Ground Floor: Business treasures other people’s trash

CEDAR RAPIDS - One person's trash may be Jennifer Stewart's next project.

Wine corks may become a bulletin board. An old T-shirt might be transformed into a tote bag. Last year's calendar may find new life as this year's decoupage creation.

'I like taking old things and making them useful again,” Stewart said. 'I don't like to throw things away.”

Stewart's new business is all about making the old and unwanted useful again. Through the Create Exchange, people with unwanted craft supplies and other disposables can get them into the hands of people who will use them in their next work of art.

'The key thing is saving perfectly good crafting materials from sitting unused in a closet or, even worse, from the landfill.” Stewart said.

Stewart gets the inventory for her store through donations from crafters and people who don't like to see their unused items go to waste.

'Every crafter has a stash of unused materials that are too good to throw away,” she said. 'They can donate those items to a dedicated craft store where they are more likely to be found by someone who needs them instead of a more general secondhand store where who knows what will happen to them.”

Stewart offers in-store credit for items on the Create Exchange wish list, which includes many of the supplies and materials needed to complete popular craft and upcycling projects. Some of the high-demand items include old jewelry, game and puzzle pieces, and vintage fabrics.

Pricing at the Create Exchange is on a 'pay-as-you-wish” basis. The store provides a suggested price range and customers are invited to name the price they are willing to pay.

'We're not a garage sale, but we're not a retail store, either,” Stewart said.

Unlike traditional craft stores, the Create Exchange allows customers to purchase items in the exact quantity needed.

'If you only need two or three pipe cleaners, you can buy exactly what you want versus buying a package of 100,” Stewart said.

Stewart discovered the upcycling exchange business model via a Facebook post and, after determining it was a perfect fit, opened the Create Exchange in November. On April 1, she moved the business to a new, larger space in Czech Village.

Many of the items available at the store came from the house where Stewart's grandfather lived for more than 70 years before dying at age 103.

'He would have been thrilled,” she said of her new store. 'He always said, ‘Someday, someone will use this.'”

Stewart plans to offer crafting classes at the store beginning in May.

l Know a company or manager who has been in business for less than a year that would be ideal for 'Ground Floor”? Contact George Ford at george.ford@thegazette.com.

At a Glance

Owner: Jennifer Stewart

Business: The Create Exchange

Address: 98 16th Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids

Phone: (319) 693-2043

Email: thecreate.exchange@yahoo.com