Renovator’s delight

Edinburgh FurnitureInitiative Superstores, Four Square (Scotland), Edinburgh

Edinburgh Furniture Initiative is thought to be the second largest furniture retailer based in the centre of Edinburgh, behind retail giants John Lewis.

The EFI superstores in Canonmills and Sighthill handle a whopping 600 tonnes of furniture every year, with all funds raised going to homeless charity Four Square.

Colin Hilditch, business manager for Four Square (Scotland), said the EFI stores have a wide clientele.

He said: “We have landlords here who are kitting out student flats, people who are looking to fill a whole flat and those that will come in and buy single items for their houses in Colinton.”

General manager Matt Lopata said EFI is known as somewhere where people can go to buy high-quality furniture at knockdown prices.

He said: “For the first few years, people thought this was a place where only poor people come to buy their furniture, but that’s changed now.”

Fashionista’s favourite

Mary’s Living andGiving, Save the Children, Edinburgh

Retail guru Mary Portas went on a journey to breathe life into the high street almost a decade ago.

And as part of her Mary Queen of Shops series, the television presenter helped Save the Children open a range of boutique fashion stores – the first of which was in Stockbridge, Edinburgh.

Megan MacKinnon, manager of the Mary’s Living and Giving shop, said the store now has a dedicated following of fashionistas.

She said: “We get a lot of designer stuff in. Today we just sold a Diane von Furstenberg dress, and we get a lot of stuff with tags still
on it. We also get a lot of designer handbags in too.”

Hipster’s paradise

Magpie’s Eye in aidof Glasgow Starter Packs, Glasgow

There aren’t many charity shops in Scotland that have been revamped by a musician who has travelled the world.

The Magpie’s Eye was started as a small gallery shop where local artists and crafters could stock their wares, but is now renowned for its large collection of specialised music and vintage items.

Gavin Dunbar, manager of Starter Packs Glasgow, first got involved with the charity when he stumbled upon its Magpie’s Eye store in Govan.

Dunbar had experience of using social media to promote well known bands, and was himself the bassist for indie group Camera Obscura.

When he moved from being a volunteer to manager of the shop, he decided to use Facebook to promote the weird and wonderful items handled by the store.

He said: “I treated advertising our items in a similar way that I did when I was responsible for operating social media pages for bands.

“I wanted to use a bit of Glasgow patter with people, it was light hearted and it was a window to advertise all the great stuff we had coming in.”