New store aims to be friendly, easy and affordable - TimminsToday

A new store is giving pre-loved clothes a second chance.

Carole Young and Sydney McIntyre are the mother-daughter team behind A Second Time Around. The shop selling pre-loved children's clothes opened this week at 260 Third Ave., between Altered Reality and Lemongrass.

"On social media, the feedback has been phenomenal. It has far, far surpassed my expectations. We're under restrictions, we've undergone some pretty bitter cold weather and we've still succeeded in our first couple days much better than I had anticipated. It's really positive and if that's the sign of the future I think that we're really going to succeed and stay in the community for a long time," said Young. 

The store features aisles wide enough for strollers to fit through and a friendly atmosphere. 

The racks of clothes range in size from newborn to adult small.

They hope to grow the inventory, especially the larger sizes that there is a smaller inventory of right now. Along with clothes, there are shoes, blankets and bibs. There is also a selection of new clothing and the store is PatPat reseller. 

The idea for the store started brewing over a year ago. 

McIntyre had just had a baby and had one on the way. 

With children growing out of clothing so quickly and with discussions around climate change in mind, a place to sell second-hand children's clothing took shape.

"This is a greener way of doing things. We reduce, reuse, recycle. A lot of clothes ends up in landfill and it's almost a sin because when you're talking really small sizes, they're hardly even used," Young said. 

The store uses a credit system and also accepts donations.

Young and her husband own Altered Reality that had a system for used books. That approach has been mimicked for A Second Time Around. 

People can bring in pre-loved, gently used clothing and get a credit that can be used for up to 50 per cent of a purchase. 

"We have to make decisions on current stock, resell-ability, and condition of the clothing. Based on that we make an offer of credit, individuals can either choose it or decline," explained Young.

They are aiming to be affordable, while recognizing that it's a business with overhead costs and wages.

"We're trying to find that balance of affordability but with the ability to maintain operations and keep the business open," she said. 

"We're definitely trying to figure out our niche and figure out what is an appropriate pricing that will make us happy and will make the customer happy. We're fairly new to the concept as well, so we're always asking people, 'if you have good feedback go out and tell everybody, but if you have bad feedback please tell us so we have the opportunity to learn from it and grow from it'."

So far, McIntyre said the feedback has been that people like the kid-friendly space and that the store is much-needed in Timmins.

"That's our goal is to make it really friendly, easy, affordable so that any child can wear name-brand clothes and be well-dressed," added Young.

For more details on the store, visit their Facebook page or website.