The Shed, Fyshwick. Photo: James Coleman.
Adam Charif is expecting a crowd this weekend when his dream of five years opens on Saturday, 10 September.
It’s The Shed, located at 3/34 Geelong Street, Fyshwick, and it’s Canberra’s newest second-hand store. Or as Mr Charif describes it, “Canberra’s home of second chances”.
“I grew up with nothing – I had like wax cardboard in the bottom of my shoes with the holes. I starved as a child, ” he told Region.
“For me, throwing things out in landfill, it crushes my heart, because there are so many people who have nothing at all, and it really affects me.”
And yes, The Shed is heavily inspired by The Green Shed.
Mr Charif is the founder of his own removalist company, Adam and His Truck, and organiser of the Queanbeyan Markets, but he also worked at The Green Shed’s Mugga Lane facility for seven years, five as a supervisor.
“I started out pushing trolleys a couple of days a week and then started managing the sheds and associated businesses full-time,” he said.
“The Green Shed was like a family to me. They really mentored me and set the standard for how I’ll run The Shed.”
The Shed accepts drop-off donations twice a week, on Monday and Tuesday, from 8 am to 3 pm. Beginning 20 September, it will be open to shoppers every Saturday, 8 am to 3 pm, and Sunday, 10 am to 3 pm.
Mr Charif only holds the lease on the Fyshwick site until mid-December, so he’s hoping by then to relocate to a bigger space elsewhere.
“If it works, I need a bigger place – hopefully a big empty paddock out at Hume somewhere – where I can support a drop-off and be in a position to charge people by the kilo … super cheap.”
He’s confident he’ll have the numbers to keep it going.
“[The community response] has been so overwhelming – like I’m an emotional person, and I’ve had many times when I’ve just broken down and started crying.
“It’s beautiful. The community just shows you how important the recycling industry is.”
Follow The Shed on Facebook for updates.
