It’s time for my second installment showcasing the awesome thrift shops here in Göteborg!  Are you as excited as I am for this?  You should be 😉

The Store: Emmaus at Linnégatan 9  Phone: 031-7753540

The charity itself is not religiously affiliated like the Salvation Army, but is motivated for social change.  According to the Emma’s website they stand for “solidarity, sustainability, democracy, pluralism and human rights – both in Sweden and in other countries.”  Feel free to check out the site; regardless of your preferred language.  They have an “In English” option that I found very helpful.

This thrift shop is located near the Järentorget tram.  The neighborhood is very young and hip; which is reflected in the store’s merchandise.

Emmaus is just one block away from the tram stop and since it is a hub, many trams stop here.  Notably, numbers 1, 3, 5, 6.  There are also numerous buses.  Basically, most routes wind through this area eventually.  The tram stop is also adjacent to Haga, the old town, which means there are a lot of quirky shops and restaurants with high quality goods.  In Emmaus I’ve found that also translates to slightly higher prices; but you do get what you pay for here.

At first glance, I knew I had to visit this shop.  The window displays are fun and funky; and it is open until 7pm during the week.  My stateside friends, please understand that most places in Europe close earlier than we are used to, so these hours are amazing.

Opening hours are:

M-Thurs: 10am to 7pm
Friday: 10am to 5pm
Saturday: 12pm to 4pm
Sunday: Closed

This shop primarily stocks clothing and shoes.  The clothes are an eclectic mix of truly vintage and 80’s vintage.  The shoes and purses are predominantly leather.  I mention shoes because this shop has an entire room of shoes!  An entire room…that’s some expensive real estate in this area to be devoted just to shoes.

As a woman who has never turned down a biscuit, I also feel compelled to mention a reasonable plus size section, which I rarely see in thrift shops.  There is also a decent maternity section, which was also a nice surprise.

The toy section is my son’s favorite section and he happily found several toys that I agreed to bring home.  Guilt over keeping him 3 weeks in temporary housing with no toys was wearing on me that night…

Alas, there is no dedicated furniture section, but they do have some vintage lamps, random wall art and quite a few kitchen items (plates, cups, etc…).

So, what did we bring home?

• 2 fully functioning Bob the Builder construction toys
• 1 semi functioning Bumblebee transformer toy
• 1 women’s sweater
• 1 crazy wood carving (I HAD TO!!!)

Total damage? SEK 260, roughly $31

As you can see, we got a lot less stuff than at the previous store and it was quite a bit more expensive.  I’m still pleased with the purchases because the toys gave me a bit of peace at home and I was borrowing way too much of the hub’s clothes while mine were in storage.

Emmaus is definitely worth checking out if you want something fun and unique.  I would probably avoid the toy section as I think you can do better elsewhere, but the household “dustables” are fun and the clothes are all in great condition.

Altogether a worthwhile shop to check out.  If you aren’t in Göteborg and just want to learn more about the charity itself, check out this site.

Until next time…