Donate Art Supplies

Currently the shop is taking in all art supplies that are good condition and gently used or new.  Think of materials that are sold at stores like Opus and Deserres.  Please check out our short list below, we also welcome you to email us at chinatown@chuchu.ca and inquire what materials we are currently taking.

Painting

• acrylic, oil, watercolour, gouache, poster, tempera, spray paint, fabric paint
• water colour pencils or markers
• varnishes, gel mediums, fluid pour painting medium, resin, fixatives
• paint brushes or painting knives/spatulas
• palettes
• canvases (used is ok without too much texture!)
• heavy painting paper
• air brush, silkscreen, linocut, brayer, 

Drawing

• pencils, charcoal, graphite, water-based markers, alcohol based markers, pencil crayons, pastels (chalk or oil)
• calligraphy pens, ink, alcohol ink, india ink, fountain pen
• drawing accessories: erasers, rulers, stencils
• drawing paper, sketchbooks

Scrapbooking & Stationery

• scrapbook paper, cardstock, origami paper
• scissors, punches, embossing tools
• heat gun, embossing powder
• stamps, stamp pads
• washi tape, glitter tape, glitter glue, glue stick, white glue, tape gun, double sided tape
• scissors, paper cutters, rotary cutter, exacto knife
• stickers
• blank greeting cards, cards and envelopes
• cricut or sizzix machine and accessories

Fibre Arts

• yarn, roving, embroidery thread, sewing thread
• knitting needles, crochet hooks
• buttons

Beads and Jewellery

• glass beads, seed beads, wood beads
• jewellery findings: jump rings, chains, earring hooks, rhinestones, clasps, spacers, connectors, bar pins, bails, crimps
• metal stamping, metal blanks
• uv resin, 2 part resin, silicone moulds, resin dye, mica powder
• tools: pliers, wire cutters, tweezers, bead board, needle, hammer, mallet
• torches

Pottery and Clay

• cone 6 clay: pliable and soft
• underglazes, glazes, mason stains
• tools: ribs, pin tools, bats, rolling pins, carving tools, sculpting tools, hake brushes, wood stamps, texture rollers, wire tools
• polymer clay

Other

• wood carving tools
• dried flowers, metallic foil, glitter
• jesomite, plaster, cement
• 2 part resin, UV resin, silicone moulds

 

The shop is located at 247 Keefer Street, most Wednesdays and Fridays we are open from 12-5pm, currently the hours are not 100% set so it's best to contact us at chinatown@chuchu.ca to arrange for a drop off day and time.

Your donations are sorted into three categories:
a) supplies for partnering community building art programs
b) kids craft supplies for teacher kits
c) resale in shop
d) recycling

Community Building Art Programs
These art supplies are designated for our community partners that run art workshops for seniors, youth and vulnerable populations to help keep the cost of the workshops low or completely free. 

Teacher Kits
To help teachers equip their classroom with craft supplies, we create Teacher Kits that house an assortment of great craft materials that have been donated by several people.  We all know teachers spend money out of their own pockets to foster creativity with their students, we offer these kits at a highly reduced price compared to if they purchased it new.

Resale in Shop
Artists quality materials or new products that are donated are sold in the store.  We do research on the market value of these items and reduce the price for sale.  It is our goal to offer discounted and good quality art supplies to the creative community.

Recycling
Any supplies that are left over gets sorted and recycled.  By taking in all these art supplies we are diverting them from the landfill and giving them a new home!

Yes!  Some of our donations are brand new and never used art supplies.  As we are also a teaching studio, we purchase a small amount of pottery supplies and tools for our students (or anyone else!) to purchase.

The art supplies we carry is highly dependent on what we get with our donations!  We usually get plenty of donations of acrylic paint, brushes, and stationery but this changes often.  

That just means you have to visit us regularly to see what we have in stock!

Our business model requires that we make some revenue in order to pay for our operations.

a) Pay for the rent and utilities of our brick and mortar store

We want to make it easy for people to donate by having a store front where they can drop off their goods.  This includes storing all the donations as we can not display everything in the store at the same time.

b) Pay for staff

The staff need to sort through the donations, research market price, merchandise on our shelves, and sell it to our customers.  We also have to coordinate with our neighbourhood partners who are running community outreach programs to organize the supplies that they need for their activity.  We also manage all of our own admin and maintenance of the shop.

All sales are final on all our donated art supplies.

Yes! We encourage anyone that is facilitating programs for the community at an affordable price (or free) to contact us and apply to become a partner.  We will try our hardest to secure art supplies for your project.  Please email us at chinatown@chuchu.ca.