Last month on 22 April 2024, the charity St Basils, which helps young people between 16 – 25 who are experiencing homelessness, opened its first-ever pop-up vintage shop in the Great Western Arcade, Birmingham, all thanks to a big donation from the Arcade itself.
They are selling some cool vintage clothes, sports gear, and trainers. You can find T-shirts with 90s icons like The Simpsons and Disney characters, as well as sports brands like Adidas and Nike. They are also showcasing vintage football shirts from English teams and international teams from Brazil, Poland, and Mexico. Plus, there is a bunch of American sports gear, including ice hockey, baseball, basketball, and American football stuff.
The items and the shop space are being given by Ashtrom Properties, the owners of Great Western Arcade. This stuff, left over from a prior business and would typically be thrown out, is now being sold for a good cause, with 50% of the profits going to St Basils, and the Ashtrom have even said they aren’t charging any rent for the shop. Winner Winner!
Besides shopping, people are also dropping by to learn more about what St Basils is doing and how they can help tackle youth homelessness.
Barrie Hodge, head of fundraising and communications for St Basils said “We are delighted that Great Western Arcade has allowed St Basils to open a pop-up vintage shop there. As a charity we don’t have any charity shops, which is a bit unusual, so this is a new experience for us all. But being right in the heart of the business and shopping areas of the city means we can let more people know about the great work we do.”
Yvonne Moulton, general manager at the Great Western Arcade said “We couldn’t be happier to host St Basils’ vintage pop-up shop here in the Great Western Arcade. It’s fantastic to see unused space transformed into something vibrant and meaningful, especially when it supports such a worthy cause”.
“By providing St Basils with a platform to showcase their work, we hope to raise awareness about youth homelessness and encourage more people to get involved in tackling this Issue.”
The shop is currently opening Monday to Friday, from 11 am – 5 pm so do get down there if you can and support them. They are planning to throw some special events and maybe open on weekends soon too.
For the latest on the St Basils vintage pop-up shop, and how it is helping, please do check out their website stbasils.org.uk or hit up their social media.