“Trash to Treasure”: Thrifting with Bambino Thrift Shop

EthiCAL Apparel is back for our new semester, and we cannot be more excited for what’s to come! Our theme for Spring 2024 is “Trash to Treasure,” a theme that resonates deeply with EthiCAL’s mission and with our members. There’s a lot of ways to approach this theme of recycling and finding value in the (maybe) old and mundane.

Vintage is the new trend! Thrifting is one of the most valued past-times for college students and young adults, whether it's a trip to local thrift stores or digging through parents’ closets. Thrifting reflects the growing environmental and cultural awareness of our generation while also becoming an important time for social bonding. In a lot of ways, you can think of thrifting as the 2020s version of going to the mall.

Most fittingly, we are partnering with Bambino Thrift Shop for the semester. Located in Oakland along College Avenue, Bambino is a non-profit organization that has been running since 1928. Their mission? Selling quality thrifted items to the Berkeley community in order to raise funds for the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. This semester we’re donating to the store itself through funds, providing volunteer manpower, and assisting in marketing efforts to increase foot traffic and sales.

EthiCAL Apparel recently had a chance to interview several representatives from Bambino. Lou (Bambino’s new manager), Sandy, Carol, and Chris. In speaking with them, we got to learn a lot about the behind-the-scenes of the longstanding operation, including their personal successes (such as raising 140K in funds last year), group values, conflict management, and ethical considerations for vintage products.

The process of valuing and vetting items for resell is much more fraught with politics, history, and research than it would initially seem, and the volunteers over at Bambino responsibly and thoughtfully consider these in their entire process, from the item evaluation to their employment training.

*The interview has been edited for concision and clarity.

How do you practice conscientious buying?

Lou: Never buy new. Never shop at full price department stores because I know that there’s something… there’s always something more unique and less-mass produced looking at a vintage store.

Sandy: It’s a way to be economically.

Chris: My daughters will even research manufacturers or manufacturing practices.

Lou: Because fast fashion is so prevalent now, try to shop local. The thing about this store. It is high-end vintage. It is vintage from all over the Bay Area. It’s close… it’s local vintage; but we also carry modern brands. I’ve seen some modern pieces… but we just want to make sure that it still gets used and minimize waste in general. That’s why we take all sorts of things.

What is the process for your evaluation?

Sandy: We give almost everything a chance if we think there’s a customer who will buy it, unless it’s really socially unacceptable stuff.

Lou: We do vet condition. Yeah, safety. We don’t take baby strollers or helmets because of potential for hazard.

Carol: It’s also size. We’re a small shop; we just can’t do strollers, and high chairs, and big couches.

Lou: We want to make sure it’s not completely damaged.

Sandy: What we do, we will triage. So if someone is donating things, we already try to discourage them… from a list of things they already know we can’t accept… We can’t take things that we can’t sell. The environmental benefit is wonderful, but for us, we want to make as much money as possible for Children’s Hospital. That’s our primary goal… So within those guidelines, that’s really the thing that drives the most decision-making: what will make us the most money for the babies

Lou: We really research and do live appraisal for every single thing that comes in here. So it’s not like, “Oh, I feel like this should be three dollars.” That’s why we bounce ideas off of each other; we look at the real price; we realize what’s been selling, what hasn’t been selling, what’s popular now. We take all that stuff into consideration before putting it on the floor. Cleanliness; they clean stuff; they steam the fabrics; they group the fabrics; they fold the fabric… If they can’t do something to make it more solid, then it goes into the bags, and take it over to Salvation Army.

Sandy: We’ll get donations where, for example, we have a lot of plastic bags that some store went bankrupt, and now we’re, “Okay, do we use the plastic bags?” We reuse a lot of other bags.

Carol: We do not buy bags.

Sandy: We do not buy bags. But should we not use those? Just on principle? It’s a tough one.

Right; trying to balance between well, it’s already made, so then what do we do with this versus does it fall within our principles?

Sandy: Right, so normally, we just try not to take it if it has those kinds of implications.

Lou: I also like to think that every single thing has a market, right? Somebody’s looking for something in here… and it’s just about hope! And it’s so funny because we do get sad if something doesn’t go. So it’s really great to partner up with someone who could find a good use for it.

You’ve mentioned that you have different expertises in different areas and that a lot of that factors into your appraisal process. I was curious about your different expertises and your different experiences.

Lou: We’ve got smarties in the room. These ladies are very… They say they’re retired, but I would say for a fact that they know what they’re good at. You guys explain what you’re good at, because I’m not going to talk about it.

Chris: Arts and crafts, fabric and textiles, and all craft supplies. I’ve worked as an artist. One of my passions is that I love fixing things… It’s fun to take home something that would otherwise be unsellable, and bring it in, and then the next week, it’s sold! And it just feels so good!

Sandy: I’m a crow. Shiny objects. Vintage. Whatever strikes my fancy. My great-grandfather owned a hardware store in downtown New York City, and that catalog just, just like… woah! So it’s just been in me for as long as I can remember.

Lou: And you were in architecture before?

Sandy: Yeah, I was in architecture. So historic preservation was one of the things that I was responsible for.

Carol: I’m not a shopper, and I’m a terrible pricer, just because I don’t know and I don’t care. I like logistics. I do more of the organizing.

Sandy: She’s Elmer’s glue!

Lou: My background… Well, I’m a research archivist. I do catalog. I’ve cataloged music. I’ve worked for Sony before. I’ve cataloged art… collectibles researcher. All my life. Ever since… I went to school for ethnomusicology, so I got a job at Sony researching old music… I’m just a big research person. Then, I ran into my other job, which was… in houseware, decor, furniture. I researched furniture from Victorian era to modern era… I’m just like this weird old thing library in my head. And that’s why I’m here! I’m here to just help them figure out how to find a market for most of their inventory. Refresh, just get kind of more people in here, younger people in here. Quality-wise—talk about fast fashion—things are made to last forever. Before planned obsolescence, there was beautiful handmade, handcrafted stoneware, dishes, sweaters, etc. There’s still a lot we can sustain from the past, and use from the past.

How does the partnership with UCSF Benioff’s Children’s Hospital function?

Carol: Because our goal is to get as much money as possible for the hospital, we do keep a certain amount in reserves every month. But the rest goes to the hospital. Bambino is part of a bigger group that they have. When the hospital was started, they had women’s groups or branches that raised money for the hospital, and it's called the Children’s Hospital branches… The hospital every year gives us a wishlist. And we go through that, another board of the branches. We go through it to say yes, we think this is a good one, and we’ll give money for this. We end up buying a lot of their monitors and cribs. All kinds of things. Each department usually gives us a request. They have a department that helps families with food, and we will pay for gas cards because they need a way to get to the hospital to get to their sick kid. We will provide gift cards so they can go buy healthy food.

Sandy: We’re a nonprofit entity. Entirely nonprofit. Other than our operating expenses, every penny goes to the Children’s Hospital through the branches. We are totally a support organization.

Lou: We literally live by the work of the volunteers.

Sandy: Lou, and there’s another assistant manager, are the only two paid positions, and everyone else is volunteer.

Lou: And how many volunteers do we have?

Chris: Thirty… thirty-five.

What drew you to Bambino?

Sandy: This is a community store. We have people who are regulars. It is part of their day to come in and check in with everybody and have conversations. We worry about them when we don’t see some of our regulars.

Lou: And they’ve been here for years.

Sandy: We do have people we have to help out a little bit more than the average customer, and we try to. It is very much a little community gem.

Lou: Person to person. You can’t beat that. I’m just so lucky to be here. Just to meet everybody in the neighborhood, and just walk next to somebody and be like, “Oh, that looks good on you.”

In your time at Bambino, what did you learn from your experiences, and how did you feel like you’ve grown as a result of your experiences?

Chris: I am anti-confrontational. We have a lot of diverse personalities here. We have a lot of very strong women that are very opinionated. And at first, I wanted to run and hide all the time. “Just let me do this little thing in the corner over here. Don’t talk to me!” Not only did I learn how to work with all these people; I also learned to find my voice. I can speak up for myself… It's actually made me stronger and more self-confident in some ways. I grew up as an artist… and I always just worked by myself. So coming in here and working with this very diverse group of people has been really good for me, and I’ve grown a lot as a person doing that. So I like the challenges.

Lou: Bambino is run by almost all women… I just started, so I feel like I couldn’t tell you completely what I’ve learned so far. But I’ve learned I am a valuable part of this community. That I’m valuable in my professional background and need people to make sure the hospital’s getting as much attention and donation and time-contribution and traffic as possible.

Sandy: I’ve learned a very funny thing about myself. All the vintage stuff aside and that basic understanding. I’ve learned that I could tell that shirt you’re wearing and sell it back to you! … My previous profession never needed that, unless it was some amount of marketing. But then it just came out one day. I couldn’t be a good auto salesman, but I’m selling for a good cause. So it is so easy to convince people to be back.

Carol: I don’t know. That’s just not the way I think unfortunately. I guess… I have no idea.

Lou: She’s just used to working hard in the workplace and even though you’re retired, you’re still holding it down for everyone here.

Chris: Do you know you’re the glue? … Oh, plus she’s a great baker!

Sandy: Yes, that is what keeps the volunteers!

Carol: So I guess that is what is nice. I love doing this. And this is a place or avenue where I can give it out, and they love it.

Carol: I think that’s a lot of the… everybody here for the most part is fun to come work with. Everyday is different, and because of my position, I’m usually here every day for at least a couple hours, and I get to come in and interact with all of them, and it’s great. That part is really enjoyable.

Chris: On a separate note, I have this fantasy where I’ll be holding an object and it’s gonna send me back to the place where it originally came from. And how do I get back to present day because there are things we have that trigger that. What was this; how was it used?

Sandy: That’s the joy of the vintage stuff, is that you’re a time traveler.

The volunteer-run organization strives to offer services that benefit the local community on several fronts. They accept donations for various items, value them, and resell them to the community to then contribute to the Children’s Hospital’s essential needs for high quality care. Beyond their long-standing charity work, what clearly comes through in our conversation with these incredible women is the passion and sense of responsibility for community. Bambino’s work is a labor of love for the environment, for the local Berkeley area, and for the expert vintage finds—truly embodying the theme, “Trash to Treasure.”