The book is out and selling like hotcakes!

Our book has been out for almost a full month!

Hard to believe.

We were able to print a short run just in time for the ReuseConex 2012, here in Portland, OR. And we sold out on the second day!

We are so excited that the book has been so well received and appreciated.

If you would like a copy of your very own, it is available in either print or digital editions at:

Print:

lulu.com

amazon.com

Digital (PDF):

lulu.com

Thank you everyone for your support! Our hope is that we will start to see more creative reuse centers popping up in every city around the world.

And as always, please comment here or email us creativereuseworkshop (at) gmail.com if you have any questions, suggestions, feedback, or comments.  We'd love to hear from you!

Best,

Alyssa and Kelley

Recommended Resources - Your Suggestions.

Do you have any recommendations that we may add to our Recommended Resources page?  Please comment to suggest related blogs, sites, or organizations to check out.

Many thanks!

Setting Up the Retail Environment

In an earlier chapter, The Crazy Reality of a Creative Reuse Center, we touched on the unconventional nature of the retail environment in a creative reuse center. While not nearly as easy to organize as a grocery store, or even a big box craft store, you’ll want your store to be shoppable and navigable as possible.  Adding some structure and policies to the following categories can certainly help:

• Flow
• Sorting and Packaging
• Pricing
• Sections
• Signage

photo courtesy of morguefile.com

To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:

Print:

lulu.com

amazon.com

Digital (PDF):

lulu.com

Getting Started - Your Infrastructure

 The opposite of infrastructure is chaos. Setting up a creative reuse center is unpredictable enough by virtue of dealing with donated materials. Having systems in place will save your hide when you’re up to your ears in fabric, bottle tops, paper, and crayons.

photo courtesy of morguefile.com

While there are many elements to building capacity in your creative reuse center, we’ll stick to the basics:

·         Decision making

·         Staff/Volunteers

·         Programs

·         Administrative systems

To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:

Print:

lulu.com

amazon.com

Digital (PDF):

lulu.com

Solid Gold - Your Volunteer Team

That’s what volunteers are to an organization – solid gold. Volunteers can play a variety of roles at your creative reuse center. Depending upon your needs and the volunteers’ skill sets and interests, you can have many of your essential functions covered. Volunteers make it possible to accomplish your mission with little or no initial funding. And, when you’re ready to hire – you’ll have a pool of super stars to choose from that already know the organization, are committed to the mission, and are known to you.

image courtesy of morguefile.com

To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:

Print:

lulu.com

amazon.com

Digital (PDF):

lulu.com

Risky Business

image courtesy of morguefile.com

Belinda (not her real name) was a super star volunteer. She showed up regularly for her shifts and worked diligently stocking and organizing store sections. During a typical shift, she was cleaning up the wood section which was badly in need of organization. As she was moving varying sizes of wood to make them more salable, a piece with a sharp point fell, penetrated her shoe, and went right through her big toe. Apparently this piece of wood was balanced precariously between two other larger pieces. As they were moved, the sharp piece dropped to the ground. Belinda was new to town, worked as a nanny part time, and did not have medical insurance.

This unfortunate incident was indeed a wake-up call for us that mitigating risk doesn’t just mean having contracts, liability insurance, and criminal background checks in place.  It also means physical safety and well-being for staff and volunteers.

To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:

Print:

lulu.com

amazon.com

Digital (PDF):

lulu.com

All About the Money

Fundraising, Friend Raising, Crowdfunding, Corporate Donors, Individual Donors, Loans…all are ways of fund development for your creative reuse center.

photo courtesy of sxc.hu

There are some distinct areas of difference between doing business as a for-profit and a nonprofit organization. This is one of those areas. You can’t offer a return on investment for an interested donor as a nonprofit but in most cases, you can offer a tax deduction to friends, fans, and funders

If you decide to become a for-profit venture, you can look at bank loans, investor capital, Kick Starter, or other ways of getting the money together. Here, the opposite is true; you can’t promise a tax deduction, but you can offer a return on investment or other stake in your company.

To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:

Print:

lulu.com

amazon.com

Digital (PDF):

lulu.com