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Things have been busy this month at Treasure City. Lots of folks coming in to shop and volunteer (thanks!), material aid going out to tons of grassroots organizations in addition to the financial aid we’re sending to the Inside Books Project each month, community events like skillshares and movie nights happening regularly, and the Yellow Bike Project cranking out fixed bikes and newly skilled mechanics next door four days a week.

I find it really exciting to be involved in maintaining and growing this project. It’s just a plain good time being immersed in the day to day chaos of it all, but it’s especially thrilling in the moments when I step back and take in the big picture. On one level, we’re running a little store and reuse center, but on another, we’re cultivating a kind of transformation I don’t see happening (yet!) in many other places, turning waste materials into resources -both financial and material- that strengthen our political and geographical communities.

As always, we welcome your involvement and interest. Want to know more about what we’re doing? Want to work with us? The best way to get involved is to come by the store and talk with us about it. You can also read a lot about the project on our website at www.treasurecitythrift.org, and contact us there to volunteer.

We’re always looking for ways to let more people know about what we’re doing, and this month, we’d like to ask for your help with that. If every person who reads this newsletter would take a minute to go to www.austinchronicle.com/bestof and vote for us as best thrift store, we’d have a great chance at winning. I tend to put that sort of thing on my “sure, I'll get to that later” list, but I’m asking you to just go ahead and do it now, because voting ends on Tuesday, September 2nd. We’d really appreciate

Read on to find out about tons of events and extra store hours coming up soon.

xo,
cory for the treasure city collective

Friday nights at treasure city/yellowbike:
Friday nights in September, our whole little complex will be open late. Rather than closing at 6 as we usually do, Treasure City will be open till 9, and Yellowbike will have shop hours from 6-9. There will also be a movie in the parking lot each week starting at dark (around 9pm), so plan on spending your Fridays with us for shopping, mechanics, and entertainment all in one convenient location.

friday movie schedule:

9/5 TBA (check with us on the day of)

9/12 Obsolete Media Night! Starting at 8pm with a DJ on our new 8 track player, and a sale on all obsolete media at the store (sale details below). Movie night will start with a few short 8mm and 16mm films, and finish with a screening of So Wrong They're Right , a documentary encapsulating a 10,000-mile journey around the U.S. in search of a group of 8-track fanatics. Here’s what they say about this movie: “It's not a film about nostalgia, as some might suggest; it serves as a statement of outrage from a population of consumers who are tired of being told what to consume.”

9/19 Monkeywrench Books presents a movie with discussion afterward:
Argentina: Hope in Hard Times gives us a broader picture of what the New Politics and the New Economics looked like in Argentina during the economic collapse. Dworkin and Young show us not only workers running abandoned factories, but also unemployed workers building new communities on the outskirts of town, garbage-sifting cartoneros (cardboard recyclers) forming organizational alliances with the middle class, and unemployed urban professionals creating their own barter economy. The film also weaves in the historical importance of the “change of heart” that followed the Argentinazo, when people woke up, at least momentarily, from the fear and divisions that had been instilled in them during the military dictatorship, and looked to each other for solidarity and support.

9/26 Dave Chappelle’s Block Party “The uncensored, unforgettable and unbelievably hilarious full-length movie about throwing the ultimate block party.”

other events

Saturday 9/20 Skillshare Austin presents:
FREE SCREENPRINTING WORKSHOP, no experience necessary.
You'll take home your very own treasure city t shirt, along with the know how to print anything else. bring a shirt you like or pick up a free blank shirt at the store.
Please register by sending your name to us at info@skillshare.org
There may also be a small (limited to about 5 people) screen burning workshop before the printing. let us know if you'd be interested in that.

sales

Monday 9/8 and 9/22
WOMEN’S PANTS SALE
Women’s pants are normally priced lower than any other thrift store in town at $4/pair. But because we’ve got more really nice quality jeans and pants right now than we can fit on the racks, we’ll give you three pairs for $4. Time to stock up for fall, huh?

Monday 9/15 and 9/29
FREE BAG WITH PURCHASE SALE
Sure, any store will give you a plastic shopping bag to add to the islands of trash at sea, but on free bag days, we’ll give you a purse, shoulder bag, or even suitcase of your choice with the purchase of any 3 items. A few extremely valuable bags may be excluded from this offer.

ME: I mean really, Lucy P, what's going on there?
LUCY P: oh, i just picked up a few things at the thrift store...

ME: do you mean to tell me that handmade, one of a kind radio 91.1 shirt is for sale at treasure city?
LUCY P: of course

ME:and the belt too?
LUCY P: yup, in all it's metallic pink leather glory.

ME:and did you find that book there too?
LUCY P: yeah, i thought i'd pick up a new skill in my spare time.

ME:and what's that you've got under the other arm?
LUCY P: why, it's my royal american miss trophy, of course

ME: does that really say you're a photogenic winner?
LUCY P: yes it does, and i won it fair and square.
ME: so you didn't get that from the thrift store?
LUCY P: oh no, but I'll sell it to you.
ME: I noticed it already has a treasure city price tag on it, what does that say?
LUCY P: it says: "priceless...ok, three bucks".

treasure city august news

STORE UPDATES

mutual aid

As part of Treasure City's support of grassroots organizations in Austin we
have been supporting Austin's Inside Books Project by donating much-needed
reading and educational materials to Inside Books. Thanks to everyone who
has been donating, volunteering, and shopping regularly at Treasure City we
were able to start supporting Inside Books by paying the rent for their
facilities each month. Paying Inside Book's rent allows money donated to IBP
to directly finance the mailing of books to the people who are incarcerated
in Texas' state prisons; many of whom would not otherwise have access to
books. If you have never heard of Austin's Inside Books Project or don't
know much about them please go to their website
http://www.insidebooksproject.org/ and find out how you can get involved -
then get involved!

The Treasure City Collective is super excited that we are able to help IBP out
this way. This will be the first time we have been able to provide
continuing financial support to an organization we believe is providing an
essential service to our community. Treasure City needs good quality
donations and committed volunteers so that we can continue to provide
financial support to Inside Books and begin to financially assist other
existing and new community organizations. Even if you don't have time to
volunteer you can always spend your money at Treasure City since shopping at
TCT not only gets you a whole lot of awesome stuff inexpensively, but
directly funds organizations like Inside Books.

fashion show

Treasure City is now accepting entries for our 2nd Annual Recycled Fashion Show.The Show will take place in the first half of October.

This year we are striving for an entirely recycled show. The concept is creative reuse of materials.

We are hoping that each designer can enter a collection of at least 3 outfits that are refashioned out of old clothes. Designers are highly encouraged to look for material (i.e. old clothes and accessories) at Treasure City Thrift Store.

more info at treasurecityfashionshow.com
and photos of last year’s show at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinosaursfeast/sets/72157602671482047/

shopping

Right now the store is packed full of clothes, house wares, toys, cd’s, books, furniture, and everything else you could possibly want, with new items coming in everyday. A few new sections have been added recently in our clothing department: there’s a rack of swimsuits and nice summer tank tops up front, and we’ve got maternity clothes, scrubs, lingerie and sportswear in their own sections now. I saw some great raingear in sportswear today –as hot and dry as it is now, it won’t be long before you’re gonna want that on your bike commute. All of this is selling at the same affordable prices we’ve had all along , and with your money directly benefiting the local grassroots community, there's really no reason to be shopping anywhere else.

We’re also planning some great events and sales in august, keep reading for details.

And as always, we welcome you to get involved in everything we’re doing. More info below.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Friday, august 1, 8pm
bike in movie:
kicking it:
In the summer of 2006, while the football world's attention was focused on Germany, thousands of players around the globe were training hard and competing to be part of the World Cup...The Homeless World Cup. This movie tells the story. more info at http://www.treasurecitythrift.org/kickingit
We’ve got a couple of other soccer related movies to share with you too...

Friday, august 29, 6pm

skillshare austin presents:
sew it up
a free sewing workshop

we’ll be hosting a workshop where you can learn how to make a skirt out of a pillowcase and a wallet or small bag out of almost anything. more info at http://www.treasurecitythrift.org/sew_it_up

Sunday, august 31, 1-5pm

really really free market

Have you ever picked up something you found on the curb or saved your neighbor from throwing away something useful? Have you ever brought one dish to a potluck and gone away with a full belly and a balanced meal? The Really Really Free Market is like that. The market is a mixture of reuse, recycling, sharing and community building. We share skills, goods, ideas, smiles, friendship, excitement, plans and more. We’ve moved it around the corner from the store to the park at 16th and Chestnut where it’s shady, green, and pleasant, and the things you can find for free there on the last Sunday of every month will amaze you.

your event here?
check out http://www.treasurecitythrift.org/events to find out about holding your event at treasure city

SALES

Our regular prices are already lower than any other thrift store in town, but because we’ve got more items than we can fit on out shelves, and because it’s important to us to be truly affordable to all, we’ve got regular sales going on throughout the month.

mini-sidewalk sales
every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in august

our big Saturday sidewalk sales are taking a summer break, but we’re holding mini sidewalk sales out front 3 days a week for the month of august. On Mondays you can find women’s clothes for one dollar a piece, Tuesdays it’s men’s clothes for a dollar, and Wednesdays you can find house wares, knick knacks, and the occasional seriously collectible item for only a quarter each. Sales are held during regular store hours, 11-6.

monthly tag sale

ever wonder why most of the items in the store have a red, yellow, or blue tag or sticker on them? each month one of those colors goes on sale at 50% off. So for the entire month of August blue tags mean $2 pants, $1 t shirts, $2 shoes, etc.

GET INVOLVED

shopping here is only one way to be a part of what treasure city is doing –we’re a volunteer-run and collectively operated, and we’d love to have you come work with us. volunteers staff the store, sort through donations, keep things organized and clean, bring new ideas, and generally keep treasure city going –oh, and get 20% off and first pick of incoming items.

the ideal way to volunteer is to work with a collective member on a regular weekly shift, (11-2:30 or 2:30-6, monday-saturday). but even if you can’t commit to that much time right now, come on by whenever you can to hang out and hang up some clothes –we can always use the help. more info at http://www.treasurecitythrift.org/volunteer

xo,
the treasure city collective

p.s. here's a calendar to print out for your fridge: august08