Update on pending ReStore move

We have been planning a move for some time. It has taken about two years to find the right location. Our current location is no longer large enough for our needs. It is also very hard to find. We have found a location that fits our requirements but needs renovations before we can move there.

The repairs will take two months. After that it will take some time to move in. We will be making updates through this blog and our website as we get more detailed information. As of now it looks like the move will be mid-Fall.

The building (marked below with a yellow pin) is next to Sears (green pin) in Prices Corner Shopping Center. It can be seen behind Cranston Heights Fire Station (black pin) from Kirkwood Highway and will be more noticeable once we get a ReStore sign on the front.

In the meantime, our current location in Cornell Business Park is full of furniture, cabinets, vanities, and many other items for the home.

Habitat Open House

Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County will periodically host an Open House at one of its completed homes. The Open House is set up similar to one a real estate agent will host to sell a house. The major difference being that we are not looking for a homebuyer. Habitat's Open Houses are intended to give the public a chance to see the inside of a Habitat home and learn more about the organization.



The most recent Open House was June 10th at Mill Stone Phase 2 2117 LaMotte St. Furniture was used from the ReStore, Jewish Community Center, and Home Budget Mattress by the New Castle Farmer's Market to stage the house. Two love seats, a dining room table and chairs, a china hutch, two mirrors, an artificial tree and a bedroom set were borrowed from the ReStore for the event.

The next open house will be in the fall. The date is to be announced. Future Open Houses will be announced on the website, habitatncc.org or call the Habitat office, (302) 652-0365 to be sent a flyer.

Vintage and collectible items in the ReStore

We don't get a large selection of collectibles in the ReStore but do get some in occasionally. One of the oddities is that we often get these items in more than one donation at a time. About two years ago we had a donation of tools that included an old wood plane. Before that one was sold we got two more as a donation. Recently someone donated a brace drill and, within a few days, another person donated two more. In our selection of sinks we have two vintage pedestal sinks that came from different donations.

Of the three brace drills, one is a Goodell-Pratt and the other two are Miller Falls. All three are in working condition. Miller Falls is considered the higher quality of the two names but Goodell-Pratt was owned by Miller Falls from 1931 until the discontinuation of the company name in 1946.

The pedestal sinks are made by Kohler and

Thomas Maddock's Sons Co. Kohler, of course, is still a well regarded brand name. Thomas Maddock's Sons was the first company to make sanitary earthenware products in the US. The company existed until a 1929 sale to Sanitary Manufacturing Company which later became American Standard.

Some of the collectible or vintage items we have gotten in have been offered on eBay. The pedestal sinks and the tools we will offer in the store until they sell. Old tools tend to be popular among our customers. Pedestal sinks would be difficult and expensive to ship if we tried to sell them online.

Packed furniture room

For a couple of months our furniture room has looked sparse. Donations had been down and items were selling so fast we couldn't keep the room stocked. That has changed over the last several days. We have gotten several furniture donations and the room is now packed.

Along with the usual furniture, we have gotten in over a dozen artificial plants. The furniture we have in includes the dining room set pictured above. We also have several dining room and kitchen tables, sofas, upholstered chairs, desks, and bookshelves. The best items tend to sell quickly and the artificial plants are priced low to sell fast.

One thing we will miss when we move

Our new location in Prices Corner has a number of benefits over our current location. It will be easier to find and should attract a larger number of customers and donors, construction will be done on the building that will make the layout more suitable to our needs, and it is much bigger. One nice thing about the location here is it is near an open field and not far from the Russell W. Peterson Wildlife Refuge on the Christina River. We get a large number of wild animals near the store.

In the time we have been here we have seen many species of bird flying over the store along with some mammals running around in the open area across from the store. Among the birds we have seen: Turkey vultures, hawks, a pair of eagles, and Canada geese. We have also seen deer, groundhogs, and a fox.

On a road as busy as Kirkwood Hwy. we aren't likely to see wildlife like we get to see now.