A Repeat Performance

Profile

A tremendous variety of great bargains, rare items, and miscellany (like a bucket of scissors) are all jumbled together in the narrow confines of this East Village thrift shop. Owner Beverly Bronson first opened the store on St. Mark’s Place in 1981, moving it down the street to its current location five years later; she scours local estate sales, flea markets, and auctions for the diverse merchandise. Typical finds include typewriters from the 1920s through the 1960s, often used as props on film, photo, and theater sets; everyday items ranging from buttons to bookshelves; antique amps and cameras; and unusual lighting fixtures like gaudy tabletop lamps and beautiful twisted satin shades. The stock is constantly changing, but a constant is the bright felt purses and hand puppets made by women in Nepal who are part of the free training program at Ghar Sita Mutu, a home for orphaned children that Bronson founded in 2001. Profits from their sale help sponsor the home. — Caroline Kinneberg