Today’s the day that the discerning charity shop bargain-hunter makes their way to the doors of Shelter Scotland’s store in Edinburgh’s Stockbridge.

The annual ‘launch’ on the first shopping day after Hogmanay has been a fixture in the calendar of the fashion-forward customer with a conscience for 16 years.

Shelter Scotland Stockbridge has made its name selling a unique mix of high-end designer fashion, collectibles and curiosities all year round, but it also puts aside special items so it can launch itself anew at the start of each year.

This year’s highlights include a quality warrior costume for Live Action Role Play (LARP) and a collection of paintings by 20th century artist Eilidh Barnardo (Great-Niece of Dr Thomas Barnardo). Eilidh lived in Edinburgh for a time and travelled the world painting colourful paintings of people at work and leisure. A backroom of the Shelter Scotland Stockbridge shop will be transformed into a mini art gallery to display the paintings generously donated to the charity. The paintings are priced from £8 to £80.

Also hidden in among the goods on sale are a Bakelite telephone in working condition and vintage computer games including The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Brothers 2 and 3.

Pete Jew, manager of Shelter Scotland’s Stockbridge shop, said: “Last year we broke our previous record making £18,375 in our launch week and almost £8000 of that in the first day.

“We have to thank our customers and supporters because without them this annual event couldn’t happen. It’s only because of them that we are able to raise so much money to help people struggling with bad housing and homelessness.”

Among the other items up for grabs are:

All funds raised from the annual sale go towards Shelter Scotland’s work to ensure no-one has to face bad housing or homelessness alone. Last year the charity’s housing advice and support teams helped 21,145 people and the Shelter Scotland website received more than 800,000 unique visits to its Get Advice section.

Pete Jew added: “This is a week-long event and is widely anticipated in the local community. We usually have a crowd waiting for us to open the doors but there is plenty for everyone who wants a top-quality bargain over the next few days.”

The sale opened at 10am on Wednesday 3 January 2018 at Shelter Scotland’s Stockbridge shop at 104A Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, EH4 1H.