Hope and Gloria

On our whistle stop tour of the charity shops last week, one shop shone but it's definately not your typical charity shop! A friend had told me about the Hope and Gloria Emporium and thought I would like it, and she was right.

" Hope and Gloria Emporium is a 'not for profit' vintage themed lifestyle store (I'm hooked already) selling fashion and homewares, based in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. It has grown out of the annual fashion event-Handbags and Gladrags-which sells donated items of new and used clothing with all proceeds going to charities at home and over seas."
 The inviting window displays are to rival any high street store, but it's once you get inside were I was blown away, from the elegant changing rooms to the vintage till area! The shop is beautiful!

And it's not just a place to shop you can hang out here too! Get your hair did in a vintage doo or have your nails done then relax for an afternoon tea in the retro living room, and for the kiddies there's storytelling, love it!

 "Hope and Gloria sells donated items and some bought-in vintage items. The concepts is based on the principals of recycling, thrift and creativity. The premises incorporates a workshop for the free training of the unemployed in various creative skills eg. clothes making, hair dressing, and the upcycling of furniture and clothing."

"Hope and Gloria will actively promote local artisans by incorporating their work in the shop. It will also include fairly traded products -we are currently establishing links directly with craftspeople across Africa. The aim of this is to empower those living in poverty to make a future for themselves and their children through the establishment of their own businesses."
"Hope and Gloria is operated by Causeway Coast Vineyard and it's profits support projects such as the Sunday Food give-Away, CAP debt counselling, OAM Sports Academy in George, South Africa and the E3 Initiative.
To find out more about the shop or any of the projects mentioned visit Hope and Gloria's Facebook
page or email jude@hopeand gloria.org