The Upscale Resale Shop of St. Philip's is located at 44 Four Seasons Plaza, across from the Brevard College. The phone number is 884-9660. The Shop is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Along with clean, usable clothing and accessories, we welcome donations of silver, crystal, china, linens, household goods, small appliances and furniture. We cannot accept electronics. In the event that schools are closed because of bad weather, the Shop will not be open. If schools have delayed openings, we will not open until 1 p.m. unless the volunteers can safely travel to the Shop.

The Shop provides funding for ECW outreach and mission projects in the community, the diocese and the world, as well as several parish programs. This year we will be donating $47,900 to the following local community agencies: Bread of Life, Children's Center, Kids in Camp, KOALA, Meals on Wheels, Rise & Shine, New Opportunities for Women, Transylvania Christian Ministries of Sharing House and Mercy Seat, Transylvania Christian Volunteers in Medicine (TCVIM), Boys' and Girls' Club and Whitewater Cove Children's Home.

A twelve member Shop Board and part time manager supervise the management of the Shop and its more than ninety volunteers: Chairman: Mary Sherwood, Vice Chairman: Lynne Penn, Manager: Karen Palmer, additional Shop Board Members: Dana Herrman, Kathy Morrow, Lynne Penn, Lila Stewart, Carol Tyson, Ellie Vibert, Charlotte Farrand, Kay Tiddy, Mary Lou Neal, and Diane Dyer. The Treasurer of the Shop is Carol Tyson, Assistant Treasurers are Mary Richmond and June Hough. Dana Herrman is our volunteer coordinator and always welcomes new volunteers. Each day a board member is present in the Shop along with the volunteers working at the front desk.

The History of the Shop of St. Philip’s

In the 1950s the women of the St. Elizabeth Guild and the St. Anne’s Guild were holding annual bridge parties and Christmas bazaars to help raise funds for purchasing back the original church rectory which stood next to the church and had been lost during the Depression.

In 1958 Fred Valentine became rector of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church and moved here with his wife, Virginia, and their two children. When, in 1961, the church received the Murphy property on Galloway Street, Virginia Valentine asked the two Guilds to consider opening a thrift shop like she had seen in operation in their former parish as a fundraiser. She stated it would be a better way to raise funds and also would serve the community by providing quality clothing to those with limited funds.

The two guilds decided to drop their separate identities and merged into The Episcopal Church Women of St. Philip's to provide this new service.

The Shop of St. Philip’s began in the small two-room house on a dirt street with no restroom. It was the first thrift shop in Transylvania County and possibly in Western North Carolina. The original shop was an all consignment enterprise with church treasurer, Suzie Matthews, keeping the books. It was a tedious and time-consuming job.

In 1965, Catherine Palmer, vice-president of the ECW, pushed for the relocation on East Main Street to the space now occupied by Dugan’s Pub. After a few years at this location it was decided to no longer operate as a consignment shop. It became then, as it still is today, strictly operated on donations from the community.

In 1989, Maner Ware, second vice-president of the ECW and manager of the shop, decided the time had come for more space for storage, preparation, and restrooms. The Shop was moved to West Jordan Street behind Bullwinkles and quickly proved to be very successful and was there for the next 15 years.

In 2004, Jeanne Jones, the ECW second vice-president and manager of the shop decided it needed to move again as a larger facility came on the market when SAFE’s Attic decided to move from the Four Seasons Plaza. This move would once again double the floor space, provide plenty of parking, increase storage and preparation space, and allow for sales of large items of furniture.

The newly named Upscale Resale Shop of St. Philip’s is mainly an all volunteer enterprise with one paid part time manager. It is owned and operated by the ECW and is now in its 45th year of operation. It is the ECW’s only source of income to provide funding for community outreach to a variety of local charitable organizations.

Excerpted from an article in The Transylvania Times, October 28, 2004, by Carolyn Fitzer and Becky Huggins.