Where can we find you?
Social media: @untrashcreativereuse (Instagram, Facebook)
Website: www.UntrashCreativeReuse.com
Blog: www.untrash.blog
Located in The Cottonwood Market, 101 S. Coit Rd., Booth 908, Richardson TX
Besides running Untrash Creative Reuse, what else do you do with your time?
I’m a longtime writer; I currently work part-time in Communications for a local city government after freelancing for more than 20 years for the Dallas Morning News and other local publications such as Dallas Child and Dallas Family.
How did you get started:
When blogging became popular, I created a parenting blog called “Uncool Mom” and once my kids grew up, I dreamed about writing a blog about reuse and repurposing and calling it “Untrash”. Around this same time (2015-16), I learned about creative reuse centers and dreamed about starting one of those, too. (Reusing/repurposing in all sorts of ways is my major interest/passion, whether it’s transforming cast-off materials into a work of art, giving new lives to abandoned animals, or turning leaves, coffee filters, and fruit rinds into compost!)
After lots more dreaming, filing away ideas, and listening to that small, steady voice inside that kept on saying, “You need to do this!”, the Untrash blog finally became a reality in early 2021 and Untrash Creative Reuse opened in March 2023, at the time the only creative reuse center within 40 miles of Dallas. I was thrilled to get a spot inside the Cottonwood Market in Richardson, as its steady influx of customers and eclectic mix of not just antique dealers but also artists/crafters seemed like a great place for my shop—plus, their front desk staff takes care of checkout for all the Market’s many businesses, so I can keep my day job while my shop stays open without having to be responsible for staffing it.
What would you say was instrumental in helping you with your small business?
Crucial to helping me get started was the free mentoring provided by SCORE Dallas (a division of the Small Business Administration); the free resources provided online and in person are amazing! I kept my ideas for starting a creative reuse center mostly to myself all those years, and getting feedback and advice from bona fide business professionals was encouraging and invaluable.
Could you please tell us what a creative reuse center is?
It’s a type of business, sometimes run as a nonprofit, that’s been around for decades but has increased in popularity and locations across the country over the past 20 years. Creative reuse centers generally share a purpose of helping the environment by keeping “pre-loved” materials with creative potential out of the landfill and selling them at a low cost and/or giving them to schools and nonprofit arts groups to be reused and upcycled, hopefully again and again. Materials are taken in on a donation basis; everything is usually weighed to let the community know how many pounds are being diverted from the landfill.
Not many people have ever heard of reuse centers before, is there anything else we should know about them?
In addition to sorting, packaging, and offering the pre-loved craft supplies back to the public in some type of shop format, many creative reuse centers offer workshops and classes on ways to use the materials.
The actual “centers” range from online shops and pop-ups at outdoor flea markets to giant, stand-alone “brick-and-mortars”. The Dallas area now has two creative reuse centers—my Untrash Creative Reuse is in Richardson on the North Dallas border near Coit and Beltline; Pegasus Creative Reuse can be found at Tyler Station in Oak Cliff. Not too far from Dallas is The Welman Project in Fort Worth, at which any teacher from a public or nonprofit private school can shop for FREE, and there’s Thistle Creative Reuse in Denton!
What types of materials do you offer at Untrash Creative Reuse?
I offer a lot of the same categories of materials that other creative reuse centers offer such as fabric, yarn, thread, patterns, and other supplies for sewing, knitting, embroidery, cross stitching, needlepoint, weaving, macrame, etc.
There are also: crayons and colored pencils; beads, cording, metal findings, and other jewelry-making supplies, various paper, paints, multi-media art; floral arranging/and some office and school supplies. There are also vintage items such as buttons, sewing baskets, photos, postcards, picture frames, and more! Yet another reason why my business feels at home at an antique mall! I also offer items made by artists who use repurposed materials in their creations—such as bowls made from LP records, earrings fashioned from Barbie shoes, and coasters created from board games—and I’m always on the lookout for new items to feature!
What are your future dreams/goals for Untrash Creative?
I want to expand my current space. The support from the general community and the creative reuse community has been so positive from day one, and my storage unit is bursting with great items waiting to “come out and play” 😊!
Do you see any other forms of creative outlets that we could benefit from?
I want to plan more workshops and crafting circles. Untrash-sponsored events are held in a variety of places in the area and are driven by whatever items I’ve received in large quantities. I’d love to come up with ways to use them all!