Donate Art Supplies
Here are some commonly asked questions about donating art supplies and what happens to them after!
Currently the shop is taking in all art supplies that are good condition. Think of materials that are sold at stores like Opus and Deserres. For a detailed list of materials that can be donated, please check this link here (coming soon).
The shop is located at 247 Keefer Street, although we are there Tuesday to Saturday, 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.
In general all sales our 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.
Donate Your Art Supplies!
We take your art supplies and give them a new home! Think of it as rehoming your gently used art materials to someone who will continue to use them.
We work with community partners to help facilitate programs for seniors, youth and vulnerable populations who offer low cost or free art workshops.
Other donations are marked at a discounted price and sold in our shop. Try a new medium or buy art supplies as a gift without breaking the bank!
We believe that making art is good for mental health, connects you with people, helps you relax and have fun!