Mystery novels hug self-help books; they nestle against dictionaries, Bibles, and crochet guides. 

For over two decades, volunteers at Chicago Books to Women in Prison (CBWP) have sorted through these donations to ensure incarcerated people can read, learn, and improve their lives. 

“We do this work because access to information in prison is very limited,” says CBWP board chair and manager Becca Greenstein. And though books can’t necessarily solve bigger incarceration issues, she says people—especially women—come to rely on them. 

“Someone writes to us and they say, ‘I was just diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Can you send me information about that?’ Yes, we can,” Greenstein says. “We can’t send a doctor into that prison. We can’t improve the quality of the healthcare that people get. But yes, we can send you a book about MS.” 

Photo Credit: Leah von Essen

Photo Credit: Leah von Essen

Photo Credit: Leah von Essen

Photo Credit: Leah von Essen

Photo Credit: Leah von Essen

Photo Credit: Leah von Essen

Just 5 percent of Illinois’s prison population is female, while the number doubles in the nation’s carceral system. “There are some topics that women in prison need that men don’t need as much,” Greenstein says. Her organization frequently receives requests for domestic violence or parenting books. 

“Most of the women that we serve have a minor child at home . . . (or) people are in prison and pregnant, which is a horrible place to be growing a child. People will also request books for their children.” she says.

According to a 2024 Prison Policy Initiative study, the number of women in U.S. state prisons has recently grown twice the pace of men, and more than 60 percent of incarcerated women are mothers.

Packaged with Care

Stemming from word of mouth or CBWP outreach, inmates can fill out request forms (or regular pieces of paper) to send to the organization. 

“People will write to us and say, my bunkie told me about you,” she says. “And they say what books they want, and we try to honor those requests as closely as possible . . . We have books in over 100 categories.” 

Photo Credit: Chicago Books to Women in Prison

Greenstein will sort through each request, looking up each person in a prison database, and make sure they get three books sent back. 

That process involves many volunteers, from sending related handouts or combing through books to ensure they meet specific prison criteria. Volunteers will personalize notes accompanying the packages; sometimes it’s a back-and-forth exchange before the perfect books are found.  

“We’ve heard from many people that we serve that they love these notes. And some people say, ‘I don’t get mail from other people, so when I get mail, I know it’s books from you, which is just a little sucker punch in the gut right there,” Greenstein says. 

The team documents those notes. They contain gratitude, solace, and intimacy.

Greenstein recalls a letter that made her cry: 

“I am going home soon. You guys have truly made my time so much easier by getting your gifts. Every few months, every time I receive them, I get a smile on my face. The little letter has made me feel so loved . . . What you are doing is a very beautiful thing. Thank you for helping me grow with the materials you have sent. They have changed my life.” 

Volunteers meet weekly on Saturdays and Sundays. Folks who want to get involved can also donate books or money, or check out other books to prisons programs. 

The post How Midwest Volunteers Are Sending Books to Women in Prisons  appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Back then, the largest was 27 feet long, Bolin says. Now, the record-holder swings at an impressive 42 feet—and its maker? None other than the Casey, Illinois, businessman himself. 

Photo Credit: Big Things Small Town, Casey, IL

Photo Credit: Big Things Small Town, Casey, IL

Photo Credit: Big Things Small Town, Casey, IL

“Being a pipeline company, we have all kinds of used pipes,” says the creator, who also runs Bolin Enterprises. “When we had time, I started building this giant wind chime and we finished it . . . and got it in the Guinness Book as the world’s largest wind chime.” 

Thirteen years later, Bolin is still building big. In Casey (pop. 2,400), he and his crew at the enterprise have constructed nearly 30 large-scale works out of repurposed material, scattered around town. There’s an enormous crochet hook and mailbox; a softball bat and a rocking chair. 

He calls the project Big Things Small Town. 

Whenever the mood strikes or a new business comes to town, Bolin gets to work. He’ll find, say, a broken spring from an overhead door at his company. Bingo—it’s a massive mousetrap. Or the library will need a fundraising boost; Bolin’s there with a big ol’ bookworm. 

“Jim was a visionary with this,” says Tom Daughhetee, economic development director with the city. “He and his team are extremely skilled builders and they’re very clever. That creativity and the know-how to actually build them has just been fantastic. They should be considered art in many ways.” 

And many people do: Bolin says between 1,000 and 2,000 people probably stop in Casey each week, though it’s tough to know for sure. He quickly noticed out-of-state license plates driving by after he advertised on the nearby interstate (most of the sculptures are a four-minute detour off I-70). Daughhetee says he’s seen an increase in visitors both for Big Things and to check out what else the small city has to offer. 

Photo Credit: Big Things Small Town, Casey, IL

Photo Credit: Big Things Small Town, Casey, IL

Photo Credit: Big Things Small Town, Casey, IL

Photo Credit: Big Things Small Town, Casey, IL

Photo Credit: Big Things Small Town, Casey, IL

“Before the big things, our downtown was completely empty,” Daughhetee says. “(Big Things Small Town) is a pretty good thing to be known for . . . and you just see all these people gawking and smiles on their faces and kids running around and getting their picture taken.” 

That collective joy is what keeps Bolin creating (he’s currently working on an oversized fishing pole.) Born and raised in Casey, it’s easy for him to recount what he loves about the town. He talks about the Popcorn Festival and Candy Canes on Main—“it’s like a Hallmark movie.” 

“It’s not really the dirt under our feet. It’s the people,” Bolin says. “When you go uptown, everybody knows each other . . . I like the sports experience at our schools. I like the county experience with the festivals that we have.” 

“That’s what brings people back multiple times,” he adds. “It’s not the Big Things; it’s the human part of just enjoying life.” 

Colossal Casey

World’s Largest!
Wind Chime, Golf Tee, Rocking Chair, Wooden Shoes, Pitchfork, Mailbox, Key, Gavel, Swizzle Spoon, Golf Driver, Barbershop Pole, Teeter Totter

Other Big Things in Town
Antlers, Birdcage, and Bat
Anvil and Horseshoe
Bookworm and Nail Puzzle
Cactus, Ear of Corn, and WW
Knitting Needles and Crochet Hook
Mouse Trap and Rocking Horse
Pokeball and Minion
Spinning Top and Toy Glider
Taco and Piggy Bank
Wooden Token and Pizza Slicer
Yardstick and Pencil

The post Small Midwest Town on the ‘World’s Largest’ List, Thanks to Art (and Jim)  appeared first on Arts Midwest.

He and his fiancée, Ash Stewack, make art for others: for businesses, passersby, and neighborhoods. And most of the time, you won’t even find their signature at the bottom right of the piece. 

The Chicago-based sign painters at Fire Signs design, plan, and hand paint pieces across the city. Founded in 2018, their small business runs out of their at-home basement studio. It all bloomed from Stewack seeing the Sign Painters documentary in college and Ozawa’s love for painting motorcycles. The flames were fanned.  

Photo Credit: Fire Signs

Photo Credit: Fire Signs

Photo Credit: Fire Signs

Photo Credit: Fire Signs

Photo Credit: Fire Signs

Stewack apprenticed for two years before co-founding Fire Signs, named for the Aries-Leo astrological couple. Ozawa and Stewack paint windows, murals, logos, menus—each brushstroke done by hand.  

“The physicality and tangibility of sign painting definitely offers more of a human centeredness of art,” Stewack says. 

In a digital age with things accessible on-demand, Ozawa adds, “People really like crafted, human made things that have a quality to it that you don’t get with mass production.”  

And each design is completely tailored to their clients. “We’re really a part of their story,” he says. 

A Long-Lasting Craft 

Hand-painted signs have been central advertising mediums throughout Midwest and world history. Scattered across the region, you can still see “ghost signs”—paintings of pre-billboard past, often peeling and faded. 

Sharp Signs owner Kelsi Sharp says sign painting is placemaking. Hand-creating signs and murals (old and new) defines neighborhood character and community. That’s essential for “people who are craving agency in their neighborhood (as residents, renters, and homeowners) and who want to define the character of their specific district,” the Minneapolis artist says. 

Sharp argues sign painting isn’t necessarily having a comeback. But it is more visible with the exposure help of social media. 

Photo Credit: sharpsigns.com

Photo Credit: sharpsigns.com

Photo Credit: sharpsigns.com

Photo Credit: sharpsigns.com

Photo Credit: sharpsigns.com

Photo Credit: sharpsigns.com

“People were doing this for a job long before reels on Instagram and TikTok posts, and they’ll be doing it long after into the next thing,” Sharp says, noting her place in it all. “I’m helping to define the character. I’m helping to perpetuate this craft . . . It’s so much bigger than me. Some signs that I paint, I hope, will outlive me.” 

To her, hand painting is personal to clients and communities—so much so that she considers each piece like a birth. 

“I’m really like, “OK, I’m going to bring this thing into the world. I’m going to do it with so much care. We do have a deadline that is approaching, usually less than nine months away,” Sharp says. “I’m a doula birthing these signs into the world.” 

The post More Than a Sign: Midwest Artists Hand-Paint Local Identity appeared first on Arts Midwest.

It’s all part of their creative rhythm. As the duo behind Archeophone Records, they approach every project like a recipe.

Gathering rare recordings from over 25 years of scouring estate sales, record shops, and flea markets, folding in deep research and historical context, they finish each reissue with exquisite design.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Archeophone Records

Their latest release, Centennial: King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, won the 2024 Grammy for Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes.

The four-CD, two-LP box set revives the 1923 recordings of King Oliver’s band, the group that introduced Louis Armstrong to the world. 

This groundbreaking work of restoration happens in their home. Archeophone collaborates with writers and curators across the country, but the essential labor—audio transfers, restoration, editing, design—stays in-house. 

Their studio feels more like a kitchen than a lab. They own more cookware than specialized sound equipment.

As Hennessey puts it, “The real work is in listening. And knowing what you’re hearing. Then researching and caring about the stories. I think that’s what matters most in our process.”

Most listening happens in the evening, accompanied by a comforting glass of cabernet.

“No one else is doing this work,” Martin says. “We’re music lovers, of course. But we’re archivists too. We never really asked why this work and why now. We just started collecting. We wanted to preserve these voices and recordings, and the history behind them.”

Each Archeophone release is part scholarship, part craftsmanship, and entirely devoted to an idea of American cultural history. The label’s catalog includes early jazz, blues, vaudeville, gospel, and radio sermons. Every collection includes detailed liner notes, archival photography, and thoughtful design. 

The goal is not nostalgia. It is preservation.

“Music is a root system,” Martin says. “These early recordings are a crucial part of the American story. They deserve to be heard and experienced.”

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rankin for the Recording Academy

Keeping them alive is not without obstacles.

“Public funding matters,” Hennessey explains, “but, clearly, it can’t be counted on. Museums and libraries could lose support as the political winds shift. That’s why independent labels like ours are more important than ever.” 

Their work goes hand in hand with the larger archival projects produced by major institutions. But unlike the work that happens behind glass and climate-controlled rooms, Archeophone’s process is intimate, hands-on, and grounded in daily motions, more of a lived-in room than a pristine reading room.

This steady commitment defines Archeophone’s work. For over two decades, Hennessey and Martin have produced Grammy-winning collections in their quiet corner of Champaign, reaching across time without losing their place on the map. 

Their next project, 10 years in the making, remains under wraps but promises to be their boldest yet.

At Archeophone Records, history is not stored or shelved. It is revived. One record at a time. One voice at a time. From a kitchen where the past is always simmering and the needle keeps moving forward. 

The post Award-Winning Albums and Rare Sounds Simmer at This Midwest Kitchen-Studio appeared first on Arts Midwest.

A bright pink, rented kayak in tow, local Cindy Juhasz took to the water with her husband and friend last year. It’s something they did often, but this time was different. 

“We were on the river and we heard music, and we all got goosebumps and we’re like, ‘What is this?’” Juhasz says. “We literally followed the sound, and we couldn’t believe what we were seeing.” 

Photo Credit: Trevor Jay Prickett (@TrevorJayPrickett)

In front of them was a large dolphin—a floating, cement structure typically used for anchoring boats.  

On top of the dolphin: a full band. 

“It’s about, I dunno, eight feet up? And then you get one guy in the boat, one guy on the ladder, one guy on top receiving, and then pass the gear up,” says dolphin-stage brainchild Ben Kinsinger.  

Photo Credit: Trevor Jay Prickett (@TrevorJayPrickett)

‘Just a Random Bridge’

Kinsinger’s “sad cowboy song” group, Lawrence Tome, has been hosting what he calls “secret river shows” for several years. Discoverable by latitude and longitude coordinates, the shows have grown from a few friend-fans to a venue of sorts where music acts across genres appear.

“It’s pretty epic. It’s a whole crowd of folks that are 20, 30 feet out in front of you and there’s a body of water in between. At one of these shows, there’s probably 30-plus kayaker/canoe people out on the water, and other bigger boats,” Kinsinger says. “And it’s surreal. It’s just a random bridge that nothing ever happens at, and suddenly it’s filled with hundreds of people.”

Kinsinger happened upon the river-crossing bridge and underpass maybe four years ago and, like a true artist, thought: Why not?

The shows are collecting community with every gig, Chicagoan Sara Geist says: All sorts of folks show up; an artist has painted a mural on the dolphin; even a barber makes the occasional appearance and offers haircuts (just don’t bob your head too much, OK?)  

“I think of it as sort of an important third space. You can kind of always count on there being a secret river show over any weekend in the summer now. And if you go, there are going to be friends there and cool bands … it just feels like this really special part of the community that you can rely on now,” says Geist, who is gearing up to perform at a July 5 show. 

Creative Care for a River 

Over a century ago, Chicago used the river as a means of runoff. Around 1900, the river’s flow was actually reversed to mitigate environmental impacts. But Chicagoans still battle runoff and pollution, especially during periods of rain. 

“In the city, it’s like, ‘Don’t get in the river. It’s gross.’ But it’s not,” Kinsinger says. “I love the river … It still has that desire, I feel, to be just a natural river and it has the possibility of doing it, if we can get people organized around caring.” 

Photo Credit: Trevor Jay Prickett (@TrevorJayPrickett)

Photo Credit: Trevor Jay Prickett (@TrevorJayPrickett)

Photo Credit: Trevor Jay Prickett (@TrevorJayPrickett)

Photo Credit: Trevor Jay Prickett (@TrevorJayPrickett)

Next month, Lawrence Tome will do that the way it knows best, but better: through a river band parade with a slew of performers, pontoons, and buoyant stages. 

Because if the river moves and changes, so can its future—with electric guitars and drum kits floating with it. 

The post Turning the Chicago River into a Floating Music Venue appeared first on Arts Midwest.

A new national study by SMU DataArts named six Midwestern communities among the Top 40 Most Arts-Vibrant Communities of 2024, recognizing places where the arts are thriving thanks to strong local investment, engaged audiences, and a high concentration of creative activity.

These rankings aren’t just about size or star power. SMU DataArts evaluates communities using 13 indicators of arts vibrancy, including supply, demand, and public funding, adjusted for population and cost of living.

Here’s how the Midwest stacked up:

We’re proud to see so many Midwestern communities recognized, and we’ve been lucky to tell stories from many of these vibrant places. Dive into a few of our favorites!

You can check out the full Art Vibrancy 2024 report on the SMU DataArts website.

The post Six Midwest Cities Among the ‘Most Arts-Vibrant’ in the US appeared first on Arts Midwest.

But whether at her children’s soccer tournaments or organizing an “Entomoloknitting Circle” at the Entomological Society of America’s annual conference, Dr. Brosius has found that insect-themed needlecraft can serve not just as an artistic outlet, but as an organic, social means of science communication.

“I love insects in fashion; they’re often used [for] being pretty, but also scary,” she explains. “And I think that fashion designers often reach to insects because of that duality. There’s tension there.”

Photo Credit: Dr. Tierney Brosius

For the past decade, Dr. Brosius has hung her hat—and a growing collection of bespoke, hand-knitted vests—as a professor of biology at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. But she’s also built a budding reputation as the entomological fashion maven under the moniker, “Dr. Beetle.”

Her Instagram account documents sartorial projects that include a vest festooned with Salt Creek tiger beetles (the subject of Brosius’s PhD), or a cocoon-style coat that commemorates 2024’s double cicada brood.

Her artistic outreach, however, extends beyond the closet. Inside Augustana’s Hanson Hall of Science, a 40 foot-long wall now hosts a vibrant, larger-than-life “Beetles of Illinois Identification Mural.” Every species pictured—in all of their exoskeleton-ed wonder—were collected by Dr. Brosius and her undergraduates over the course of a single field season.

Wendy DesChene, an artist and professor at Auburn University in Alabama,  collaborated with Dr. Brosius to create the mural. She met “Dr. Beetle” years ago while touring Augustana with PlantBot Genetics, a “satirical biotech company.” As their friendship grew, including on-brand gift exchanges (Brosius once knitted her a pair of moth mittens), DesChene proposed working together to make a mural a reality.

“As an artist, it’s hard to find scientists who don’t belittle arts, or don’t think of us as a true partnership,” DesChene says. “I really wanted to work with somebody who I know as a peer, and who treats me and what I bring to the table as equal.”

Dr. Brosius, meanwhile, had no such hang-ups. “I think that’s why I interact with artists that deal with insects,” she says. “They invite people to be curious. And that fear and hesitation can unfold into this sense of wonder: ‘Oh my gosh, I never knew.’ Even a drain fly, right? The silliest little thing … but if you really get up close, they’re like little teddy bears with wings.”

Photo Credit: Dr. Tierney Brosius

Photo Credit: Wendy DesChene

Photo Credit: Dr. Tierney Brosius

Photo Credit: Dr. Tierney Brosius

Photo Credit: Dr. Tierney Brosius

The professor is especially fond of watching these transformations happen in real-time, in the class she teaches for non-majors. These are students who often enroll in the hopes of simply snagging a required biology credit, but who leave with a newfound love for nature’s more chitinous creepy-crawlies. A few have gone so far as to become professional entomologists themselves.

“And I think that’s what’s so great about insects,” she says, “because it’s a great analogy for life: you can be a little tense and fearful, and it’s probably because you don’t know enough about it. Once you start to peel back the layers, that fear can fall away. And you’re left with appreciation and love.”

The post Scientist ‘Dr. Beetle’ Uses Art to Talk About Insect Ecology, Conservation appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Photo Credit: Asa Featherstone, IV

The residency was a month-long, open-ended practice designed to give artists time and space to explore the town and build new work for an exhibition.

I wanted to be intentional—making work that didn’t feel voyeuristic, but created for and with the community in mind. I saw space to highlight voices of Black and brown residents whose lives shape this place in quiet, vital ways.

As a photographer drawn to overlooked stories, I created Between Us, a photo-based project made up of instant film portraits and recorded interviews. Rather than chasing big moments, I was drawn to the everyday: neighbors chatting, artists working, people carving out space for one another. Instant film felt like the right format—warm, imperfect, and deeply human. I wanted it to feel real.

Because this wasn’t a community I was familiar with, building trust was important. Before arriving, I spent weeks calling residents, learning about their ties to the town. Once I got there, I spent time interviewing 15 residents from different walks of life.

Two conversations, in particular, stayed with me.

Huey Metropolis

Huey Metropolis is a multimedia artist originally from Chicago, Illinois, who draws heavily from basketball and street culture in his work. His artist name, “Metropolis,” is a nod to both comic books and love of music.

Photo Credit: Asa Featherstone, IV

Photo Credit: Asa Featherstone, IV

We talked about his early relationship with art, what he hopes to accomplish, and how he ended up in Champaign-Urbana. He also spoke candidly about how his perception of the town has evolved over time.

“I’m not going to lie, this place felt kind of boring to me when I first moved here. It was one of the first times (coming from Chicago) that I really felt like I was a minority. My dad is an alum from this school, so I wanted to give it a chance,” he said.

“Over time, it grew on me. I learned that Champaign-Urbana is like a time capsule.” The artist explained: “The music, the styles—it doesn’t feel like 2025. Being a college town, it doesn’t feel real in a way. It isn’t as fast-paced as a larger city and somewhat removed from reality…

In all honesty, that’s changed me for the better. Being in the city, I was always moving on to the next thing, trying to progress as an artist and getting ahead of myself, but being here has forced me to slow down and enjoy each moment.”

Shannon McFarland

Later that week, I walked through McFarland Field with Shannon McFarland, a local leader focused on youth empowerment through sports, media, and education. The newly renovated park is named after her family, honoring their long-standing contributions to the town.

Photo Credit: Asa Featherstone, IV

Photo Credit: Asa Featherstone, IV

Shannon’s perspective stood out to me because her work is independent of the university, yet she’s actively shaping the town’s future through her focus on youth.

Her vision for the town is grounded in equity and growth. She runs youth programs that combine recreational sports with STEM and tech workshops in collaboration with local libraries and community centers.

“There’s still a ton of inequality… but there’s time. I just want there to be space—for change, even if not everyone understands it,” she said.

These stories—along with many others from the residency—culminated in a final exhibition wall: a collage of photographs and excerpts from interviews. The resulting portrait of Champaign-Urbana honored its nuance, inviting residents, both inside and outside the university bubble, to see their home through one another’s eyes.

The post When a Community Shares Its Stories with a Photographer appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Chicago has been the world’s pinball epicenter ever since the game’s first heyday in the 1940s, when over 150 pinball machine makers existed.

Most manufacturers closed shop by the late nineties. But today, major companies like Stern Pinball, Chicago Gaming Company, and American Pinball continue to make machines in the Windy City.

And Midwestern artists are at the center of the action, creating games that blend story and art.

A Collaborative Craft

Photo Credit: Stern Pinball

Jeremy “Zombie Yeti” Packer, an Indiana native, never expected to work in pinball.

He went from studying design in Ohio to creating gig posters and building an online following under his undead alias. By 2011, he was creating his first pinball art for a zombie-themed machine and never looked back.

Today, Packer is a legend in the pinball world. The 40+ machines under his belt include some of the internet’s top-ranked games of all time, like Godzilla, Deadpool, and Foo Fighters.

Creating pinball art requires fast deadlines and intense collaboration. Artists often have just a few months—or even weeks—to deliver full cabinet, playfield, and backglass designs, working alongside mechanical engineers, electricians, and game designers.

Packer says it’s high-pressure, but high-reward.

“I love the fact that it’s so many pieces coming together to make one thing. It becomes something more than the sum of its parts,” says Packer.

He’s now the art director at Chicago’s Stern Pinball, the oldest and largest designer and manufacturer of pinball games.

In his new role, he’s focused on opening doors for other artists.

“My goal is to allow artists that maybe didn’t know they would be good at this, have the opportunity and hopefully excel at it,” he says.

Photo Credit: Stern Pinball

Photo Credit: Stern Pinball

Photo Credit: Stern Pinball

Photo Credit: Stern Pinball

Playable, Tactile Art

Photo Credit: Stern Pinball

Chicago illustrator Vincent Proce is one such artist.

Known for his work in animation, concept art, and creature design, he recently illustrated his first machine for Stern: Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye.

He was fascinated by the process and how his illustration impacted gameplay.

“In a pinball machine, the art is kind of meant as a distraction, something to draw you in and draw your eye away from where the ball is,” he explains.

Working on this project gave him a deeper appreciation for pinball’s tactile nature.

“If you’ve ever seen the inside of a pinball machine factory, there are human beings screwing those screws in and attaching those wires… it is the most glorious, beautiful thing to see in 2025,” he says.

In a world increasingly shaped by automation, pinball is having a renaissance. Pinball bars are popping up across the Midwest. Local leagues are growing. Collectors are buying more machines than ever.

And Proce thinks that art has a lot to do with pinball’s comeback.

“Art in general is being mechanized now. It’s being threatened in so many ways. But pinball is all hand-drawn stuff. It’s not generated by anything,” Proce says. “Pinball really appreciates the artist, and the fans appreciate it too.”

And as long as the ball’s still in play, these artists are making sure pinball remains a visual thrill.

The post The Midwestern Artists Powering Pinball’s Comeback appeared first on Arts Midwest.

This is about creative reuse centers—about scrappiness, affordable art, and putting the word “trash” to bed. 

With over 100 “art thrift stores” across the U.S., the Midwest is home to nearly a quarter of them. 

One of these locales has been around for three decades in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Photo Credit: Courtesy Anne Sawyer, ArtStart

Inside ArtScraps ReUse Center are bins—on bins on bins (did we mention bins?)—of yarn, paint, and toilet paper tubes. We’re talking brushes, beads, and bottle caps. The holy grail: 

“Getting people to think outside the box when they think of art making,” says director Anne Sawyer. “And you’re also getting people to think a little bit more about where the things that they’re buying come from.” 

These donation-based stores typically take gently used art supplies, whether traditional or unorthodox, and resell them as-is or rework them into sellable kits. 

Photo Credit: Courtesy Anne Sawyer, ArtStart

Then, let the creativity begin.

“You can walk in there and even if you’re not a trained artist, I think you can get inspired … And that’s what it’s all about. We want everybody to make art and have fun doing it and do it in an environmentally friendly way, if possible,” Sawyer says.

This earth consciousness is major for the Idea Store in Urbana, Illinois. It accepts items most would toss out—bread ties, those mesh bags that hold oranges, or postage stamps.

Collectively, the Idea Store diverted 1,500 pounds of trash—no, treasure!—in just four days. Last year, it took in 64,000 pounds of materials that could have ended up at the dump.

“The more we can help people to see ways of reusing and reducing consumption, the better,” says store president Annie McManus. “I think this is sort of coming back to that time where people utilized all the aspects of something in as many ways possible, in a way of both frugality … as well as the environment.” 

We’ve got inspiration; we’ve got sustainability.  

For Kim Geiser, her reuse store is about those, yes—but it’s also majorly about fun. 

After all, she’s the founder and director of the joyfully named Hello Happiness in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Geiser wants the third space to feel like Walt Disney World—magical and immersive—without that price tag (most things in the store are under a dollar.) 

“It’s more than a thrift store,” she says. “I really wanted to create a space where people could be creative … fully themselves without the cost restrictions … and embrace what makes them a little weirder than the rest of us.” 

Photo Credit: Courtesy Anne Sawyer, ArtStart

Shopkeeper Tips for Opening a Creative Reuse Store

The post Midwestern Reuse Stores Inspire Creativity and Sustainability  appeared first on Arts Midwest.