Have you heard about ReCraft in Greenville? Maybe you’re a parent eternally looking for ways to engage your child in art-making but the cost of art materials gets in the way. Or, maybe you are buried in all these materials you’ve amassed because you don’t know what to do with them.
If only there was a place that had all you needed plus inspiration and ideas on what to make. Thankfully, Greenville’s very own ReCraft Creative ReUse Center just opened its doors (upcycled and donated, of course). As parents become more mindful of using upcycled materials for craft-making, ReCraft is the perfect place to tickle your young engineer or artist’s imagination.
May 4, 2023 UPDATE: ReCraft is moving! They will be closed for a bit while they pack up and move to a new location in Greenville. They will be re-opening on June 10, 2023 at their new location: 2439 Laurens Road, Greenville, SC.
What is ReCraft Greenville?
Grant Cothran founded ReCraft in 2019, bringing Greenville its very own repository for unwanted reusable art materials from households and local businesses, and giving those materials a second life. Fast forward to February 2022, ReCraft has found its permanent home, in a whopping 7,500 sq. ft space along Haywood road. KAG paid them a visit, and we found everything beautifully organized and displayed, making it easier for that inspiration to kick in!
Maker Space
ReCraft is the perfect place to express all that endless creative energy our kids seem to have. In addition to their retail section, ReCraft has a special area called Maker Space. For the price of $7 per crafter, you and your kids have all-day access to ReCraft’s materials and tools found in the Maker Space area. The designated Maker Space bins have all kinds of thingamajigs and thingamabobs, which will surely please budding artists and engineers.
The Maker Space itself is full of decorative whimsical ideas and designed to make crafting fun. You’ll find upcycled stools with old vinyl records, vibrant colorful artwork made of bottle caps and whatnot, and vintage windows hung from the ceiling re-used as a space divider. Surrounded by all this creative energy and inspiration, we can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Once kids (and adults) get going in the Maker Space, don’t expect to leave anytime soon. We were there for three hours making all kinds of things. It’s actually very relaxing and definitely a lot of fun.
Re-use Retail
Donations are carefully sorted and organized by volunteers into a crafting haven. There’s a $5 and $8 grab bag section. It’s a little overwhelming, but that’s a good thing! Plenty of odds and ends for that Rube Goldberg science project or stamps, shells, and cigar boxes to turn into a hand-made decoupage memory box for someone’s birthday. Other special sections include the paper section and impressive fiber section, all 25 to 50% off retail prices.
There is a massive amount of stuff for sale so take your take going through everything. If you’re a homeschool parent, you are going to absolutely love this place. They have so many things you need for at-home projects that tie into lessons and they are so much cheaper craft stores. It’s awesome.
Spring Cleaning ReCraft Style
Thinking about early Spring Cleaning? Let ReCraft Gvl get you started. ReCraft’s Donation center is now open. They “take the creative things that traditional thrift stores don’t want, but can’t be recycled.” Imagine finding a good use for your empty albums, CDs, and cassette tapes! See their donation guide. Donations are welcome from 11 am – 2 pm from Wednesdays to Saturdays.
Teacher Section
ReCraft has entire section dedicated for teacher use only – and it’s free! If you’re a teacher, you just show your badge and you can grab whatever you like from the dedicated section for teachers, which has lots of art supplies paper, markers, etc.
Grant has also instituted a Teacher Re-Supply Drive to aids teachers to meet their classroom needs by donating your new or gently-used school and office supplies. It’s a great opportunity to clean out your storage closet. This collection event usually starts in February. Your donated supplies will then be sorted and made available to Greenville’s first-year teachers. More info and donation guide for the Teacher Re-Supply Drive.
Volunteering at ReCraft
ReCraft makes use of an extraordinary number of volunteers. You’ll understand if you go to the store. There is a ton of stuff that needs sorting, weighing, and organizing. Teenagers ages 16+ can volunteer without a parent and kids of any age can volunteer with a parent present. Just contact ReCraft directly and they will put you in touch with their Volunteer Coordinator and get you started.
Address: 2439 Laurens Road, Greenville, SC (opening June 10, 2023)
Hours: Wednesdays to Saturdays from 10 am to 6 pm.
recraftgvl.org
864.365.6456
