Goodwill

Los Angeles really is just such a great city for artists as evidenced by the number of Goodwill stores in proximity to me. I’ve managed to furnish my apartment with beautiful secondhand furniture just the way I like for a mere fraction of the cost of what it would’ve been had I purchased the items from, say, Ikea or Amazon, though admittedly I did purchase a few items from like stores. It’s such a great feeling to be in the artist mindset and living off not a lot of money. It’s just me and the words in front of me. No distractions and no pressure.

When I go to Goodwill, I don’t necessarily see myself fitting in with my fellow patrons. The clothing that has come with me from my time spent at a private undergraduate institution along with a private medical school stands in stark contrast with the people I shop along side of. My Birkenstock sandals and Patagonia attire and polite decorum is not something that one readily observes at a Goodwill. The attitudes there, the body mass index, and the general ambience is a just little different than what you would see at a , say, Crate & Barrel.

Yet, by shopping at Goodwill, you’re able to find some of the same things there that you would ordinarily find at your local high end shopping mall furniture store–just refurbished–at a fraction of the price. There’s something about buying used furniture that does make you feel good about yourself along with the act of donating them back to the store when it is time to move again. It’s sort of like borrowing furniture instead of owning. That is the artist way I suppose.