The Studio by Community Thrift and Vintage is an appointment based shopping and order pickup service run out of 11 West Hastings Street in Vancouver, sharing an address with the brand’s Unisex Shoppe in the Downtown Eastside. Rather than functioning as a walk in storefront, The Studio exists for shoppers who want a slower, one on one experience: booking a visit through the brand’s Instagram account or by email secures a dedicated window to browse in person or collect an online order without competing with regular retail foot traffic. That appointment model makes The Studio a useful option for anyone who has already spotted a piece online and wants to try it on before committing, or for customers who prefer a quieter, guided shopping session over browsing a busy sale floor.
The Studio operates under the umbrella of Community Thrift and Vintage, a Vancouver based social enterprise that has been selling recycled fashion since 2011. The wider brand describes its mission as offering a tightly edited collection of secondhand clothing at a low price point, and its racks typically span dresses, tops, denim, jackets, knitwear, and menswear alongside a designer section for shoppers hunting higher end labels and a rotating Vault collection of standout vintage pieces. Community Thrift and Vintage runs sister storefronts nearby, including a Frock Shoppe on Carrall Street and the Unisex Shoppe that shares The Studio’s Hastings Street address, giving shoppers several ways to engage with the same curated inventory depending on whether they want general secondhand basics, unisex pieces, or a private appointment.
What sets Community Thrift and Vintage, and by extension The Studio, apart from a typical vintage resale shop is its explicit social enterprise structure. The organization operates a work training program that supports at risk individuals in the Downtown Eastside, giving participants retail experience and a path toward further employment, and every dollar of profit the business generates is directed to PHS Community Services Society, a Vancouver nonprofit focused on housing, health, and support services for some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. That means a purchase made through The Studio, whether it is a designer coat or a simple secondhand tee, is functioning as a small direct contribution to community services in the same neighborhood where the shop operates, not just a transaction with a private retailer.
Because The Studio is appointment only, prospective shoppers should reach out ahead of a visit rather than dropping by unannounced; the brand directs booking requests to its Instagram account or its general email address, and staff use that contact to coordinate specific times for in person shopping or pickup of items already purchased online. This structure also supports the brand’s free Canada wide shipping option for online orders, since customers who would rather collect locally than wait for delivery can arrange to do so directly at the Hastings Street address instead.
For shoppers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and beyond, The Studio offers a quieter, appointment driven way to shop the same curated secondhand fashion and vintage finds carried across Community Thrift and Vintage’s storefronts, with every purchase supporting a local work training program and funding PHS Community Services Society. It stands as proof that a thrift shop can double as both an affordable clothing source and a direct engine for neighborhood social support.
