Selection included everything from baby clothes to plus sized.
Roomy dressing rooms with good lighting and mirrors.
And the clerk was lovely - her and my daughter spend a good bit of time chatting about the earrings my daughter bought (how they were made, recycled material) and knitting. Overall a really nice stop, and we will be sure to stop in again any time we are in the area.
What we purchased: A linen dress, leather wristlet pocketbook, nice floral scarf (me) , Loose knit cropped sweater, earrings (daughter)
Stop #2
Lancaster Creative Reuse
A Thrift Store For Crafters
1766 Oregon Pike, Lancaster Pa
Imagine if everyone you knew, and their mother and grandmother, took all of their extra, unused, or half completed, craft supplies and donated them in a place where they could be finished, repurposed, or used in art programs, classes, fundraisers.. or sold to others who want to purchase them.
That is Lancaster Creative Recycle - a thrift store for crafts.
What we bought:
This is purchases for three people - everything from covers for my binding machine, printed needlework canvases for my daughter in law, wool felt and nice material, a spellbinders embossing/die cut machine, printable transfer paper, a couple of small craft kits. even the white embroidered blanket (completely finished) in the background.
Prism Thrift
101 Queen Street Lancaster
There is a lot crammed into a somewhat small space here.. but it was such a neat selection. A lot of vintage items. A decent selection of larger sizes. Many of the racks are not in any order - you may need to spend some time looking, with no idea what is your size. But it's not unmanageable, and the racks along the wall did appear to be grouped by size.
I didn't love the dressing rooms. When you try something on, there is no mirror IN your curtained area, you have to step out into the hall in front of the curtains to look in a pieced together mirror. It's a unisex area - and there's only a curtain to separating the two "rooms". You may want to bring a friend to stand outside the curtain while you change (that's what the shopper next to me did) if this may make you uncomfortable. It is secluded from the main part of the store - you walk through a bit of a store room/office to get to the area.
Oddly enough, the rack outside of the store was more expensive than the items IN the store. I found a dress outside on what I mistakenly assumed was the sale rack. It was $17, and both pilled and snagged. We had parked a few blocks away, so since we were there, we went on inside anyway - and I'm glad we did. I found two nice dresses for $10 each.
At this point we hadn't eaten anything all day, and it was hot. We decided it was time for ice cream, and since we had been sitting most of the day, we also decided to walk the not quite a mile to Splits and Giggles.
On our way, we got side tracked by Sweet-ish Candy
Swedish Candy! This was a fun stop. We got a variety of things to bring home and try, and all of them were just a bit different than "normal". I loved all the variety of black licorice options!
Then on to ice cream...
Splits and Giggles Ice Cream
500 West Lemon St, Lancaster
Lemon street is a fun street for a short stroll. It's pretty, lots of architecture to see. Splits and Giggles appears to have some indoor seating, but they were walk up window only when we were there - which was fine with us. There are some steps, and benches, if you want to sit down. The lemon sorbet was VERY good!
On our way for ice cream we had passed this arch, so on our way back, we made sure to check it out. This is a fun place! Similar to our street of shops, or Rust and Shine.
Here we bought a locally roasted coffee, and I found a bag that I am so in love with. I am writing this up days after the trip, and I have already been using this bag hard. It went on two days of water powered gristmill tours [Mid Atlantic SPOOM Convention] church, a history buffs meeting.. and a bunch of errands in between. Not only is it super comfortable to carry around, it holds everything I need to lug around for busy week-ends like this.
A Lauxmont Handmade Bag
I have been looking for the "right" tote bag for awhile now, and when I spotted this, I knew my search was over.
This cost ()a lot more than I would normally spend for a bag. It is hand made, and done so well. I know this photo makes it look likes those front stitches don't line up - they do, it's the way the bag is sitting that makes it appear that way in this photo.
The wool was grown on local sheep, dyed and knitted, and stitched to the leather.
Lined with a beautiful fabric.
And the cut out in the middle means the straps go over my arm so well - it doesn't feel awkward even when loaded down with books, notebooks, water bottle, and the other myriad of things my life so often requires. I even had my laptop in here one day.
Pocket Books
903 Wheatland Avenue Lancaster Pa
We wanted to stop at a book store to round out our trip - and this one was close by, and open late enough. Quite frankly, most of the selections here were not for me. But I DID buy a David McCullough book, and there were other books I would have considered - they have a bit of everything. I really did love the store.
Which made me think - what is it that makes a "good" book store? It's obviously not just about the selection - I've been in stores with selections much more to my particular tastes, that I did not like nearly as much as I liked this one. This is something I've been considering for awhile now actually. I'm certain there are a variety of factors but overall I have come to the conclusion that my favorite book stores all have employees or owners who read voraciously. They don't have to read the same things as me. But they do need to know a little about all of the books they have displayed prominently, at the very least, and be able to hold a conversation about books.
And that's where this store excelled. The employee that day chatted about books. Made recommendations. Commented on choices made by customers (in a positive way ). Made other recommendations. That's what a good book store does.
And then there was the coffee. I love that they sell this coffee.
Am I likely to switch to this brand (forsaking my favorite Gnosis roasts)? No.
Did I buy a couple of bags of this? Yes. Will I buy more of it as gifts for others? Most likely. Because I don't know a lot of people who need more "Stuff", but I do know a lot of people who love coffee, and will appreciate that a homeless cat was fed for a week as part of the gift.
Last stop...
Yianni's Gyros
3911 Union Deposit Road, Harrisburg Pa
Our last stop on the way home was for Yianni's gyros - which were VERY good. Definitely a place we'd visit again. I'd love to try some of their desserts next time!
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