Thursday, May 26, 2011

We Open Sat. June 11th at noon

June 11th is a fun and exciting day in our neighborhood.  This morning we met with event organizers and merchants in Gordon Square Arts District and learned we expect thousands of visitors for Discover Gordon Square Arts District Day (!!!)  Plan to be part of the fun & joy in as we all celebrate summer, parties, live music, food trucks, art, local economy, great neighborhoods, incredible ice cream, and, of course, creative reuse!  More information on the celebration here


Following that lovely day, we'll be open:
Saturdays and Sundays: 12-6pm
Tuesdays --- Fridays: 10am-8pm


.........until Sunday July 3rd, the day we high five every customer and then call it a wrap. Extended hours, activities, and other fun events during our 3 weeks coming to a tab in the menu (above) very soon.  

Monday, May 16, 2011

We are the collective in Collective Upcycle

We are quiet and mighty, scrappy and innovative, resourceful and inspired.  We look at leftovers and excess from all kinds of sources and we reconsider what others want to chuck out.  We stare at it, hold it in our hands, vision something exciting.  And then we make it.  Check out who we are under the Artists & Upcyclists tab above.  And prepare to get excited...

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Hello, pleased to meet you.


We're new around here and we're pleased you're visiting.  Who are we and what do we do, you ask?  
What
Collective Upcycle is a pop-up boutique, popping up for a specific amount of time in an empty retail space and then popping down. It is thoughtful, funky, and innovative space filled with the goods of reuse* artists who make their work by hand, often by starting with raw material that others cast away or discard.

When
Collective Upcycle is popping up under this name for the very first time this June. We’ll open on Saturday June 11th and stay open every day for three weeks  (except Mondays) until Sunday, July 3rd.

Where
We’ll be in the big & beautiful Near West Loftworks building at 6710 Detroit Avenue, in the heart of Gordon Square Arts District.  With floor to ceiling storefront windows and 3500 square feet, it will be colorful, energetic, and bustling with visitors.  (We’re next door to the newly opened Sweet Moses Soda Fountain & Treat Shop!)

Who
This effort is being organized by Nicole McGee, a reuse artist and founder of Plenty Underfoot LLC, a small business that brings together
excess waste/materials, creativity and community.   Approximately 30 local reuse artists will partner with Nicole to fill the boutique and some will also lead activities and workshops in the space. 

Why
Collective Upcycle is a collective demonstration of the bustling creative reuse economy already underway in Cleveland.   We live in an area rich with resources for creative reuse.  It’s an exciting time to be reusing, and joining in with others to build community around this work/art is what Collective Upcycle is all about.

How
Collective Upcycle functions like a regular retail business with low overhead since we don’t maintain a location year round.   Artists receive 70% of the proceeds of the goods they sell in our boutique and we collectively share responsibility for promoting & spreading the word like dandelion seeds in the wind. 

*To reuse is to take something that was used before and use it again. Reuse artists often transform an original material in some way that adds value to it (sometimes called upcycling).

For more information, email:  nicole@plentyunderfoot.com