"Open the door to a world of affordable goods" and a new look Blue Door which celebrated the reopening of its store on 15 July following a week of closure while much needed new carpet was laid.  Beverley Kingston, patron and pioneer of The Blue Door, marked the occasion by cutting a ribbon to signify the store's new look.

"The last few months have been an especially busy time for our staff and volunteers in preparing for the installation of new carpet. We have at the same time redesigned the store layout to make it more user friendly for our customers and improved how we process our donated inwards goods", said Stephen Leitch, Chairman.

The disabled car parking space has now been moved to a spot right outside the front door and a wheelchair accessible areas has been incorporated into the store's front counter. The majority of display furniture is now on wheels which gives more flexibility keeping the store interesting.

Like many businesses The Blue Door charity has had its share of challenges in the last year.  The rented store underwent earthquake strengthening. This came with significant upheaval to staff, volunteers, customers and quality donations coming through the door and ultimately the bottom line.

"With our new look we hope to encourage a whole lot more customers and new volunteers into the store", said Stephen. "We will be introducing new hours of operation.   Mondays will be closed but there will be plenty of time to shop Tuesday to Friday, 10am-4.30pm; and Saturday, 9.30am-2pm.