Blog
All at Once
Jack Johnson, musician and well-known environmentalist, is partnering with Austin Creative Reuse in celebration of his concert in Austin on Wednesday, April 25 at the Austin360 Amphitheater. The All at Once community http://www.allatonce.org/ was started by his family’s Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation to partner with local organizations on his tours and provide a space to connect local nonprofit groups and promote environmental action.
Austin Creative Reuse will have a booth at the concert to promote creative reuse and further our mission of considering the lifespan of items and the inherent value of all things. Our mission is echoed in the All at Once tenet of: “Collectively, individual actions create global change. Your actions, your voice, and your choices, all have a huge impact.”
Thanks to a generous offer by All at Once, donations made to Austin Creative Reuse (up to $2,500 by 6/15/2018) will be matched by the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation. Here is how to get your donation to be matched:
- Contribute to our donation box in the center.
- Donate via check and note “All at Once” on the memo line
- Online donations can be matched if you send us an email after the donation noting it is for “All at Once.” Please send the email info@austincreativereuse.org
We are sincerely grateful to Jack and everyone at All at Once for this amazing opportunity. For more information or questions, please contact Sharon Yarbrough, ACR’s Fundraising Chairperson at Sharon@austincreativereuse.org
March Craft Night – Origami with a Twist
Our monthly craft night always focus on materials that are easily found in our wonderful “bucket” section. Bucket is a treasure chest full of amazing materials and absolutely the best deal in our Reuse Center which is just cram packed with nothin’ but deals.
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This month, we focussed on the cool paper and tiny trinkets that are always available in bucket. Our Crafter in Chief, Shiree Schade, come up with beautiful folded stars, but then kicked it to the next level by adding just a bit more glitz. What a wonderful gift topper, ornament, or just something pretty to hang in a window. Sign up for our Volunteer Newsletter email to find out about the next Craft Night. Our Monthly Craft Material is always a surprise so you never know what will be on tap for the night!
Board of Directors Meeting Summary, 2018 February
The Board of Directors met in February to discuss upcoming activities and events at Austin Creative Reuse. We are excited to announc
e that the monthly adult craft night, hosted by volunteer extraordinaire Shiree Schade, is very popular and fun. Keep an eye out for signups for the next ones. ACR will continue to have a monthly presence, staffed by Holli Hartman, at the SFC Farmers Market where you can make some great reuse crafts. Jen Mack, center manager, and Jenn Evans, sustainability board member, are creating a partnership for fun events between ACR and Families in Nature. More to come on that.
The board geared up for a push for participating and giving opportunities through Amplify Austin. The board also strategized about materials collection after SXSW to reduce that amount of materials heading to the landfill.
The Educ
ator Committee has created a workshop for art teacher development in the Pflugerville school district. The workshop received positive feedback. The committee continues to host Educator Meet-Ups and is installing additional reuse cabinets in various schools, including Deer Park Middle School. The committee recently received a $600 grant for reuse cabinet installations from the Bright Green Futures Grant program administered by the City of Austin.
ACR is still looking for an educator board member, as well as a person with PR/marketing skills to join the board. The Safety Committee would love to see a new board member with professional safety program and HR experience.
The Sustainability Committee submitted the annual Universal Recycling Ordinance report and is preparing the Austin Green Business Leaders Application.
Led by volunteer Sarah Bird, ACR is collaborating with Goodwill to analyze their trash and potentially divert some of it for reuse through ACR. Long-term the committee will attempt to collaborate with AISD and Goodwill to develop a teacher reuse store.
The Financial Committee reports strong numbers for January and noted a $5,000 donation from Bunkhouse Group.
President Carole LeClair reported that ACR is negotiating for ACR’s new space in a shopping center not too far from the existing location. The search committee is finding that the market is very hot and very expensive, with properties being rented out before they even have the chance to tour them. Executive Director Isadora McKeon reported on many of the activities she has completed over the last month. She worked with Matt Reilly, program director at KUTX, to obtain public service announcement coverage of ACR on air.
February Craft Night – Slide Carousels and More!
If you have been back in our bucket section lately, you will know we have tons of slide carousels. We’ve been searching for something fun to do with them and our Crafter in Chief, Shiree Schade came up with a doozy. 
Start with a slide carousel (or anything sturdy and round) as a base, and add just about anything else that stringy or shiny to create your very own objet d’art suitable for hanging inside or out.
Only using materials from our bucket section, all the makers in attendance created their own one of a kind hanging fixture. It’s amazing with just a bit time, imagination and a working glue gun, what you can make.
So next time you find yourself at Austin Creative Reuse, take a serious stroll though our bucket section and find some inspiration of your own!
Our Monthly craft nights are open to all volunteers but seating is limited. Best way to find out about our next craft night is to sign up for our volunteer newsletter. The newsletter will also let you know about all the other fabulous volunteer opportunities at Austin Creative Reuse.
We’re Hiring!
Title: Clerk-Part time (15-20 hrs per week)
Possible schedule: Wednesday-Saturday various shifts
Wage: $13.00
Reports to: Shift Lead
Who We Are
Austin Creative Reuse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to foster conservation and reuse through creativity, education, and community building.
- We collect, distribute, and sell reusable materials donated from industry and individuals.
- We educate the community about how to reduce, reuse, and create in responsible and fun ways. We make instructional kits, have a library of design and art ideas, and share these online and in-store.
- We unite the community by hosting a range of events, activities, and classes that bring people together to build awareness around conscious consumption, sustainability, and art
- We promote awareness of like-minded organizations to reduce overlap and increase awareness of city resources.
What We Offer
- Fun, creative and collaborative environment that will give you great experience working in the non-profit industry and with a diverse volunteer population.
- Ability to expand role based on interest and skill set. This could include assisting with our social media efforts or at our workshops. There is also potential for advancement to an opening and closing center lead role.
What You’ll Bring
We are looking for amazing people with diverse backgrounds and a genuine passion for creativity and reuse. Our ideal candidates will be comfortable talking about crafting materials and dealing with pricing questions. We expect our clerks to:
- Be outstanding at customer service.
- Be efficient at checking out customers quickly.
- Have excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, especially dealing with register.
- Have excellent communication skills
- Be able to juggle multiple tasks and work in an active non profit environment
Qualifications
- Previous customer service and cashier experience
- Basic knowledge of Point of Sales Systems and cash drawer reconciliation
- Basic computer skills including knowledge of email, Microsoft Office, and google drive
- Minimum: High School Diploma or Equivalent.
What You’ll Do
The Austin Creative Reuse Clerk is friendly, personable, enthusiastic and knowledgeable about Austin Creative Reuse and our mission. This is a vital role as you will be the first and last contact for customers visiting the center. You will be greeting customers as they enter the center and helping customers check out quickly. An Austin Creative Reuse clerk will become familiar with center pricing and will use sound judgement to complete transactions. You will use Square to process credit card sales and be able to handle money for cash sales. You will engage the customer about their experience in the center and let them know about making financial donations, future programs and events.
- Greet new customers and introduce them to the center and how it is set up.
- Main point person for the register and front of the center.
- Manage all aspects of customer transactions including making sure that transaction data is accurately entered into the cash register.
- Screen items brought in as drop-off donations; provide donation receipts; ensure that donations are recorded accurately in the donation log.
- Physical Requirements: Push/pull merchandise with appropriate equipment to and from backroom and sales floor. Lift, place, and arrange items on shelves and racks. Bend down and reach above head. Climb and descend ladder. Stand during an entire shift (other than normal break time).
The above is intended to describe the general content of the requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements.
To Apply
Please submit your resume and tailored cover letter online to info@austincreativereuse.org
We review applications on a rolling basis, so it is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible. We will not consider applications without a cover letter tailored to this position.
At Austin Creative Reuse, we believe that diversity makes us stronger and challenges us to think differently every day. Austin Creative Reuse provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status or disability.
Learn More
Austin Creative Reuse: https://www.austincreativereuse.org/
Letter From The Executive Director: January 2018
Greetings from ACR! Winter always feels like a time to hibernate and to nest, to catch up on art projects and clean out that crazy craft closet. Thank you for thinking of us when you prepare your donations – as a reminder, here’s a list of what we accept and we welcome your donations anytime the center is open.
Speaking of donations, we’d like to say a huge thanks to our business donor of the month, Hotel San José. In return for their donation, ACR will work with the hotel to create custom craft kits for hotel guests that help spread the word about our mission and Austin’s commitment to ecology and creativity. Thank you to the San José for your generous support of Austin Creative Reuse!
We’re still hard at work on the new space – we’ve toured a bunch of spots and have a few things in the work that we’re excited about. We hope to have more to share soon. In the meantime, as we prepare to expand the center in size, we’re keeping our eye out for cheap or free Metro shelving like the metal shelving we have currently. We’d love your help! If you see any Metro shelving available on Craig’s List or elsewhere, peals let us know by sending an email to info@austincreativereuse.org.
This is a Metro cart!
As ever, thanks for being a part of the ACR community.
Craft Night – Message in a Bottle
Normal is the Average of Deviance
Here’s a great idea for a craft night among friends, fashioning urban Message in a Bottles using strips of text and materials from the Austin Creative Reuse Center. Crafters can pack their choices in little vials, jars and boxes and applied decorations to the outside. These beautiful little keepsakes can be kept by the creator, given to someone special or, and this is the most intriguing of the ideas, toss that bottle in the urban ocean, leaving it to be randomly discovered and scooped up by lucky and observant passerby.
It’s super easy,
- just take a small bottle, jar, box or container (preferably clear)
- insert tinsel, sequins, small toys, objects or anything that inspires you
- include a message which can be hand written, printed or even cut from a magazine or book
- seal up the bottle and decorate the top or bottom for extra points
- decide how to deploy your special message
What kind of messages can you leave? These can be funny, sweet, snarky, pithy or wise. Here’s some examples:
- When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be
- Turn your wounds into wisdom
- Out of difficulties grow miracles
- Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” ― Albert Einstein
- All who wander are not lost – JR Tolkien
- “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” ― Mae West
- A good friend will help you move; A true friend will help you move a dead body
- Too many irons, not enough fire
And best of all, Austin Creative Reuse has everything you could possibly need for this craft night all in our “by the bucket” area. We have lots of small containers, toys, decorations, magazines, scrapbooking materials and so much more. Now decide how to launch your message into the world.
You Scream
I Scream
I know you are but what am I
An Apple a Day
A bird in the hand . . .
Message in a Bottle
Material of the Week: Keys
Keys are beautiful in both texture and shape. They carry stories with them, and they can be used for their utility and beauty in all kinds of craft projects. Check out some of these cool reuse projects using keys.
Keys are a great addition when making jewelry. Even the most common of keys becomes an interesting addition when used in this medium.
We love yard art! And bonus if it also makes noise! This project looks easy enough to let the kiddos help out.
Check out this key holder made of keys and a beautiful piece of reclaimed wood as its base. This is a great project for the beginning DIYer, no power tools necessary.
Have fun, get crafty and share with us on Facebook and Instagram what you’ve made with this weeks material of the week.
Looking for more inspiration for projects with keys? Find other great ideas on our Pinterest page.
Material of the Week: Slides
You can find slides at Austin Creative Reuse for just 5 cents each. Let’s find some fun ways to use them!
This website, Dishfunctional Designs, has some really great ideas to reuse old photo slides. There wasn’t a lot of instruction, but many of them seemed easy to figure out. This small light looks really neat!
These would be the perfect christmas lights for the film buff in your family, or great in any media room.
We love little notebooks!! And we love all the amazing materials you can use to make them! Check out this little notebook using slides as the cover.
Check out our pinterest board for slides for even more crafty ideas.
Have fun folks! Remember to share your creations on facebook and instagram!
Material of the Week: Crayons
We’ve got a plethora of crayons! They’re just 25cents a scoop. Offering them bulk like this, gives folks the chance to be picky about they’re colors. So if it’s a mono-chromatic hair-dryer painting you’re wanting, no worries, get right to picking out all those pinks!
So just what can you do with old crayons.
Draw with them of course! The less than perfect, stubby seconds are just fine for little hands! Check this out from our Educator Committee member, Bernadette Noll about creating a “share economy” in the classroom.
Maybe you’re kids have outgrown the crayons, or you’re just looking for some new inspiration.
Here are 5 ideas from dailymom.com including the ever popular, “new crayons”, crayon candles, stained glass suncatcher, hair dryer painting and a DIY crayon monogram. Almost all the supplies from every one of these projects can be found at the center.
I also love this idea for a DIY iron-on transfer, using crayons and sandpaper. Get those onesies ready!
Have fun folks! Remember to share your creations on facebook and instagram!