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Jakarta Post

A love lost: The yard sale

No more drama: A young woman checks out a bag on display at a yard sale themed “Lelang Barang Mantan” (auction of ex-lovers’ gifts/stuff) in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Sunday

Sita W. Dewi (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, March 5, 2013

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A love lost:  The yard sale

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span class="inline inline-center">No more drama: A young woman checks out a bag on display at a yard sale themed “Lelang Barang Mantan” (auction of ex-lovers’ gifts/stuff) in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Sunday. JP/Sita W. Dewi

Getting rid of gifts from past lovers may be the best way to move on but a young Jakartan couple have found a better solution: Cash in on the memories.

Dimas Ario and Nastasha Abigail, who have been dating for about a month, have found a way to excise memories of ex-partners. They are turning the emotionally draining experience into a comedy and have initiated a yard sale for anyone who wants to sell items that exude the memories of a love lost.

“One day, Abigail’s ex-boyfriend returned a box of stuff that she had given to him when they were together. We had no idea what to do with that stuff [...] we decided to just sell it all,” Dimas, who works in a digital planning agency, said explaining the story behind the idea.

The couple created a blog, barangmantan.tumblr.com, which translates as ex-lovers’ stuff, and posted photographs of the items on offer.

“The response was unexpected. Many people were also interested in selling some of their ex’s stuff too,” he said. It was not until later that they initiated the real garage sale.

Word spread quickly and after only two weeks of preparation, Dimas and Abigail held an offline version of the garage sale in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Sunday, with as many as 25 participants.

Each participant had to pay Rp 50,000 (US$5.17) to secure a slot at the garage sale.

“All we asked of them was to be as creative as possible in the decorate of their spaces. All profits from the sale went to the participants themselves,” Dimas said.

Various mundane presents like shoes, bags and CDs were up for grabs on the day.

Gina Stacia, a participant, not only sold presents from her former boyfriend: “After hearing about the event, I asked my mother if I could sell some of her past relationship memorabilia. She agreed and told me to collect it from our garage. I’m selling my sister’s stuff too,” Gina said.

She pointed out that selling out the stuff can be the best way to come to terms with the memories.

“The theme of the garage sale is challenging because we do have to move on instead of being stuck in the past. Like this pair of shoes from my ex boyfriend. I never wear these sporty shoes because I am more a ‘girly-girl’. But I am trying to appreciate his effort by selling them so they can be appreciated [...] by someone else,”
Gina laughed.

Pramanaya Tjokronegoro, another participant, was excited to let go of the stuff that oozed old memories he wanted to erase.

“I am selling memorabilia from my past three relationships today, including a smartphone which I bought with my ex girlfriend. All of the relationships ended on bad terms,” he said.

“I just sold a gross T-shirt from an ex-girlfriend for a very low price. Eat that!” Pramanaya added, laughing.

To liven up the one-day garage sale, Abigail, an announcer on Trax FM, hosted a speed-dating game and invited her musician friends to perform an acoustic set of heart break songs — which were also on sale. A box reading “your donations will help us move on” was placed next to the performers.

The event did not only attract young customers.

“I visited the garage sale because my son’s friend was participating and so I dropped by. I think this is a very fun way to heal broken hearts. Very creative,” said Ira Hari Cahyono, 55, who got herself a Guy Laroche bag.


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