Today we’d like to introduce you to Kari Meyercord-Westerman.
Kari, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I moved to Denton in 2014 from Portland, OR to go to graduate school at UNT to study audiology. After one semester, I knew that I was not meant to be an audiologist, so I dropped out of grad school and started meeting many of the different creative community leaders in Denton. Eventually, those connections led me to take a position as director of a nonprofit creative reuse center in Denton called SCRAP. The job was the perfect blend of the things that I love most; environmental sustainability, creativity, and community building. Like most, I fear the effects of climate change and see a link between consumerism and increased pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. I grew up poor, so I understand the value of creative accessibility through affordable materials, but I also understand that climate change will affect the poorest among us the hardest. A creative reuse center not only fills the gap for people with limited resources because it supplies affordable materials, but it also gives materials an extended lifecycle – something ALL people will want to engage in. Buying reuse materials reduces demand for virgin (new) materials and can help slow the machine of extraction and disposal.
I see reuse (or buying reuse materials – aka secondhand items) as an under-appreciated antidote to some of the ills caused by mass production and consumption. Think about the R’s we all learn in school: reduce, REUSE, recycle, rot. After five years with SCRAP, the pandemic forced the Denton site to close its doors permanently and placed the whole organization under a lot of pressure because they were almost solely a brick-and-mortar operation. I decided to leave SCRAP and start Thistle Creative Reuse with two women (Heather Leigh Hoskins and Jeanna Dunlap) whom I worked with previously at SCRAP. We tweaked the traditional model of creative reuse and started Thistle with only online sales and virtual workshops. The idea was that it would not only work in a pandemic but would grow to fit modern consumers’ expectations. We will be opening a brick-and-mortar in the coming months but plan to continue offering online sales and material donation pick-ups as a way to make the whole process as easy as possible for people to get reuse materials or to donate them. This is still a new venture, and we are learning as we go, but just three months in and we are all proud of the work we are doing and we see it taking root in our town. We’ve already diverted over 2,000 pounds (that’s ONE ton) from the waste stream and have begun giving away materials to worthy groups and causes through our ‘Give Back’ program.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There is no smooth road. We are in the middle of a pandemic and fighting like hell to create our own green-collar jobs to do something worthwhile while also trying to provide for our families.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Thistle Creative Reuse’s mission is to reimagine the lifecycle of materials. We do this through our creative reuse marketplace (basically a secondhand shop for arts and crafts), material collection program, and creative reuse education. We (Kari Meyercord-Westerman, Heather Leigh Hoskins, Jeanna Dunlap) have all worked in creative reuse for years but decided to start our own venture when the pandemic forced Denton’s creative reuse center to close. We sell donated gently-used art, craft, office, and other unique creative materials to our community online (and soon in person). Anyone can shop from our website. We offer shipping (in reuse boxes), local delivery, and order pick up once a week at our favorite local brewery.
By taking material donations, we are diverting those materials from the waste stream, getting them where they are needed (into creative hands), and prolonging their lifetime, thus reducing demand for new materials. If people have various art, craft, or other types of supplies that they are not using or no longer need, they should consider donating them to a creative reuse center (like Thistle). We have a list of what we do and do not accept on our website. What sets Thistle Creative Reuse apart is that we offer actually (not just green-washed) environmentally sustainable creative materials at an affordable price. We also have an amazing inventory of unique items that you won’t find just anywhere. In need of some vintage cross-stitch kits? Check. A bag of old phone cord? Check. Is gorgeous wool roving still new in the package? Check. You never know what you will find with us. It’s a treasure hunt. Oh, and did I mention that we offer creative-reuse workshops? For example, people can learn how to make DIY beeswax wraps, reusable bags, the basics of crochet and more with us. We offer virtual, in-person, and private workshops. We are so proud that we have already diverted over 2,000 pounds of usable materials from the waste stream and that we are able to give back to our community through our give back.
Any big plans?
Right now we are fully consumed in setting up our shop in Denton, which should be open by early April, and continuing to update our online shop. We do have dreams of expanding into other cities in DFW and someday offering youth creative reuse education.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@thistlecreativereuse.com
- Website: http://thistlecreativereuse.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thistlecreativereuse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thislecreativereuse
