State of the Ark – Thrft Store

Great prices, Great employees, Rapidly changing items, Offer a punch-​card and deal-​of-​the-​day, Proceeds go to the Mendocino Coast Humane Society,

They’re the best thrift store around. Staff is helpful and inventory is always changing. And the prices are still thrift store prices, unlike some places that have turned into «Thriftique» stores.
I go to this store most every day on my way home from work. I have found many reasonably priced treasures here. Yay Ark!

I like that this place benefits the Humane Society! They even had a resident dog there, who was napping on the couch, so cute.
There isn’t that much selection for clothes. I wanted to find a cool old T-​shirt, but no luck. There was actually a lot of cool art though. There was even a really nice beach landscape piece by a local artist, but for $ 70 was too steep for me. Plus, I didn’t know how I would bring it back in my luggage. My friend picked up some cool frames and even a signed Matisse print?! We don’t know if it’s authentic, but if it is, she got a KILLER deal.

First of all, their prices are simply dirt cheap! Thank you, Ark!
Most importantly, of course, their money goes to the very under-​funded (if funded at all) animal services in Ft. Bragg. They’re obviously operating on a shoe-​string, so let’s give them some slack, people.
You NEVER know what you’ll find there. For instance, we donated about 10 custom-​made, solid teak cabinet doors, which they sold for something like only $ 30…
It’s not a very large store, but it’s got some great finds. Their clothes selection is great, and I’ve found lovely shoes there.
Good bargain-​hunting!

This is a small thrift store just jammed with stuff. So much stuff that the furniture has to stay outside under the covered awning. They don’t have a big selection of any one kind of thing but a small sample of everything, from clothing to wetsuits (actually they had quite a lot of wetsuits, more than I normally see at a thrift store), housewares, books, holiday decorations and even a wedding gown for $ 60. The staff was very friendly and helpful and the profits go towards the humane society programs so I feel like I’m doing good by shopping here. I definitely want to return next time I’m visiting the area!

This place is a hot mess. Sloppy and cluttered. It is full of all types of items but not much of a bargain. The books are $ 1 unless marked otherwise… why not all $ 1? It sucks to pick a book out and find out it os really $ 7 instead.

If you are into Thrift Shops this one is pretty cool and it supports a great non-​profit too.

Always packed with treasures and always busy! I have purchased tons of crap… original art work, books, old silverware, dishes, and picture frames. You can often find kittens up for adoption and what’s cooler than shopping at a thrift store that benefits the humane society.
Prices are right on and I love their frequent shopper card. Looking forward to the big sale tonight!

Awesome deals!

Almost couldnt find it on Unilocal as Google lists it according to the sign, as ‘State of The Ark’. But I really dug this spot as a friend and I were passing it on the way to Mendocino. Great stuff inside and friendly folks. Recently CalTrans has reworked the street, adding a weird traffic circle thing. But still a fun stop.

For years my family has made this a stop on our coastal journeys. We always enjoy seeing the kitties or kitty who may be up for adoption (fortunately we are shielded from adding to the family by living a few hours away, and having sufficient feline companionship already) and browsing the ever changing assortment of… stuff. Yesterday I noticed a whole stack of bad oil paintings, a few excellent framed photos, and a Japanese print that I wish I had gotten. It was water damaged and priced a bit above my budget, but it was lovely. You never quite know what you might find, and it is worth looking as thoroughly as possible. I adopted a couple of children from the 1930’s (well, okay, they were pictures of children). Old family photos in thrift stores always sadden me a little. And we got some other lovely things as well. If you like thrift stores, shop this one. If you like cats. adopt one, why not? The ones there yesterday were a little tuxedo and a very furry grey, I think they should go home together. So sweet.

My husband and I were in the area in April and decided to check out this thrift store after reading the Unilocal reviews. We were not disappointed! We were greeted by the friendly store cat lying upon a fancy little velvet divan (which had it been human-​size, I may have been tempted to buy it).
My husband found a pair of like new New Balance sneakers. We also found a great framed black and white print and on our way out, we spotted a framed original watercolor of the local lighthouse that we just had to have. It was a steal at $ 25.
We are avid readers and yes, there is a great used book section here, but we couldn’t figure out how it was organized. So if you have the time to peruse at your leisure, you may find something great. But then again that’s how thrifting works, right?

Nice thrift store, akin to finding items from grandma’s attic and perhaps marveling at 70s and 80s era electronics (a blast from the past). Proceeds go towards Mendocino county’s Human society. In the shop you will also see perhaps a cat, waiting for the right owner to adopt it.
A large bucket of used jeans ($ 1 each). Probably has been through the woods many times.
Part of the entertainment value is glancing at the old records/​LPs and their covers. Such interesting hairstyles and designs.
About two rows to the right of a stash of Christmas music LPs was this one (see uploaded pic).
*Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrarrrrrr*.
Now I feel like driving north again 5 mins to Cowlick’s Ice Cream and get myself a mushroom ice cream. Maybe even with whip.

Based on the one other review of this place I was expecting to see some pretty high prices in this thrift store. To my surprise, things were priced appropriately. I saw a pair of blonde mid-​century 2-​tier side tables for twenty bucks that were in decent condition.
I bought my dad a George Foreman grill (because I think everyone should own one) for $ 2.50. That’s even cheaper than mine, which I paid five dollars at a local Sacramento thrift store.
I loved their store kitty cat. He/​she seemed friendly and comfortable. It had a huge cage to roam around in and seemed to love watching all of the visitors do their thing.

I love Thrift Stores and of course how can you not love this one if only for the good cause– the animals! But, the trend in the last few years is that most thrift stores think all their stuff is priceless treasures and it really is just over-​priced junk. I’d buy more if the prices were better. I donate a lot to this thrift store and am sometimes a little embarrassed by the price they put on stuff that I paid much less for but it is for a good cause.
All in all it is one of the better thrift stores in town and the prices have seemed to be better, well organized, huge selection. Sometimes I stop there just to see the kitties and end up shopping. And, I do appreciate the volunteers there, love ‘em!