The Thrill of the Find
By: Kelsey Kern
Date: 10-20-21
Luepke’s sister passed away from pancreatic cancer and she wanted to do something really big to honor her and her life. “I started a thrift store because she LOVED thrifting,” Luepke said. “Even when she was getting her treatments she loved thrifting and we appreciate being here.”
There’s a story behind every object and that story can continue with whomever purchases it, much like how Luepke is continuing her sister’s legacy.“I’m grateful to be able to tell her story again and again which makes me smile,” she said. “I just really enjoy being an anchor in this neighborhood and that we are becoming a community fixture. The community really appreciates us being here and they've let us know it.”
In a study done by Lisa Hochtritt, a participant said, “It's funny because I have these moments of joy and they fade and it's replaced by a new thing that I love," when talking about the joy thrifting brings her (1). The participants also saw thrifting as a way to bring others together. This is shown when people go to the stores with friends and family for a fun experience, and through people coming together to donate.However, as we all know, COVID-19 impacted this practice of coming together and created challenges for nonprofits like Flying Pig Thrift.
“The biggest challenge was surviving,” Luepke said. “We lost over half of our volunteers because of COVID-19 cautions and we were down to the bare minimum.” Luepke and her business partner Charlie never gave up and pushed through the hard times on their own with a few volunteers. “We needed to close for three months so we had a financial challenge as well and being a nonprofit made it so hard to get a loan. So so hard.”
On top of surviving, they were losing potential volunteers as campuses were closing. Specifically Hamline students. Yet, they stayed optimistic and looked on the bright side. “One thing we noticed was that there were a few silver linings, and during the pandemic people were home and they were cleaning their closets so we noticed an uptake in donations.”
In order for stores like Flying Pig Thrift to continue to support their community and continue their story, they need others like yourself to join them.