Portage Trail Barn: 5 Steps from Thrift Store to Fashion

The 5 Steps from Thrift Store to Fashion

by Mary Beth Filion

Hello!  I'm Mary Beth and I'm the owner of Portage Trail Barn in Cuyahoga Falls.  The Barn is a seasonal shop open a few weekends each year. It features local vendors of handmade and repurposed goods.  I'm not only the owner, but a crafter too and I love to work with repurposed materials.  I'll shop garage and estate sales, auctions, and thrift stores. Using repurposed materials is so easy!  Today I'm going to share the 5 steps I take to go from thrift store to finished item. 

1. Gather ideas. 

This is my favorite part.  I’m on Pinterest everyday.  I have over 3,000 pins and counting.  Having a visual way to organize ideas is the best. I have boards by season or product line.  I also look at manufactured items and devise a way to use thrifted materials in the reproduction.  

2. Be familiar with your local shops.  This will help you decide where to go for what you want.

Goodwill on State Road is good for books, small furniture, and sundries (you never know what you’ll find).

Salvation Army in Montrose is good for large furniture and I love the way they display home goods by color.  All thrift stores should do that.  It makes it so much fun to shop.  

Salvation Army in Montrose

Village Discount Outlet on State Road is great for clothing.  This is where I picked up some great belts all at half price or lower!

Village Discount Outlet on State Road in Cuyahoga Falls

3. Know how much you’d be willing to pay.  This comes with time and research.  I always keep in mind that on discount days I could be getting it for as low as $0.50!  That makes that belt for $6.00 seem overpriced and I’m likely to pass it by.

Know your Discount codes!

4. Don’t be afraid to buy and try.  

The beauty of buying thrifted goods at a low cost is you can be brave about your trial and error process.

5.  Proudly display your handmade goods…and let the compliments stream in.  Take note of what materials you enjoyed working with. Each time you hit the thrift store keep an eye out for something to add to your stash.  

Leather belt ring

These leather belt rings will be available at the Fall Barn Sale, as well as more of my repurposed goods.  Come see us opening night form 3-8p September 18, 10a-4p Saturday and Sunday.  Also the second weekend Thursday September 20 from 3-8p and Saturday and Sunday from 10a-4p.

For information on seasonal sales check out the website.  

To get a peek behind the scenes find me on Instagram.  

And to see what inspires me follow me on Pinterest.