Last week Leah and I started some sort of thrift store madness in what we’ve taken to calling the DISPATCH Tour. It might or might not stand for Deseret Industries Super Photo Adventure Tour.
At the end of last year I had three weeks with nothing to do – no school and no work. I desperately needed a project and was kicking around the idea of visiting all the Deseret Industry thrift stores, shooting a few photographs, snagging some new shirts, and later publishing a book with the best thrift store photos. I knew there was one in Las Vegas and mistakenly thought it was the furthest one from home. I let the project sit in my head long enough to think it was doable, then looked up the locations online and realized there are 43 of them; several quite far from home. It was too late. I’d committed to driving to every one and the DISPATCH tour was born. However long it takes, Leah and I are going to try and go to each one and shoot a few photos.
Tucson, AZ Deseret Industries.
I like Deseret Industries because although some people see it as the last stop before the dump, surprisingly, other people throw out some great stuff. I’m on the edge of a realization about what people really need, what they claim to need, and what nobody needs but buys anyway. There’s things about each DI that ties them together – something beyond the corporate branding (which is done surprisingly well), beyond the worn out skis and used crutches, something that forgotten and donated items share. There’s a smell thrift stores share. It’s a fetid, old mattress smell that’s worse than the sour mothball and wet wool smell of army surplus stores, but it’s also a smell that easily washes out and is forgotten with new ownership. They’re tied together by the the joy of realizing you’ve got a new favorite flannel shirt and it only cost $4.00. It’s recycling at it’s best.
At any rate last week Leah and I hit 6 Deseret Industries in 4 days, covering 1,951 miles to do it. I’ll update this page as we knock them off, and I’ll post photos from the tour as we go. Hopefully we can hit all 43 by the end of the summer, and hopefully I’ll have some great images to share as the project unfolds. I’ll probably have an entire closet full of new-to- me flannel as well. Sacramento’s going to be a long drive.
Here’s a couple short videos from the first leg of the tour:
List of Deseret Industries Stores In Alphabetical Order:
- American Fork, UT
- Blackfoot, ID
- Boise, ID
- Brigham City, UT
- Burley, ID
- Calimesa, CA
- Cedar City, UT
- Centerville, UT
- Chula Vista, CA
- Colton, CA
- Delta, UT
- Downtown SLC, UT
- Federal Way (South Seattle), WA
- Harrisville (North Ogden), UT
- Idaho Falls, ID
Las Vegas (south), NV- Layton, UT
- Logan, UT
- Los Angeles, CA
Mesa, AZ- Murray, UT
- Nampa, ID
North Las Vegas, NVPhoenix, AZ- Pocatello, ID
- Portland, OR
- Preston, ID
- Price, UT
- Provo, UT
- Rexburg, ID
- Richfield, UT
- Sacramento, CA
- Sandy, UT
- Seattle, WA
St. George, UT- Sugarhouse, UT
- Tooele, UT
Tucson, AZ- Twin Falls, ID
- Vernal, UT
- Welfare Square (West SLC), UT
- West Jordan, UT
- West Valley City, UT
Crossed out stores are ones we’ve visited.
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Don’t forget to check out some of the fine art prints for sale in my Etsy shop. I’ve also written and illustrated a children’s book for the Kindle Called Coyote Life. If you’ve got kids, check it out. If you enjoy it, please leave a review. Thanks.
My wife Leah makes and sells some pretty cool leather stuff like minimalist wallets and camera straps. Check out her Etsy store for some cool gear. 