Several thousand plastic goat and donkey figurines, all with unsettling red eyes, were used in some sort of psychology experiment at the University of Pittsburgh before being donated to the reuse center in North Point Breeze. Hundreds of pairs of teeny fold-able scissors — once, perhaps, part of first aid kits — were donated by a medical supply organization. Dozens of trophies, ranging in size from just a few inches to five feet, mark accomplishments from long ago.
These things are just a few of the thousands of items available for purchase at the center, which promotes conservation, creativity and community engagement through the reuse of materials ranging from scraps of fabric, leather and wax, to paintings, sculptures and scrapbooks.
Assistant shop manager and merchandiser Ashley Andrews is in charge of what she calls “magic making” — displaying the donated items in a pleasing way.
“We are in the creative reuse realm, so display of items is important,” she said.
Ms. Andrews, an artist, helps visitors find what they’re looking for, even if they don’t know what it is they need. But usually, it’s more of a nudge than a shove. She positioned a basket of “little carpet doodads” — inch-long carpet segments rolled into cylinders — near paintings and prints to “gently suggest” the doodads’ use in art projects. Continue Reading