The Shed founder Adam Charif showing off the USSR stamp in a recent Facebook video. Photo: The Shed, Facebook.
Adam Charif has discovered some pretty weird and wacky items were gathering dust in Canberra’s homes during his first week running The Shed.
In a Facebook video, the founder of Canberra’s newest second-hand store shared a video of an industrial stamp from the 1950s USSR that was among the pile of donations.
“I’m excited because I’ve wanted to do a segment for so long on weird and wacky things that you’ll find at The Shed,” he said.
“Today, we have a 1950s USSR numeric stamp. Beautiful, old, industrial, but the best thing I like about it is the clickers. If you push one of these clickers down, it changes the number. They were used in warehouses and offices for invoicing and other purposes. You never know what you’re going to find at The Shed.”
The Shed opened at 3/34 Geelong Street in Fyshwick on 20 September as ‘Canberra’s home of second chances’.
In its first week alone, it has already collected around 3000 donated items. The outpouring was so overwhelming that Charif had to temporarily close drop-offs on 23 September.
“Thanks to your incredible support, we are currently full! Come and buy things!” he posted to Facebook.
Among the treasures was a uranium glass bowl (that glows under UV light), antique Chinese pottery, retro picnic Thermoses, a 1918 wedding beer mug called ‘The Huntsman’s Home’, and even a cast-iron Sydney-made waffle maker that will “probably last for decades”.
“Aliens could take over and this thing would still be making waffles,” Charif jokes.
“The biggest thing I’m noticing is how beautiful the craftsmanship used to be – and how hard it is to find craftsmanship like it these days. People really took time to make stuff; it was an art, a craft, a passion. That’s the biggest thing I’m noticing.”
Just one of the beautiful items making its way into The Shed. Photo: The Shed, Facebook.
So far, The Shed is collecting more items than it’s selling – but not by much. Most of the unique items are snatched up within hours.
“People saw the pictures of the stamp online, and there was someone waiting at the gate at 7:30 the next morning to buy it.”
Whatever it is, Charif says he’s not here to profiteer.
“For something that’s rare and wonderful, and I find selling for like $150 on eBay, we’d advertise it for $70 to $100, that kind of thing,” he says.
“But we’re not supplying dealers – we’re not here to supply people to make money, we’re here for people to save money.”
Donations reached epic proportions on 23 September. Photo: The Shed, Facebook.
Charif only holds the lease on the site until 2 December and is seeking a larger site that would enable several major business expansions.
“People want to donate building materials, but I just don’t have the outdoor space for sheet metal, Canberra red bricks, roof tiles – stuff that’s actually really needed in the Canberra community,” he explains.
As part of its mission to become ‘Canberra’s home of second chances for everybody’, he also wants to offer ‘lifestyle classes’.
“So, first month, we’ll get a couple of mechanics in to teach people how to change a car tyre, how to check your fluids, how to jump-start a car safely, how to do a pre-vehicle inspection before you buy a second-hand car,” he explains.
“The second month, we’ll get anyone who knows how to stitch or sew to teach people how to use a sewing machine, how to sew a button on. And then the third month, we’d look at tools, like how to put a sanding or cutting disc on a grinder, what’s a hammer drill for, what’s a rotary drill for – all these things a lot of people don’t know.”
People are coming from all over Canberra in appears to be a boycott of other second-hand stores. Photo: The Shed, Facebook.
He’s eyeing up a couple of locations in Canberra, but there’s another major condition – it has to have room for a community veggie garden.
“So once a month, we’ll give out free veggies that we’ve grown to the community, as well as eggs.
“This is where we want to be. We want to be the community. We want to be Canberra’s home of second chances for everybody.”
The Shed is open for donations twice a week at 3/34 Geelong Street in Fyshwick, from 8 am to 3 pm, Monday and Tuesday, and is open to shoppers every Saturday, from 8 am to 3 pm, and on Sunday, from 10 am to 3 pm.
