Southeast Creative Reuse Collective Holds Largest Gathering Yet

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Southern Creative Reuse Collective held its largest-ever conference this month in Greenville, a sign of growing interest in upcycling and repurposing to advance sustainability, support creativity, and make art more accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Hosted by ReCraft Creative Reuse Center at its Greenville store from Oct. 17-19, the third-annual conference brought together 23 organizations from across the Southeast.

Creative reuse centers divert unwanted, gently used art supplies from landfills by providing them to artists, educators, families, and community members for creative projects. By seeking and accepting donations and offering them at affordable prices, the organizations give those unwanted materials a second life.

Founded in 2024, the Southeast Creative Reuse Collective connects organizations throughout the region, helping them share resources, exchange ideas, and support one another’s work.

The collaboration helps members strengthen their individual organizations while expanding the collective impact of creative reuse across the Southeast.

Organizations represented at the summit included :

·       Art and Soul - Radford, Va.

·       Art Again - Winchester, Va.

·       Conway Creates: Conway, S.C.

·       Dabble Creative Reuse Center - Manassas, Va.

·       Reconsidered Goods - Greensboro, N.C.

·       ReCraft Creative Reuse - Greenville, S.C.

·       Remix It- Asheville, N.C.

·       Scrap Collective - Roanoke, Va.

·       Scrap Exchange - Durham, N.C.

·       S.C.R.A.P. - Spartanburg, S.C.

·       Scraplanta - Atlanta, Ga.

·       Second Life Supply - Charleston, S.C.

·       Smart Art +Craft Supplies - Nashville, T.N.

·       Starlandia - Savannah, Ga.

·       Sunshine Creative Reuse - Brevard, N.C.

·       The Art SHAC - Winston-Salem, N.C.

·       The Crafty Krab - Wilmington, N.C.

·       The Craft Room-Homewood, Ala.

·       The Scrappy Elephant - Charlottesville, Va.

·       Upcycle Arts - Charlotte, N.C.

·       Valley Creative Reuse - Harrisonburg, Va.

·       Waste Knot Orlando - Orlando, Fl.

·       757 Creative Reuse Center-Norfolk, Va.