We're talking with Joanne Hughes from the Renaissance shop, that one-of-a-kind resale place where they got all kinds of amazing things. Every single week it's different.
Oh, I did. And I hope you did, too. Oh, I did. Yeah. Oh, I did. Yeah. Boy, that happened by so fast. But yeah, we still have wonderful things. You know, this time of the year, people get busy Christmas shopping. And of course, we get a lot of shoppers in the shop, but busy doing other things. So the donations have slowed down a little bit right now. They pick up again after the holidays.
And I just want to mention that this, if anyone is thinking about needing anything picked up, this is a perfect time to do it. Ah, that's good to know. You know, sometimes we have to schedule it a couple of weeks ahead. And, you know, if people think about it, it's a perfect time because people are thinking of their New Year's resolutions and all the things they're going to do differently in the next year, in the fall of the year.
It's really helpful, especially when you get old, to have a little bit of assistance in getting things together and organizing. And many times people, excuse me, I'm losing my voice, wanted to make some changes for the new year.
So it's a good time if you're thinking about, you know, buying something new and replacing it. And it's always busy, but you know, this is a great time to think about donating if you have it. I'm sorry, I'm losing my voice. That's okay. Go ahead. It's a generous community. It's truly made the shop a wonderful success, you know, our volunteers.
And as well as the people who donate and they buy items throughout the year. Because it happens both ways. There's a donation when people give you the furniture and they get to take a tax write off on that. When you sell it, the like son of a visiting nurse association gets more and it's a win-win. They have the nurses here in this community.
and what's nice about it. It doesn't cost you a thing. Many times when you're moving or downsizing and you're moving, it's a lot harder when you get older to get up on the shelves and get things down and get it in. There's no charge and we send the movers to the house and they will pick things up.
And that's, you know, there's no charge for that. And so the money all goes for the cause to keep the visiting nurses busy. And it's great. So, you know, if you're moving or just cleaning or downsizing or just redecorating by a new sofa, and sometimes you just need to change, you know, or moving things around,
It's a good cause. You don't know what to do with it. And if it's in good condition and clean and well, we get lots of antiques. Beautiful, beautiful furniture. And this is not just a dusty old antique shop where it's down. The furniture is wonderful. Well, it's a little bit of everything too.
It really is and some of the things I mean there we sell furniture that's beautiful old antiques that are in wonderful condition and people have treasured them over the years and
you know, they've been passed on a long time. And sometimes it's furniture that someone has a ski house or, you know, a summer house. And they're selling the house and they're downsizing and they're going into assisted living. And we get the whole contents of a house. So you never know what you're going to find. Sometimes the furniture, people move and they're transferred and they have a house to empty out. And we will gladly
If that's something that we can sell and normally is, we will send the movers over and pick things up and you get a tax deduction and we sell it and all the money we raise goes to the services of the Lake Centipi Region Visitor Nurse Association. So it's a good deed. It's a it's a wonderful thing to have in the community.
And, you know, we may all, and when it does, it also allows elderly people to stay in their homes longer with the assistance that they, you know, so that's what the money goes for because they have spilled nursing.
They have wound management. They have everything. All of the medical... I mean, they have hospice and palliative care. They have private care services. Oh my gosh, medication, management. A little bit of a... They cover a lot of things and it makes a big difference to a lot of people throughout our area. Well, because, you know, years ago, unbelievable, just to go to the house if you had, you know, too sick.
I've heard of that happening in years. Oh, no. I think that went out with that went away with cars cars with that manual transmission. Right. Right. But you know, sometimes, I mean, that's that's a great support system and not every area has it. And I think we're very lucky to have them.
know we are it's it's personal care it's direct care and what a lot of times you know a lot of times these people are lonely they don't they don't they don't have anybody looking out for them they might have family members who are far away and this this is a gap the fills in a very important gap you know families are so scared now you know what i know if people that their families are are across the country yeah and if they need assistance you know they sometimes you need help and uh...
Sometimes neighbors are not around. So it's, I think it is so important to have an organization like the VNA. Yes. And, you know, and they also have personal care providers, homemaker, co-makers. Right. Just a little bit of everything to fill the need. Yes. And as needs change, they adapt with it, which is a wonderful thing.
Right. Yeah. And when, when I tell people, you know, if you want to donate something to help us raise money, you know, people, a lot of, I was just reading about it in one of the magazines, people tend to collect things. Oh, yes, they do. They're thinking the kids are going to take everything. No, they don't. I mean, you may have, I mean, I guess we've all had collections of things, you know,
be just about anything. But at some point, you know, you don't use it anymore. Someone else could. It's worth money. And it's a good cause. Yes. So, I mean, people always donate money funds to the V&A. That's wonderful too. Right.
But, you know, I'm talking about things that maybe they don't even use and I might do them a favor. Well, if you've got things lying around the house that you don't use, it makes sense to. Well, it's been amazing, John, because people have lived. No families that have lived in there. The families have been in the house for generations.
And especially when they have the old barns. Oh, yeah. That's really amazing. The things you find there. And you think, oh, an old barn, you won't find much there. And you do find some very interesting things. Oh, yes. Yeah. Thingamajigs and whirly gigs. Thingamajigs that, you know, we have to call somebody. Sometimes I'll put something out on the counter. At least I used to do it. And I'd say, we have a prize for anyone that can tell me what this is.
And usually an old gentleman will come in and say, oh, yeah, I used to use. So one of those about 80 years ago. So we have new things because now they, you know, so many people order online. Oh, that's another thing. People order online. They move into a house. The kids starting out, they move into an apartment and they need essentials to furniture, to furnish it.
And they'll order something online, which is easy, but many times it's most of the time it's pressed wood. Oh sure. Not going to stand up. And for a fraction of the price, you can come in and buy a beautiful bookcase or dresser or desk or dining. And I told you about the prices on our dining room tables and chairs. You buy a dining room table spectacular.
with six to eight chairs for the price you would buy a chair. Really? I mean, I was amazed to price myself, really. Yeah, and a much better chair, too. Oh, and good would. Yes, absolutely.
We get cherry, we get walnut, just beautiful things. And like I said, it will last. It won't fall apart. And if the drawers go in properly, they're made properly. Sure. And so we also get, we get some bedding quilts. We've had handmade quilts, which are wonderful.
So anything, think of it like this. If you were moving, you had looked around your house and you say, I don't need any of this anymore, I'm whatever. That's what we do. We sell whatever people have donated. As long as it's in good condition, it's clean and it's serviceable. We'd also take small appliances, as long as you're in good and working condition,
But also we've had antique things like radios, you know, that are sold and we put a note on this. Don't don't plug it in. We can't hear that. Has radio hams come in. Sure. No, it's yeah. I would say anybody who anybody who likes to go to a flea market. I mean flea markets right now with the weather. It's cold. No one's having a flea market.
But if you want your fix of finding old, cool stuff, go to the Renaissance shops. Well, that's where people come. You're right. When the flea markets are not open, they come into the shop, especially out in the barn. We have the better things in the shop, the finer furniture and the paintings and the beautiful artwork and the jewelry and whatever. We get a lot of collectibles. Yes.
Yeah. And we get wonderful pottery. So you can even, you can spend anywhere from 50 cents on the shop to thousands of dollars. We've had wonderful grandfather clocks. We have lights, all sorts of lamps. And I mentioned it quite often because I'm always shocked when I go shopping for a new, um, free, um,
Thank you. I went blank. A new lampshade.
I'm always shocked because they're so expensive now and they're not made that well. And you can come in and buy a beautiful lamp with a beautiful lamp shade for a fraction of the price less than you would pay for the last day. That's right. So truly wonderful buys. And at the same time, you know, so whether you're donating things, you know, and making it easy for yourself and for your family.
Yeah. Because a lot of them don't want to deal with stuff. I know a person who has about 20 sets of dishes. Wow. Thinking the kids are going to take them, but she doesn't have that many children. Oh boy. You know, and we do have lots of vintage pottery and dishes and they're wonderful. And, you know, when people, they may, I mean, I think it's nice when they use their grandmother's dishes.
And if they're missing a plate or something, don't contact replacements for dishes because they charge $125 for a dish. And you can get the whole set for probably $60. Yeah.
It saves you, it saves you money and now you got you got even more replacements than you need, but it's it's a good thing. It's a good thing. Yeah, if you're shopping for anything and we also get sports equipment and right now, I don't know, we might have some ski boots in, a good condition or skis and we've had antique skis and no shoes. Yeah, no shoes a little bit. Yeah, a little bit of everything. We have things for the panel.
So it's anything we can sell. We're there for to raise money for the visiting nurse association. And that's conveniently every Tuesday through Saturday? Yes. Now, let me see. The holiday week, next week, they are closing early on Tuesday, half a day. So they're only open 10 to 1. And of course, they're close New Year's Day. But then they're back to the regular hours.
Great. And that's at 107 Newport Road right there. And if you come by and take a look, you're sure to find something. It's not a good book to read.
Absolutely. Who can't use one of those on a cold night like tonight? Right. And if you have any questions, you can talk to Craig, who is our manager, or Craig, or Barbara. And the number is 603-526-6711. 526-6711. And we have wonderful volunteers. And if anyone is interested in also in helping us out, it's like Craig now. Joanne, have a happy new year. And we'll talk again next week. Oh, OK. And now there'll be some great stuff to talk about.
