⭐ Looking Back at 2025 ⭐
A letter from ACR’s Board President
As 2025 draws to a close, we wanted to take a moment to slow down, look back and share our thanks for every person and every partnership that helped ACR thrive this past year. As has become our year-end tradition, we hope you’ll join us to reflect on the past year and celebrate our community’s accomplishments, as well as acknowledge our challenges.
It's been an incredible year for Austin Creative Reuse, and we have so many successes to celebrate, so let's start there.
#1 - Diverting 3 Million Pounds of Creative Materials from the Landfill
First off - and it’s a big one! - in May, we diverted our three millionth pound of creative materials from the landfill! That's the equivalent weight of 300 elephants! It took ACR a little over ten years to hit one million pounds diverted, and since then we’ve added an additional million pounds about every two years. Our diversion rate has held steady at roughly 97%, meaning that only a very small fraction of the materials donated to us ultimately end up in the landfill. We couldn’t do it without our amazing staff, volunteers, and highly engaged community of donors. A big ACR thank you to everyone who helped us hit this incredible milestone!
#2 - Hiring Our First Operations Director
In April, we hired ACR’s first Operations Director, Danny Mericle (pronounced Miracle!). If you haven’t met Danny yet, he is an absolute dynamo who is not only guiding ACR’s growth in a challenging environment (rising rents, utilities, payroll), he loves engaging with our community. Keep an eye out for Danny in the center and be sure to say “hi” the next time you see him. He’d love to hear your thoughts on ACR’s mission or discuss Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive with you. He's well versed in both.
#3 - Our Brick & Mortar Space Turned 10
In September, ACR celebrated its 10 year anniversary as a brick and mortar space. We’ve come a long way from our first 1400 sq. ft. location in the Linc shopping center. We moved into our “new” location in March of 2020 (ring any bells?), and with the creativity of our staff and the love of our community, managed to hang on until we could fully open to the public in 2021. Since then, our home in Windsor Park has become an 11,000 sq. ft. reuse fun house. We love being a part of the neighborhood and with a new lease recently in place, we look forward to staying right here until at least the end of 2029.
#4 - Reuse on the Runway Returned for a Fourth Incredible Show
ACR hosted our fourth Reuse on the Runway: A Night of Fashion, Cosplay & Drag in September at Mueller’s Branch Park Pavilion. 33 designers sent 56 one-of-a-kind looks down the runway, in front of more than 400 attendees. And we will be continuing the reuse glamour into 2026 with another first - a curated exhibit at the Dougherty Arts Center’s main gallery running from January 17 to February 28, 2026. If you missed the runway show - or even if you didn’t! - we hope you’ll visit Reuse on the Runway: The Exhibit at the Dougherty to see these amazing looks up close and personal, including meeting some of the artists at the Opening Reception on January 21 and the Artist Talk on February 3.
#5 - New Reuse Murals Celebrate Creative Reuse
We elevated our Creative Reuse Center with two new murals in 2025. Visitors are now welcomed by a new public art installation by ACR’s very own Barbara Paris, who in addition to being an incredible visual artist is also our second-ever employee. The mural, What Goes Around, sits just outside the front door of the center and has become a popular photo spot for visitors. Our first-ever Community Pride Day in June included the unveiling of a second reuse mural, Worth Preserving: A celebration of pride, community, and the creative spirit of Austin, designed by artist and ACR staff member, Katelyn Fiedler, and created by community members over the past year. Be sure to check out both incredible pieces of art the next time you’re at the center!
We would like to extend a special thank you to the City of Austin Economic Development Department for supporting many of these projects - Reuse on the Runway, What Goes Around, and both our spring and holiday reuse markets - through their Elevate Grant for cultural arts programs.
And now for the challenges.
It’s still hard to believe how quickly we filled up our “new” center with all the reuse magic. We purchased a shipping container earlier this year to store the classroom and learning materials that supply our Materials Mobile, a program now in its second full year that visits area schools so educators can “shop” for their classrooms at no cost to them and at their utmost convenience. (All financial donations made in December will support this one-of-a-kind program for Central Texas.)
We know that moving to donation appointments in mid-2024 caused heartache among some of our donors, but the reality is ACR’s staff and volunteers can only process so many donations safely and effectively to keep our shelves stocked for all the artists and makers in our community. Even with the appointment system, we still average nearly 35k pounds of donations every month. We appreciate your patience as we continue to navigate finding balance between the generous support of our materials donors and the safety of our team.
Beyond safety, we also want to provide the best working environment possible for our staff and volunteers. Some of the improvements we have in mind will require investment, but ACR will continue to exercise financial diligence to make them happen.
Like the old saying - “Small kids, small problems, big kids, big problems” - it’s the same for any growing organization. No longer concerned with getting the center open on time or paying the electricity bill, we now have all the issues that larger organizations face. Thanks to the love and support that our community shows us every day, I am confident that Austin Creative Reuse is only at the start of its journey.
I would like to personally thank all of our staff, volunteers, partners, and my fellow board members for all their hard work and commitment over the last year, as well as our dedicated donors and shoppers who show us the reuse love with every visit.
With all this and more, 2026 is poised to be a fantastic year for the Austin Creative Reuse community. You can help us continue this work by shopping online or in our center, buying a gift card for yourself or a friend, donating gently used creative materials, making a financial contribution or simply sharing your love for ACR with your family, friends, and neighbors.
Happy New Year from all of us at Austin Creative Reuse! Here’s to the next 10 years, I hope they will be as rewarding and fulfilling as the last.
