Letter From The ED: New Year, New Center

Happy New Year! I hope that your holidays were filled with peace, abundance and the joy of community. This can be a challenging season for waste and consumption, but it's also a time for knitting scarves as gifts, cooking for our loved ones and doing other activities that nourish our creative spirits and show our love through the act of hand-making. If you are like us, your new year's resolutions include more creativity, more community and a redoubled commitment to a gentle footprint on the planet. As we look towards the coming year at Austin Creative Reuse, we are focused on and excited for the move to a bigger center this summer. Thank you to the 76 people who completed our New Space Survey – your responses were invaluable in informing our needs and priorities. Of the respondents, 84% of you are shoppers at the center, 25% of you self-identified as fans (we love you too!) and 22% as donors. Thank you to our one respondent who identified as a fur ball – you never know who valuable insights might come from.Resoundingly, when asked about space priorities for the new center, more retail space was #1, and we could not agree with you more. Workshop space was #2, and a tool lending library was #3. For fill-in responses, the top priorities were: accessibility of the space/location, a request for an area to sit and sort through purchases before checking out, a dedicated donation area, and a library of craft ideas.In regards to activities and services that the new center should offer, here’s how respondents ranked their priorities:

1. How-to classes
2. Adult craft nights and events
3. Low-cost event space for rental to other likeminded organizations
4. Summer/day camps for kids
5. Birthday parties
6. Special interest meetups and fix-it clinics

Fill-in responses about activities seemed to share a common desire for more adult-focused events at the center, since there seem to be a fair amount of existing options in Austin for kids but few for grown-up crafters, according to those who took the survey.In our final open-ended question, respondents provided a few great suggestions that we will look at implementing in the short term (email notifications about flash sales! Posting donations wish lists on Facebook!) and we’ll take others to heart in our longer-term planning. We will of course take into consideration all of your accessibility suggestions like parking, proximity to public transportation and other important concerns. There were many passionate comments about where in town the new center should be, with equal arguments made for north, south and central. While we wish we could have centers in all three parts of town, our current search is within a close radius of our existing center.Finally, we are so grateful for all of the wonderful comments and notes of support from those who took the survey – we are so proud to offer a service of value to you, our beloved community of creatives, educators and lovers of planet earth. We are so excited for the possibilities that await us in our new center, and we’re grateful for your input and support as we grow to new heights.Thank you and happy new year to you all.  Sincerely, Isadora McKeonExecutive Director