“I won’t buy anything from a bin”, this is what an out of province relative said when Guy’s Frenchys was described to her. The idea of buying used clothing was not appealing at all to her, in fact it was appalling. The eco-conscious will say it’s “recycled clothing”, I say roll up your sleeves and dig in.
Recently, I went on a “Frenchys run” where we started in Digby one day and traveled along the Evangeline Trail to the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Region the next. Through villages such as Meteghan, Saulnierville and Church Point.
6 Guy’s Frenchys in 36 hours, a new record.
Here’s what I got:
3 sweaters (American Eagle, Banana Republic and Aeropostale),
2 hoodies (both Aeropostale)
1 blouse (Banana Republic)
3 shirts (Banana Republic, Gap and H&M)
= one happy camper who paid a fraction of the cost for gently used clothing
There are so many diamonds in the ruff just waiting to be grabbed. Seasoned “Frenchys” goers have a particular method of how they sort through the clothing. Just like how you may have a strategy for hanging clothes on your clothesline or how you unload your dishwasher. It’s fascinating to watch them but then again, there’s no time to waste, there are diamonds to be found!
Most of what you sort through will be quickly passed over. Hold tight because every hour, on the hour, there is a new arrival of goods that are tossed in the bins. Clothes, toys and household items are checked over by staff many times for quality. Some items still have the original store tags on them.
What started as a small store in Digby Guy’s Frenchys has expanded to 18 stores throughout Nova Scotia and New Brunswick processing thousands of pounds of clothing daily. I’ve heard that many girlfriends take weekend Frenchys getaways, stopping at various locations along their pre-planned route. Even travel tour companies offer Guy’s Frenchys motorcoach tours.
Oh, remember that relative who said she’d never shop from a bin? They say it took her 20 minutes to convert, only after finding a designer cocktail dress. This new convert joins the rest of the evangelists.
Growing up on Nova Scotia’s 
Willy Krauch came to Canada from Denmark and began smoking fish in 1956. Willy developed a method that was uniquely his own and using only Nova Scotia hard wood kindling and sawdust. Willy passed away several years ago and the business is now run by his sons. They continue the fine craft of smoking the finest quality fish. In the tiny village of Tangier, Nova Scotia (about 1 hour 20 minutes outside of Halifax) you can see smoke billowing from the smokehouse. Tours are available but I recommend contacting them first.
After about 15 minutes, here is the end product. I quickly moved on to finish the other three wreaths and then started looking around my fathers garage. I was on a roll. Interestingly enough, my father is sweet on collecting rope. Eureka! I made three more wreaths made from rope that, at one time, was tied to lobster traps. To me, this only adds more character.
It’s funny. For the past 5 years my family and I have visited the town of 
Along the trail were decorations hanging from trees or lying on the ground made from pine cones, birch bark and other natural materials that were a hit with the squirrels and birds. I was told later that these were made by art students at a local school.
Last weekend, my family and I made a quick visit to the village 
The Right Coast Nova Scotia 