New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
767 Exchange is a brand new store in downtown New Bedford, located on 767 Purchase Street at the former Elaine’s retail store. I spoke to Andy Perrone about what to expect there.
Can you tell me about the store? How does this compare to Savers, Artificial Marketplace,or circa etc? Why a clothing store,do you have any experience in retail or fashion?
Andy: 767 Exchange is a clothing and accessory store. We have both new and used items along with some vintage. Instead of consignment we are doing something a little different, especially for the area. By exchange we mean customers may bring in their gently worn items in exchange for cash on the spot or store credit. We are always on the hunt for great pieces from estate sales and we also carry new merchandise.
We want to be more than a clothing store. Our mission is to also promote local art and music. We have contacted local artists and will be displaying their work throughout the store, as well as promoting local shows and music for area bands. We also invite musicians to perform right in the shop. It’s all about supporting the arts and local businesses in our community. We are quite different and more fashion savvy than your average thrift store. There is no scouring through thousands of racks to get that perfect “find.” Thats what we do. If your looking for something specific we are more than happy to find it for you. Just let us know. Its what we love to do.
One of our favorite local shops is Circa. We’ve been shopping there for 20 years. They have amazing merchandise. We on the other hand have some vintage, but we are not exclusively a vintage shop. This is our first venture into retail, but we think because of our experience, we will bring a whole new perspective to the industry.
Will you only have clothes or will you have instruments, CD’s, and records?
Andy: Mainly clothing, but probably some PA equiptment and instruments. We are not going to limit ourselves. If it’s cool and interesting it’ll be on the rack or shelves.
Who runs it? Will you keep day jobs for a bit until you get solvent or are you diving right in?
Andy: Charli Aubin and myself run the store. This has been a dream of hers since she was a little girl and I’ve wanted to open a business downtown for years, so I guess you could say its a labor of love. We will have to see how the store goes before making any decisions concerning our current jobs.
The facebook page says you will present events. Will you sponsor events at a bar or in the store? Is the store big enough to do a show?
Andy: We are planning on promoting events at local bars and venues, and have also set aside a corner of the shop complete with a full PA for live music from time to time. Space is going to be tight but that’s rock and roll.
Thanks Andy, and good luck with the store! Keep up with 767 Exchange news and information their Facebook Page. Hours will be Monday through Thursday from 11am-6pm; Friday and Saturday from 11am – 10pm.
Sample of items found in the 767 Exchange
