As someone who discovered her love of thrifting and secondhand-shopping this year, I am always on the lookout for more places to explore and new items to find. I love being able to tell someone that “I thrifted it!” whenever they ask me where I got something from, and the low prices don’t hurt.
Since moving to Columbus this year, I have been trying to explore the city to find new places to go thrifting with my friends. On Nov. 14, there was a local thrift/vintage shop, Dustbunniez Vintage, that was having a “birthday party” celebration, to celebrate their sixth anniversary of opening, and I knew I had to go. I grabbed my friends and a cute outfit (all thrifted, of course) and took the city bus to the 400 West Rich warehouse. It was buzzing with happy energy and the smell of good food. We made our way upstairs to explore the store, and the energy was amazing.
Located on the second floor of the warehouse, the Dustbunniez Vintage store is a small space, but has an energetic and welcoming aura that spills out the door. Right from the get-go, there was good music and even better vibes as people flipped through racks of great pieces, shoes, and bags. After going through different racks, sorted by article of clothing and color, I found a few pieces that I loved. There are places to try things on, take a few mirror pictures, and chat with your friends. In addition to the regular selection of curated clothes, they had the recently opened Italian charm bar, titled “Pochettely,” selling their wide assortment of charms on a counter in the store.
Personally, I purchased a piece that I loved. The owner was kind and packaged it all up very nicely, and threw some stickers and little extras in the bright pink bag as well. While I was there, I got to see the giveaway winner, who won a $100 shopping spree at the store through their Instagram. I loved the community outreach and the happy, girlhood-coded vibes in the store, and felt immediately welcomed.
While this event was open to the public, you would typically have to make an appointment with the owner, Lola Nauman, through their Instagram, @dustbunniezvintage. They are super welcoming and accommodating, and it makes the experience all the better. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves to shop or thrift. For those who don’t like to dig through dirty piles of clothes that smell questionable, this shop is amazing because Nauman hand-picks everything herself, and drives all over the country to do so. When interviewed, she said that her favorite piece she has sold was a “zebra striped, Dolce and Gabbana corset” that she wished she kept for herself.
Overall it was a great experience. Additionally, there were a lot of local artisans with their doors open for people to venture in and observe their work. My friends and I walked around, browsed other stores, and found a few other items that we took home with us. There were a lot of small businesses to support and handmade art to find, and the location was a gold mine for all different types of unique gifts and items for yourself! If you are ever looking for something to do on a Friday night, they have these events every second Friday of the month.