FIXation volunteer sorter Helen Ough Dealy at work in the shop’s storeroom.
Photo: RNZ / Nona Pelletier
Post-Covid decluttering is a gift that keeps on giving for small community organisations and businesses.
Among them is Russell’s not-for-profit upcycle shop FIXation, with eager volunteers willing to pitch in to give all manner of used textiles and bric-a-brac notions, such as laces, ribbons and bows, a new lease on life.
FIXation founder Christine Angell said a discussion over coffee with other locals about upcycling clothing quickly led to an offer for six months’ free rent in a vintage building in Russell’s York Street.
“And it was beginning of 2022 … so I just put the call out to see what was around,” she said.
“And the lady from the St John Op shop said, hallelujah, we’ve got 136 black bags of clothing … they couldn’t handle.
“They had so much from people clearing out during Covid … they were inundated. So we took all that.”
Angell said the community support was incredible.
“It just grew legs, Basically, as soon as the community heard about us, we were donated all sorts of stuff, including tables and chairs and a cutting table, sewing machines. Everything’s been donated to us.”
FIXation, which sits under the Resilient Russell umbrella, donated more than $50,000 to support local community projects over the past four years.
“The ones that are doing the work are getting the say on where it gets spent,” Angell said.
“There’s about 15 of us at any one time, who actually all have a say on where the money goes. So it’s very collaborative.”
Some volunteers were kept busy sorting through the treasure trove of unwanted materials, while others used their sewing and other craft skills to produce beautiful garments, accessories and homewares.
Volunteer sorter Helen Ough Dealy said people had donated 50-years’ worth of sewing items to FIXation.
“We’ve had everything from a dressmaker who specialised in couture wedding gowns,” Ough Dealy said.
“We’ve got all of her laces and satins and silks and so on … so there’s lots of glitz and glam there. And you’d be surprised where those bits and pieces end up, usually on the backs of jean jackets.
“You can just go into that back room, pick-out whatever you want to work on and have a play. And if it works out that it’s good enough to sell, that’s wonderful.”
If not, items were reworked into other items, such as a rag rug.
“Nothing’s really wasted,” Ough Dealy said.
The shop also mended community items for a recommended donation of $20 and encouraged DIY experienced and novice customers alike to use the community sewing machine at no charge.
Newly established consignment shop flourishes
Down the street from FIXation, is antique consignment shop, Who Loves Ya Baby, located in a former tavern said to be established by a namesake and descendent of the Bounty’s mutineer Fletcher Christian.
The antique cash register sits on the old tavern’s bar, while the back storeroom acts as a warehouse for St John Op shop’s surplus inventory of furniture.
Who Loves Ya Baby’s shop owner Colette Kearins standing in front of the bar once used in the tavern owned by Fletcher Christian’s descendant.
Photo: RNZ / Nona Pelletier
Who Loves Ya Baby owner Collette Kearins said she established the shop in October 2025 after deciding to declutter her home of antiques and curios.
Almost immediately her venture attracted the attention of other Russellites looking to downsize or sell precious family heirlooms, considered too valuable to donate to an op shop.
She said it was a scary to open a shop amid a prolonged economic recession, but it turned out to be the right decision.
“I went okay, let’s do this. A lot of people thought I was quite crazy to do it now, but it’s worked out well. Very, very well in fact.
“Everyday I get inquiries. People show me photos or bringing things into me of what they want to sell on their behalf.
“They’re getting some money back for their goods, and they’re happy. I’m happy,” Kearins said, who takes a commission on sales on behalf of 12 clients.
The shop was also popular with tourists, though Russell’s residents made-up the largest group of customers.
“Other Russellites are buying other people’s belongings, which is making me incredibly happy because it’s staying in Russell and, yeah, it’s just continuing on that bit of the legacy.”
Among the collection of antiques and curios were collections, such as maritime and war memorabilia collected by a soldier in World War II.
“I feel like I do know this person quite well now, just from selling his clothing and all of his memorabilia, from his years, I guess, travelling around, travelling the world,” she said.
The shop also offered some historic items from Russell, such as a collection of old bottles unearthed 80 years ago and located in the garage of an elderly resident ever since.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
