I asked Sarah to give us the Betty scoop on the Scrappy Elephant! Here’s her post.
My name is Sarah Sweet and I am the founder of the Scrappy Elephant, a creative reuse center for the Charlottesville area. I am a Charlottesville townie, born and raised right here in Cville. I’ve spent most of the last twenty years working in the education field, and have spent the last eight years teaching elementary and high school art in Augusta county and Charlottesville city schools. This is my story of the birth of my store, The Scrappy Elephant. Charlottesville’s new Creative Reuse Center.
Art has always been my go-to stress relief tool. When times are hard, I’ve always been able to pick up a paintbrush and escape into my own little happy world of color. As an art teacher, I tried hard to teach my students the meditative, relaxing power that art holds.
Almost seven years ago, I became a mother. While I have always cared about our environment (recycled, walked and rode my bike as much as possible, carried reusable bags into stores…), the first time I held my precious daughter, I realized that what I was doing was not enough. I began searching for ways to do more: reducing my plastic use, shopping second hand as much as possible, reusing items.
While visiting Nashville I stumbled upon a magical place called Turnip Green. As I walked through the doors, I immediately felt like I was home. Turnip Green is a creative reuse center whose mission is to “foster creativity and sustainability through reuse”. I walked around with my mouth hung open in awe of the incredible materials and low prices. As anyone who has made art knows, art materials are not cheap. This place made art supplies accessible all while diverting thousands of pounds of materials from the landfill. After a long chat with the store clerk, I was hooked.
Upon my return to Charlottesville, I began immediately researching creative reuse centers. I grabbed my daughter and we began driving to every creative reuse center within driving distance. We got so many amazing art supplies and I realized I had to bring creative reuse to Charlottesville. I spent hours on the phone talking with creative reuse centers around the country. Creative reuse, (also known as upcycling or repurposing), is when the addition of creativity to an already manufactured item brings a new function. It is a fun and creative way to keep materials out of the waste stream and get them into the hands of artists and makers.
I was lucky enough to be a part of the Community Investment Collaborative’s entrepreneur’s workshop and figure out my plan for bringing creative reuse to Charlottesville. That plan became the Scrappy Elephant. The mission of the Scrappy Elephant is to inspire CREATIVITY and foster ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS by promoting sustainability and reuse through ART, EDUCATION, and COMMUNITY. The ultimate vision of the Scrappy Elephant is threefold.
- A retail store where individuals and businesses can donate materials (thus keeping tons of reusable materials out of the landfill each year), and artists and makers can shop for materials. One of the best things about creative reuse centers is the low, low cost of materials.
- The studio filled with all the tools and materials children and adults need to get creatively reusing! During COVID-19, the room will be available to rent for an hour at a time for families or groups that are quarantining together. Kids can come in, get crafty, learn a little about sustainability and I will clean up the mess! The studio will also be used as a place for artists and makers to teach adult art and craft classes.
- The Green Gallery featuring artists who are using recycled and reclaimed materials in their work.
This vision is finally coming to fruition this month! The new home of the Scrappy Elephant is 165 Main Street, located in the historic village of Palmyra. While it is a bit of a drive (16 miles) from Charlottesville, trust me, it will be well worth the road time. I began collecting donations in January of 2020 and during June and July, I was able to borrow some space in order to have a pop-up store. Donations continued to pour in and customers were excited to be able to find fabric, yarn, unique papers, art and craft books, drawing and painting materials, and so much more for super affordable prices. Children especially loved filling their bags and getting creative with their treasures. Since July I have continued collecting so many unique and fun materials and they will be ready for artists and makers in just a few weeks.
Please follow the Scrappy Elephant on Facebook and Instagram for updates on the shop opening and the cool donations that are received almost daily and visit www.scrappyelephant.com for more details.
–Sarah
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Photo credit: Rivanna Solid Waste Authority
