That's right friends, the Free Store is getting a new space, a new look, and a couple of new features... but more about that in a minute. First, a little background.
The Free Store has been bringing a unique retail experience to University of Ottawa students for two decades! What is that experience you ask? Well everything is free for starters. But, really the biggest feature is that everything in the store was considered garbage at one point. And so, the store is quite literally keeping things out of landfill while saving the customers money.
The first time anything resembling a Free Store happened was back in 2007, when a bunch of items were left in some residence rooms and then given back to new students arriving on campus in September. That first event was very modest... imagine a picnic blanket on the grass with a sign that said "FREE" in front of a few donated items.
Fast-forward a couple of years and the Free Store has moved into its own retail space and grown immensely (there is a whole progression along the way but we already covered that in these posts - "A Real life Free Store" and "The Free Store is Awesome"). Today, the Free Store has over 10,000 visits every year, and gives away thousands of kilograms of stuff every semester. But the Free Store needs to move because the Brooks Building, which houses it, is eventually going to be demolished for the construction of some new student residences. And of course, because we have outgrown our space and need something new to expand.
This is an opportunity to make a few improvements to the Free Store, and so here are some of the things we had in mind.
A better entrance
One of the things we were hoping to improve is the entry space. The current layout is a bit of a mess, so we want to make sure that it is more welcoming with a volunteer in place to check your ID, help get you some reusable bags, and share more information about how the store works.
Change rooms
For a long time we have wanted to have change rooms that you can use so you can try things on before you take them home. The solution we have in mind should finally make that a reality so that customers can take more of the kind of things that actually fit them and avoid having to come all the way back to the store to return things that don't.
More wiggle room
And by wiggle room, we mean more space in general to move around (reducing the feeling of being closed in). It is hard to find the right balance of how much stuff to put inside the store versus space for customers to move around, but with this new space we are hoping to give you more breathing room without compromising the large selection of things we offer.
With more flow space inside the store, our hope is that it will be more accessible and safe.
"Closed" sections
One of the big complaints that we get is that half the store is always closed, which is true. We often used the back-half of the store to sort and clean items. But in our new space, there is a complete separation between where things are sorted and the retail space. This means, every inch of the new space is dedicated to showcasing the amazing stuff we have available for you.
Community sharing
And finally, we are looking to create more community boards, where customers can share messages about other community events and initiatives! We can even host more events inside the space.
More information
So all this sounds pretty good right? But there are a few little details you'd like to know, such as "where is the new store?" or "when is the move happening?" or "what does the new space actually look like?".
Well those are all good questions and we do have the answers to them, but we are sharing all this information with our Free Store Newsletter subscribers first. So if you want to get the inside scoop, join the newsletter.
Otherwise, we'll see you at the new Free Store soon.
~jonathan rausseo - campus sustainability manager
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