Giving materials a second chance.
The brick and mortar version of Indy Upcycle takes previously owned art and craft supplies and sells them at pay-as-you-wish pricing. Most of the items in our store are donated by people who are downsizing, de-stashing, or switching gears and trying a new hobby.
The inspiration behind Indy Upcycle came about when MJ was faced with boxes of accumulated art and craft supplies left over from 10 years of teaching and 10 years of art school. At the same time she was faced with realizing her own surplus problem, her grandmother, an avid crafter, passed away leaving boxes upon boxes of fabrics, paints, brushes, yarn, and so much more.
"This must be a bigger issue than I can even imagine! I should open up a store and sell all of this stuff, but how would I keep it going?"
MJ met a woman, Autumn Wiggins of the Upcycle Exchange in St. Louis, and learned Autumn's donation and pay-as-you-wish policies. After observing at the Upcycle Exchange, MJ found that these policies indeed work and a few months later, she opened up Indy Upcycle in October of 2011.
Indy Upcycle is growing steadily and the majority of the people who visit express that they are grateful to both have a place to bring their items to be re-homed and to have a place to shop for their new crafting needs that doesn't cost a fortune.
While the brick and mortar store is doing well, it won't survive without support from other areas. MJ supplements her income by teaching creative inspiration workshops and, now, opening the Indy Upcycle Etsy shop.
We hope you find something you love and if you are ever in the area, please stop by our physical store and say, "Hi!"
