Finding Treasures and Community at Thrift Addicts Bargain Boutique

Jemma Dooreleyers | Dec 18, 2024

For Steve Keller and Ashleigh Rider, the co-founders of Thrift Addicts Bargain Boutique in Sydenham, long before the store opened in July, the store has been a labour of love.

After bonding over their shared passion for thrift finds and auctions, for the past four years, Rider and Keller have been sourcing, collecting and storing vintage, antique and thrifted goods for a store that was a dream until this summer.

“We drove past this building all the time and we knew it was just something we had to do,” said Keller. “I took a photo of the building one time and edited the sign to say ‘Thrift Addicts’ and things started moving quickly after that.”

Since July, the couple has had an almost constant stream of work. They sort inventory, price items, stock shelves, and find places for merchandise to fit while greeting customers and upholding their main objective as business owners—creating a place where people from all walks of life feel welcome and accepted.

They went back and forth with the name of the store, but in the end it felt right. Thrift Addicts is a double-entendre. A store for people with a passion for thrifting, but also an homage to the road that Rider and Keller and many people in the community are on - the road of recovery. Rider, who has been sober for 7 years and Keller who has been sober for 15 years, believes that without their community and a group of people reminding them that they are not alone and that they are supported, they would not be where they are today. It remains their reason for doing business.

Rider and Keller believe in “recovering out loud” and their goal with any conversation they spark with a customer is to tell a little bit of their story and ultimately reduce the stigma of not only addiction but also second-hand merchandise.

“There’s a lot of stigma with addiction and we know a lot of people in recovery who still don’t talk about it and that’s okay. But Ashleigh and I both believe in recovering out loud. If we share our story there’s a possibility, we can help someone else out and to us that’s the biggest reward.”

“There’s nothing like face-to-face contact with people.” said Keller. “We run into people almost every day and if we share a little bit of who we are, we can give tips.”

Providing a store that remains true to the original thrift store experience (where people can find almost anything for less than $50 and in many cases less than $10), is also an important part of Keller and Rider’s business practice.

“I furnished my first apartment out of rehab with furniture from a thrift store,” said Keller

“Nowadays a lot of second-hand stores and thrift stores are trying to get rich but we know in our hearts that if we keep costs down, if we take care of people, people are going to take care of us.”

“I also wanted to honour my grandmother’s legacy,” said Rider.

Rider’s grandmother, Barb Rider, was the owner of Barb’s Bargain Boutique in Harrowsmith and always showed a deep love for her community and the people in it. Barb and her husband, Harry, always opened their home during Christmas time to tour their immaculate Christmas decorations. According to Rider, their home was always open for people for dinner and her grandmother found great joy in providing affordable garments to the people of Harrowsmith, hence the Bargain Boutique on Thrift Addicts’ sign.

Keller and Rider have spent most of their lives in Sydenham and it was the community that took them in when they were in the throes of their addictio, to them, this store is not just a thrift store, it is to give back to the community and fill a service that Sydenham has not had in a while. They want their store to connect people with the resources they need to thrive and provide families with affordable items.

“Our biggest thing is that we want to be the place to go before you go all the way to town or before you buy something brand new, there is a chance we have something really good for a lot cheaper and more sustainable than going all the way to town and buying new,” said Keller.

According to Rider and Keller, their favourite part of the store, besides the community aspect, is assisting people in finding their treasure.

Whether it is a tool that they didn’t want to go all the way to town for, a business casual outfit for a new job or a nostalgic collector’s item, the look on someone’s face when they find something they were looking for, for a great price, is priceless.

“It feels like Christmas every day,” said Rider.

Rider and Keller have big plans for Thrift Addicts in terms of fostering a community and becoming a hub for people needing help and while that is down the road, they believe that the seeds they are sowing now will benefit the future of the community and that is their ultimate drive to maintain the momentum they are picking up.

“I don’t want to think of what I can do now to get the reward,” said Keller. “I feel that to grow community it takes time, we have to look to the next 25 years, not to the next year.”

For more information on sales, initiatives and Thrift Addicts hours, find them on Facebook at Thrift Addicts Bargain Boutique.