DURHAM, NH- Nestled on Madbury Road on the outskirts of the University of Hampshire (UNH) campus is New Moon, a consignment store with aspirations of bringing sustainable resale fashion to the Durham community.

Opening their doors this past November, New Moon has curated a wide selection of secondhand pieces and prioritizes supporting brands and local artists that care to make a difference. With inventory ranging from seasonal tops to shoes and accessories, Krystal Pirini, owner of New Moon, aims to collect items that attract a variety of people.

“We are really trying to appeal to different groups of people,” says Pirini. “We want to definitely be here for the college kids, but also the people of Durham and we are really hoping to expand more.”

 New Moon has plans to immerse themselves into the community in as many ways as possible. As the warmer weather approaches, they plan to host consignor events on their storefront patio. They’ll also partner with UNH organizations, surrounding high schools and local organizations for different shopping events.

Though she is not a New Year’s resolution person, Pirini shared that some of her biggest goals for the new year include becoming active members of the community and finding different ways to give back. Pirini expressed excitement in the possibility for New Moon to take part in future beach or campus clean up events and partnering with organizations like 1% For The Planet, which would mean contributing part of their annual revenue towards helping the environment.

“The Durham community has been really great for us and we’re really hoping to kind of branch out into more of the Newmarket and Dover area to offer ourselves there and just teach a little bit about sustainability, but also be involved,” says Pirini.

Sustainability is something Pirini shares she has grown more passionate about over the last five years. After working at Wear House in downtown Portsmouth, Pirini said she was able to learn more about the importance of sustainable fashion. While she admits she is not perfect in sustainability, nor does she want to make anyone feel they must be, Pirini hopes to play a small role in initiating change.

“The power of one is a big thing for me,” says Pirini. “If one person just bought one secondhand item versus a firsthand item, worldwide, think about what a difference that one little item makes. So that’s what I feel like I am really trying to accomplish here is giving people that option and sharing that.”

For anyone with pieces in their closet they want to get rid of, appointments with New Moon can be made online or you can head into the store whenever it is convenient. All items that do not sell are first offered back to the initial owner to claim and then donated to places like Eco Thrift Shop in Durham. You can find more detailed information about New Moon’s consignment process on their website.  

“The biggest thing, it’s really trying hard to spread the message that we’re not just a store, you know, I’d love to know everyone’s name, I’d love to really be a part of the community,” says Pirini. “It’s more than just making money to me, again, we’re always just striving to do better to do more.”