A thrift-store volunteer is sharing how she creates stunning window displays using items she has on hand and a lot of imagination

• TikToker Leah Grace decorated thrift store window displays and shared the results online.
• A collection of her finished designs was viewed over 620,000 times on the app.

A TikToker and thrift-store volunteer shared the creative window displays she designed in a bid to grab the eye of passers-by.

On May 5, a TikToker who goes by Leah Grace posted a video with an on-screen caption that read, "How my local charity shop looked before I started doing the Window Display." The upload showed a series of images of the exterior of a charity shop, which is the most common type of thrift store in the UK, run by nonprofits to raise funds.

The clip showed some basic items in the sparsely-decorated windows including a couple of mannequins and dishes on a shelving unit. It then cut to a montage of window displays Grace had appeared to create in their place, which included far more colorful and lively arrangements, packed with clothes and decorations.

The TikTok received over 626,000 views and 380 comments, many of which complimented the designer on the final looks and the effort she had clearly put into them. Others asked how she was able to achieve such elaborate designs, and what her budget was.

According to Grace's website, where she has a section dedicated to her window displays, she spends no money at all and instead uses recently donated items, which forces her to "think outside the box."

"I love catching peoples eyes with colours and themes," her website read, adding there was nothing more rewarding "than putting a smile on a passing customers face."

In a follow-up video, Grace wrote in an on-screen caption she worked at Katharine House Hospice, which have a number of second-hand stores across the West Midlands, England, to raise money for specialist palliative care.

Grace uploads a new window design every couple of weeks, with each focused on a particular concept. In one video posted on April 20 she wrote in a series of on-screen captions that she started doing the shop windows for her local thrift store one year ago, and "it's been one of the best things I've ever done."

One concept she described on her website as "using your imagination" to celebrate National Book Day included a dress made from newspapers. The completed look took three hours to put together, she wrote. In a TikTok posted on March 9, Grace showed the concept sketched on paper compared to the final piece.

In another video, posted on March 21, Grace responded to a comment that asked what it was like working at a thrift store. Grace said she suffered from anxiety and left her nine-to-five job as a result, but contributing to the thrift store had been "an absolute lifesaver."

She encouraged others to do the same if they could and said it was "a great way to build your confidence again" and build skills such as visual merchandising. She added while she no longer works there, she still returns as a volunteer to help create the window displays.

Leah Grace has over 2,500 followers on TikTok where she posts updates on her latest window displays designs. According to her website bio she is a fashion marketing graduate. She did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Leah isn't the first TikToker and thrift store window displayer to go viral on the app. On March 2020, Ellie Rose received over 8.3 million views when she volunteered her skills at a local store and gave the exterior a fresh appearance in a bid to bring more customers inside.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.