The Thousands

‘OH YES IT IS’, you’ll find yourself thinking on entering this shop. Actually, ‘shop’ is a kind of loose term for this needle-in-a-haystack shed in the Western suburbs piled high with what can only be described as junk. But don’t be fooled. What looks like trash might actually be treasure.

Clipped coloured wire, whole and part picture frames, cotton in all colours of the rainbow, vinyls, plastics, fabrics, tiles, cardboard tubes and, most importantly, shiny, glittery things crowd That’s Not Garbage from floor to ceiling. It’s overwhelming. I don’t recommend visiting if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Your plan of attack should be ‘go in, ask for something specific, get it, get out’. Although, ‘specific’ is a kind of loose term too, unless you call ‘some sort of foam’ or ‘something small and pink’ definitive.

Artists who can see amazing things in piles of crap will go nuts over this place. Likewise compulsive hoarders and manic recyclers. If rolls, spools, sheets, bundles and offcuts are your thing, why not hold your next birthday party there? For just $10 you can make your very own recycled, artistic hat. Celebrate your inner bowerbird, or better, conduct your own Scrapheap Challenge. Whatever you create, it can almost certainly be returned to the shelves should you not be entirely happy with its final form. Trash, treasure, it’s all the same.