Thrifted Treasures

Behind the scenes on The Arc’s Thrift Store production floor

The methods by which items wind up on the sales racks at the Thrift Store may be mysterious to the shopper who loves the Saturday tag sale, but to the production team, it’s an involved process.

Taking charge behind the scenes as the new production manager, Heidi Franks is excited by the process of sorting through unexpected finds as donations pour in. Franks keepings everyone on point behind the scenes to best streamline the process of intake, sorting, and then eventually items finding their way onto the sales floor.

Franks has been at the Thrift Store for six years, beginning her tenure as a cloth tagger before rising to production manager. She says keeping the fast tempo of keeping all the different part of the team moving together as one has been something that really draws her to the job.

"I love the people, and you keep moving. It's just a fun place to be. We have a good time and they're hard workers. I like being able to float around and do it all,” Franks said.

The materials handlers take in donations and they're the first eyes to spot out any pieces that might be timely or vintage.

Weighing and sorting takes place as items make their way to housewares, cloth, or furniture departments where they will be kept with like items until it’s time to be featured on the sales floor. When certain items are trending or classic vintage brands, they become showcased items in the store.

We've got a couple of people who are good at keeping up with the trends. It's up to the sorters to keep up on what's current, what's trending,” Franks said.

The staff also have a great sense of humor and keeps a wall of weird items that have been donated that aren’t quite a fit for the sales floor. Everything that is donated to the store must be sorted by materials handlers, so Franks and her team have seen some very strange items pass through donation piles, many of which don’t even make it to the “wall of weird.“

The surprising items that people offer to the Thrift Store always hold a slight air of wonder and mystery when it comes to their origins. Among those items, the team has found baby bassinet that wouldn't stop rocking that they deemed “haunted,” family photos, and a lamp that members of the team claim switched on independently.

Behind the flurry of activity in production, the urgency comes from a belief in the mission of The Arc of Spokane. The money raised by the store helps power the programs that positively impact the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The team is driven to make their efforts count, and Franks couldn’t be happier to help head up on the production floor.

“They're all hard workers and they bust their butts to put the best products out to make money for the store,” Franks said.