Op-shop buy a piece of family history

One of the things Nicola Woods enjoys most about her role as manager of Richmond’s SPCA Op Shop is hearing about the happy memories items evoke for purchasers.

This was evident when a local shopper Ross Harley discovered a painting of his grandparents’ Nelson Lakes property hanging on the wall in the store.

Nicola says people had looked at the painting of Kerr Homestead  because they recognised the area, but Ross recognised the Lake Rotoiti homestad and asked to take a closer look.

That particular painting had only been hanging on the wall for about a month, she says.

“He was happy to find a piece of his family history,” Nicola says.

Ross says for the very reasonable price of $10, it was worth every penny to retrieve another piece of his family history.

“I’ve got another photo of it, but this one’s a painting. The one I’ve got is just a pencil sketch.”

Wanting to share the find with the Richmond community, Nicola asked to take a photo of Ross with the painting and shared it to a local Facebook page.

The next day, Nicola had a visit from a young woman who recognised the print as one her grandfather had painted.

She says shoppers often take the time to share what an object means to them while they are buying it.

“Every day shoppers find something that they are nostalgic about, it might be something their mum or dad had and they are buying to repurpose,” she shares.

“Or they share what their grandma used to make with the item and they share their special stories.”

From time-to-time an object stumps the team and their customers about what it actually is.

“Quite often we have a chat and a laugh about an object, we try and work out what it might be.”

But it only takes one person who is familiar with it to solve the mystery. And that’s what happened  with an object that Nicola still finds tricky to put an exact name on.

“It was an attractive piece made from wood and metal, I hadn’t ever seen one before and we didn’t know what it was, then somebody came along and said, ‘my dad had one of those, he was a boat builder, you use it to shave oak by hand’.”

And so the mystery was solved.

Nicola hopes shoppers continue to find items that bring them happy memories, all while supporting local animals through their purchases.

For now, Ross says the painting will stay propped up next to the television, unless any of the younger generation show a “particular interest” in it, then he would be happy to pass it on.

If you have any more information to share contact sara@topsouth media.co.nz