The 6,000-square-foot Resource Exchange in Kensington looks like an enormous studio production closet. Its shelves and bins are packed with used picture frames, mat boards, photo equipment, paint, paint brushes, pens, markers and crayons waiting for a second life.
A creative reuse center on North American Street near Berks Street, the store sells donated art and building materials at a discount. Its goal is to keep reusable supplies in circulation and out of landfills while making creative tools more affordable for artists, students, teachers and other community members.
"We got our start in film and theater, so that's originally the kind of materials that we save, from film sets and theater sets," said founder Karyn Gerred. "As they were taking them down, we would save them before they would get thrown away."
Gerred came from the film and theater industry, where she worked for more than a decade as a scenic painter. She said the idea for the nonprofit grew out of seeing how many usable materials were being thrown away on film and theater sets. She was also inspired by SCRAP, a creative reuse store that operated in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of her artist friends found secondhand materials there.
When the Resource Exchange first opened, it sold a lot of set-construction materials. Over time, Gerred said, fabric became one of the store's most popular items after the space opened more fully to the public.
Today, the store accepts a wide range of donations. Shoppers can find everything from partly used bottles of paint and boxes of colored pencils to fabric and other secondhand materials that are still in usable condition.
The store does not accept clothing, electronics or hazardous materials. It also asks donors not to bring broken items or materials with missing pieces, mold, odors or water damage.
For materials the store cannot accept, Gerred pointed to resourcePhilly, a website created through a partnership with Circular Philadelphia. The site helps residents find places to drop off items such as hazardous materials instead of sending them to landfills.
The store draws customers with many different needs.
"The range of materials is so broad that contractors can come here and grab some two by fours. People doing projects in school can get some tubes of paint. If you're a quilter, you can grab some fabric," Gerred said.
Gerred said affordability and accessibility are central to the store's mission. Everything is marked down to about a third of the original price or less.
Staff member Sean Cote said that while the goal is to sell affordable items to customers, they also want to encourage people to reuse materials.
"Climate change is a big part of why I'm here. When people do get access to materials that they can't necessarily afford on their own, you can see the light in their eyes and they get really happy," Cote said.
The Resource Exchange also stays connected with customers after they leave the store. Through its Creative Rewards Program, shoppers who share photos of finished projects made with store materials can get 10 percent off a future purchase. The organization also helps promote plays, events and other community projects created with its supplies.
The store hosts monthly creative workshops.
The Resource Exchange is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, follow the store on Instagram @theresourceexchange or visit theresourceexchange.org.
