Thrift like an artist! How to get your hands on the best upcycled art supplies

There's a planet-loving vibe to the work of Kami Goertz. From her Winnipeg studio, Goertz builds huggable versions of plants and fungi and even the occasional bacterium.

To Goertz, her "mellow portobellos" are more than adorable stuffies. They're reminders that we're all characters in the greater ecosystem — all connected — and every living thing deserves care and attention. And in keeping with that environmental theme, she favours a sustainable approach, preferring to use reclaimed materials as much as possible. 

Her "soft action figures" are stitched together using a mix of new and second-hand textiles. "I want to have as light of a touch on the Earth as I can," says Goertz. "You know, I don't want to contribute to this cycle of waste."

And going the green route isn't just in sync with her values. For Goertz, it's practical — and often cheaper. 

But if you're in search of upcycled art supplies, what's the best place to find them?

Artsjunktion, Winnipeg

For Goertz, the answer is Artsjunktion in Winnipeg. It's what you would call a creative reuse centre: a non-profit that keeps discarded art supplies out of the landfill by making them available to the public on a pay-what-you-can basis. 

The definition of "art supplies" can be liberal. Accepted donations include things you might expect (paint, pencil crayons, canvas, beads) and things you might not (keys, pinecones, typewriters). "For me, as a person who loves junk, it's like heaven," laughs Goertz, and she often raids their creative reuse depot for vintage fabric. 

The operation has been running in Winnipeg since 2007, and Goertz has been frequenting it for nearly as long. 13-odd years ago, when she began dabbling in plush figurines, her family was young, and she didn't have much money to invest in what was then a new hobby. 

I felt [Artsjunktion] really, really got me on my feet as an artist.- Kami Goertz, artist

"I discovered Artsjunktion early on and they were basically how I was able to do some of this stuff," says Goertz, who's a self-taught artist. She's since exhibited her textile sculptures in places around Canada, the U.S. and Germany, and supports herself through art full-time. 

"Just sort of starting out, I didn't really know what I was doing. If I wanted to experiment, I didn't have to buy fabric by the metre. ... I could just find these little bits and bobs and make these funny little things," she explains. "I felt it really, really got me on my feet as an artist."

Discovering a place where she could score second-hand material — for cheap — was a game-changer for Goertz. Not every city has something exactly like Artsjunktion, but for those interested in building a more sustainable crafting stash, these are just a few more examples of the resources found around the country.

Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse, Montreal

In Montreal, inside Concordia's Grey Nun's Building, you'll find CUCCR's Used Material Depot. Everything there is free for the taking, and since early September, a whopping 2,143 kilograms of that free stuff has been claimed by visitors. That's just over two tonnes, notes Anna Timm-Bottos, CUCCR's co-founder and project coordinator — or roughly the same mind-crushing amount of stock that she keeps on the premises 24/7. 

The centre is part of the university's broader zero-waste strategy, and as such, everything it carries is sourced directly from campus. But unlike a generic reuse centre, CUCCR encourages treasure-hunters to be imaginative when they browse its shelves. It's not the kind of place where you'd freecycle a couch for your dorm lounge, for example. "It's more about materials for making something new and not necessarily just as-is," Timm-Bottos explains.

Open to the public — not just students — anyone can access CUCCR by registering for a free membership. So far, they have 3,160 people signed up. Most of those members hail from the Faculty of Fine Arts, but Timm-Bottos says a significant number come from the community at large. Need a canvas? Scrap fabric? Binders? They've got you.

"Every week there is some new stuff, but we have some types of materials that are just always going to be here," she says. (Take that last item I mentioned? "I will never, ever buy a binder again," she laughs.)

There is no shortage of stuff, but the stress of having to find it yourself? It potentially limits your creative process and it's expensive.- Anna Timm-Bottos, co-founder and project coordinator, Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse

The project was launched in 2017 and actually spun out of Timm-Bottos's masters research. The topic? Creative reuse centres — a subject she was drawn to through personal experience. 

Prior to arriving at Concordia, Timm-Bottos worked as an art teacher in Victoria, where she discovered how challenging it can be to keep a classroom stocked with everything it needs. It's pricey, too. (For those unaware, many teachers pay out of pocket for art supplies.) 

"Basically I decided that I would use my master's thesis to figure out a way to look at some alternatives — to find some ways to make it easier for people to find the materials that are already in the world," she says. "There is no shortage of stuff, but the stress of having to find it yourself? It potentially limits your creative process and it's expensive."

Supply Victoria

If only Supply Victoria had been around while Timm-Bottos was still on Vancouver Island. It's a relatively new operation, founded by artist Ashley Howe in 2018. Since then, Supply Victoria has turned other people's trash into free art materials for community projects, schools included. And the non-profit opened its first drop-in location in February — "a tiny free thrift store for art supplies" that Howe runs out of the North Park Neighbourhood's Vancouver Street Plaza. Open to anyone and everyone three afternoons a week, it'll be there through May 28.

The pop-up shop provides an assortment of items, suitable for whatever project you can dream up with them: art magazines for collages, ribbons, buttons, pencils, paints and pens. Howe gathers donations from people and businesses around the community, and accepts drop-offs at 751 Fairfield Road, the future home of Supply Victoria's storefront. 

Howe expects to move there by the summer, and looks forward to having 2,000 square feet of space. A bigger HQ means she can keep even more useful junk out of the landfill, and to that end, she says she's rescued 2,000 pounds of discarded stuff already. 

"Everyone, I think, is creative. Everyone can make art, and everyone, I think, deserves access to art supplies," says Howe. "So this whole thing is just about removing those barriers so that people can make stuff to express themselves." 

Other reuse centres with an artsy bent

Canada doesn't have an organized association of creative reuse centres, according to Timm-Bottos's research. In Howe's observation, they're far less common here than in the States. Howe worked for several in Portland, Ore., before moving to Victoria, and she wants to develop a Canada-wide network of Supply outposts someday.

"I feel like every community could benefit from one," she says. "There's tons of material needlessly going into the landfill in every city."

There are still a few out there, though. For those in search of textiles, Vancouver's home to Fabcycle, a reuse centre that's all about upcycling industrial scraps and deadstock fabric. Regina's Art Supply Exchange is a creative reuse centre with a storefront that opens to the public Saturdays. 

Everyone can make art, and everyone, I think, deserves access to art supplies.- Ashley Howe, founder and executive director, Supply Victoria

But of course, creativity isn't exclusive to reuse centres with that particular word in their title. While Howe was studying art at Emily Carr University in Vancouver — and struggling to afford art supplies — Urban Source on Main Street was a favourite destination of hers. The "alternative art supply store" keeps plenty of curiosities in stock. They harvest a lot of their wares from the manufacturing industry, and sell their finds out of bins, Bulk Barn-style.) 

In Edmonton, the city's waste management program runs the Reuse Centre on 83 Street near Argyll Road. Just read this list of everything they collect, and you'll be considering a new craft idea already. (As of this year, everything in store is free.)

And for even more "free stuff" stores around the country, the CBC newsletter What on Earth? compiled this write-up on freecycling programs in Canada.

Or get thrifty online or IRL

Your local second-hand store is another classic option, and some, like Toronto's Double Take, even run their own reuse centres. 

Or there's always garage and estate sales and their online equivalents: listings on sites including Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji. 

"A lot of my stash is still stuff that I've accumulated over the years," says Goertz, who describes herself as a "thrift store junkie."

"You never know what you're going to find," she says. And you never know what those discoveries might inspire.