When the Nelson Hospice furniture shop started out-growing their Bridge St premises, the decision was made to look for another location, so when a much-larger store became available in Richmond, combining the local Hospice shop with the furniture was a no-brainer.
Moving the Richmond Hospice Shop from Queen St onto the corner of Gladstone Rd and Queen St, together with the furniture, on October 1, has been a positive move, says store manager, Anete Smith.
“We are loving it. The fact we have so much space is amazing. We wondered if we’d be able to fill it all, but we have no worries,” says Anete.
The store is the first of the four shops to roll out the new branding and feedback on the signage and larger premises has been overwhelmingly positive.
“People are loving it, they’re loving the space and the light and brightness of it, and also the quality of the goods. The fact we have free carparking out the front also helps.”
Turning second-hand goods into first-class care, Anete says the shops play a vital role for the community and are “massively important” to fund the DHB shortfall for the Hospice.
With just 40 volunteers helping out in Richmond, the team would love to have more volunteers on board since their increased size has led to a larger workload.
“We are desperate for volunteers, we would love to double our number.”