On a recent Saturday, I visited Craft Raccoon, a newly opened store in Columbus. I am a big believer in keeping things out of landfills. Our recycling volume is twice our garbage volume every week. I often list things on “Buy Nothing Delaware” that can be reused by someone. A pile of cotton t-shirts and a stack of old curtains are waiting to be made into rag rugs. Read books go to The Bookshelf in Medina and other items head to Goodwill. I try to make sure that everything that can be used by anyone is kept out of the trash.
When I first heard about Craft Raccoon opening in Columbus, I was excited. Craft Raccoon is Goodwill for crafts. They take donations of craft items and resell them at a reasonable price so everyone can enjoy crafting. Their full name is Craft Raccoon Creative Reuse and Community Studio. Their website states: “Craft Raccoon is a center for creativity, abundance, and reuse in Columbus Ohio. Our purpose is to save art and craft supplies from the landfill and provide them to people at a reasonable cost; encourage creativity and making; and inspire.”
Craft Raccoon is located just south of German Village on High Street. Being south of downtown Columbus, it isn’t an area I visit frequently. But now that Craft Raccoon has been open for a little while, I wanted to see how they were doing and what kinds of things they carry. I also had a small bag of weaving yarn that I had purchased and knew I would never use. When I ordered it online, I ordered “orange” thinking it would be a normal orange color. Instead, it was four cones of brilliant, fluorescent, hunter orange. Not a color I am ever going to use in my weaving. But also not worth sending back to the place I bought it. I could donate it to Craft Raccoon!
The little Craft Raccoon shop with its cheerful bright blue facade was packed with craft items and people. I was there on a Saturday morning, so it is probably the busiest day of the week, but there were lots of people browsing. There was a big table in the back and several women were sitting at it. One was knitting and another was doing orgami. I gave my cones of yarn to the woman behind the desk and she was delighted with the donation. She said she was sure someone would love it. Having handed in my donation, I took some time to look around.
Wandering around Craft Raccoon is like going on a treasure hunt. You just don’t know what you will find. There was a selection of yarn and another of fabric. I found a couple of rolls that I can use for my Jelly Roll Placemats. They were about 2/3 of the price that I usually pay for them. There was a bin of buttons and you could buy buttons by the scoop. They had a good selection of knitting needles and thread. There were paint supplies and craft books.
In addition to all kinds of new and gently used craft supplies, Craft Raccoon offers a large variety of classes. Jewelry making, felting, crocheting, knitting, sewing, paper crafts – all of them have their times. You can also become a member of the studio, which gets you a special members’ brunch on Saturdays and 10% off supplies and classes. I considered a membership, but at $15 to $60 a month, it seemed a little steep. You do not have to be a member to enjoy what Craft Raccoon offers.
Dye Mad Yarns is next door to Craft Raccoon and is one of the yarn shops I have been wanting to visit. But they were closed on the Saturday I was there. They had gone to YarnCon in Chicago. Perhaps another time.
If you are a crafter, you should definitely check out Craft Raccoon. It is a fun and interesting shop and makes crafting supplies accessible to more people. Always a good thing. You may not find exactly what you are looking for, but I’m sure you will find something you want.