Again and Again Furniture and Decor Thrift

It's a beautiful thing to find so much heart in the middle of a modern business park in St. John’s.  That's exactly what happens at Again & Again Furniture and Decor Thrift, 25 Hebron Way.   

From its great big windows to the back wall, Again & Again Furniture and Decor Thrift is set up with couches, chairs, lamps, tables, chests, stereo hutches, art and more. It’s fresh and bright with a buzzing energy of lovely things and people.

That’s all easy to see.  But just under that surface, there’s a whole lot more good things circulating and re-circulating, just like the name suggests.

Again and Again creates youth opportunities, keeps good things out of the landfill, builds community

Again & Again is a social enterprise that does good in so many ways.  The money it earns helps support Home Again Furniture Bank.  It creates opportunities for young people to explore career opportunities, take on leadership roles, and earn.  It restores, repairs, and upcycles furniture and housewares, keeping good things from the landfill.  And it’s a community hub that offers a safe, enriching space for traditional and innovative craft and gatherings.

skilled repair, restore, upcycle great furniture and decor

Amy Tulk, Director of Operations, is proud of the store, and especially proud of the repair and upcycling work.  She says, “Through Home Again Furniture Bank, we saw that there was a lot of great product that wasn’t market-ready. It would often go to the landfill.  We started thinking about how to change that.  Our partnership with Choices for Youth opened the door to build skills for youth and offer services that would make all this amazing product saleable.  Now upcycling, repair, refreshing and restoring pieces are the Again & Again market niche. It’s a big win all around!”

thrift, style, social purpose Again and Again 

• The goods that show up a Again & Again cover decades of style.  Among the second hand finds, there are vintage, antique, and mid century modern pieces.   
• Amy says, “We’re seeing a lot of babyboomers becoming minimalist, so that makes for amazing donations.  In the mid to late 1900s, furniture was meant to last for generations - and it does.”  
• Buying from social enterprise thrift store is good for the budget, and it’s also a great way for people to put their social values into practice.  On the social side, Again & Again helps young people find meaningful employment through the Choices for Youth partnership, helps alleviate furniture poverty through Home Again Furniture Bank, and on the environmental side, helps keep good things out of the landfill.

furniture and pieces cleaned, reupholstered, repaired, renewed upcycled

One of the niche features of Again & Again is their enhanced capacity to make the furniture market-ready.  Behind the showroom there is space where furniture is restored to all new glory.

Amy explains, “The team at Again & Again are skilled at cleaning, repairing, restoring, reupholstering and upcycling pieces.   And they take great joy in the creative process.  We all love the before and after.” 

Thanks to a grant from MMSB, and the skill, the Again & Again team essentially take the second-hand out of the furniture experience with tools to remove pet hair, wear stains, and household scent.  

That’s standard practice, but they go one, two or many steps further with repairing seams and buttons, reupholstering, and re-painting or re-staining.

The result is affordable, completely one-of-a-kind pieces for purchase. 

how to turn a china cabinet into a coffee bar

One very popular furniture item right now is the coffee bar.  

Big, majestic china cabinets, buffets and hutches, and the credenza were feature pieces in many homes as ways to display china and serving ware.  These days coffee is a feature.  The Again & Again team refinishes for the coffee purpose, with storage for beans and makers and grinders and all the rest.

Amy says, “It puts a whole new spin on Again & Again.”

social enterprise with a multi-pronged social purpose

It’s in the business of doing good, and Again & Again is nailing it in business and in good.  

Amy says, “We always offer great deals - we often have a deal of the day, and if a piece has been on the floor for more than a few days, we’ll knock it down.  

And while our goal is to be affordable for our customers, our social purpose for Home Again is to raise revenue to support their work in eliminating furniture poverty.  That’s part of the equation.”

The other social purposes of Again & Again are equally important.  

Through the Choices for Youth partnership, youth gain employment and so much more.  Amy says, “Our staff are talented young people who gain skills, experience and expertise in the retail environment, in leadership as well as in reupholstery, refinishing and other learnings that they can take with them in other areas.”

From the environmental perspective, restoring and re-selling goods creates less waste, and puts it to use rather than going to the landfill.

Again and Again is a hub of creation and community for everyone

One of the growth areas for Again & Again is the creation space, where people meet, create and rejuvenate with the power of community. The Aliant Pioneers are partners on this component of Again & Again.  Amy says, “Right now our creation space is where staff and volunteers lead how-to sessions on projects for the shop and employees, but we’re looking forward to expanding these offerings.  Who knows where it will take us.”

Video:  Kim Todd and Amy Tulk talk about Again and Again Furniture and Decor Thrift