Brittany Pye opened Craft and Found Exchange late last year hoping she could be a bridge between aspiring crafters and those with a lot of unused and unwanted craft supplies they might wish to donate.
“As someone who is a crafter, I know there is a huge amount of crafts and supplies in closets and basements that people aren’t using anymore,” said Pye, who was taught to knit by her ninth grade teacher. “On the other side, there are people who want to get into crafting but don’t have the materials they need.”
Sometimes it can be costly to try something new like crafting, Pye said, so her store offers a less expensive option for new crafters and those who want to expand their interests.
“So pairing up those with hidden, unused craft supplies with people who need them, here is a place to do that,” Pye said.
Pye decided to launch her business after hearing her friend talk about her store out West selling donated arts and crafts material.
“I heard about it from her perspective, thought it was an interesting idea and kept thinking, ‘I wish there was something like that around here.’ Eventually, I said I think I would do that something,” Pye said during an interview at Craft and Found, which she opened December in a space behind the Rum Brook Market in Grantham.
Her business model is similar to rePlay Arts, where people donate art supplies they no longer have a use for or have too much of. Pye sells the materials at either deep discounts or uses them for classes that she or others teach.
“Everything that is usable finds a use here,” Pye said.
She may use a partial sheet of stickers for a drop-in event for kids or sell the end of a skein of yarn as a remnant.
Unsure of the response when she began soliciting donations, Pye discovered — as did rePlay Arts — that there was a large community of crafters eager to give their material away.
“I had no idea how people would respond to this,” Pye said. “I get donations every day. People might bring in a box and say, ‘These are craft supplies but I have no idea what is in it.’ So I sort through it.”
It wasn’t long before Pye’s business outgrew a very small space in the same building and when the larger location, a former paint store, became available, Pye jumped on it.
Craft and Found also represents the middle ground between home crafting and high-end crafters, said Pye, who has a background in education and retail. There is a workshop area for people to drop in to craft and “be in a community with each other.”
The workshop area is a “third space” people can go to that is not home or work, Pye said.
“They can hang out, bring in a project they are working on, ask questions. I’m starting to see that,” Pye said.
One small area is devoted to what Pye calls the Maker’s Market, which allows people to rent space and sell their crafts.
“It is huge. People buy things from that,” Pye said.
In early June, Keri Heights, of Grantham, was shopping with her daughter, Aivey, 10, who was making her third visit to the store. In a previous trip she had come to a tie-dye birthday party with her friends. On this rainy Saturday, was poking around looking for something to make a craft.
“Everything,” Aivey said when asked what she likes in the store.
“I think it is great to have something like this for kids,” Heights added.
Classes for both children and adults on different types of crafting is part of Pye’s overall plan to build community connections. Having a space for people to work on their project, craft with others or take a class is an important piece to her venture, Pye said.
“You can come in, try something new or get supplies. It is really important to me to have that (positive) effect,” Pye said.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
