An invitation from our volunteer Willem for the grand opening of his project - Lil' Reuse:
Dear friends,
Lil' Reuse under construction
Just some of the many great finds I've made at Big Reuse...too bad I couldn't find space in my apartment for the antique pump organ.
My oma enjoying a well-deserved cup of coffee, circa late 2010s
Won't you please make a lil' donation to Big Reuse?
I am excited to invite you to the grand opening of Lil' Reuse, a miniature shop-within-a-shop I am building inside Big Reuse, this coming Saturday, February 3 at noon.
Lil' Reuse under construction
Big Reuse is a nonprofit thrift store in Brooklyn and its mission is to divert as much stuff as possible from landfill—furniture, clothing, books, paint, reclaimed lumber, picture frames, church pews, personal-sized casserole dishes (see below), you name it. After patronizing Big Reuse for years as a customer, I started volunteering there during a two month leave of absence from my day job. The experience has been life-changing in many ways, some of them easy to articulate and others less so (ask me about it next time we meet in person).
Just some of the many great finds I've made at Big Reuse...too bad I couldn't find space in my apartment for the antique pump organ.
Some of you may know that shop design runs in my family, so it feels fulfilling to carry on the tradition with this project. My oma Sigrid, who passed in 2019, got a degree in shop window design (or schaufenstergestaltung) in her native Germany and my uncle Chris designed avant-garde shop windows in Winnipeg and Toronto in the 80s and 90s.
My oma enjoying a well-deserved cup of coffee, circa late 2010s
If you're not able to make it to the opening and haven't yet been to Big Reuse, check it out another time (my normal shift is on Friday afternoons if you'd like to come say hello) or consider donating to support their mission. Big Reuse's grant funding was cut off in the wake of Eric Adams's recent budget cuts, so donations of money are particularly helpful at this moment.
Won't you please make a lil' donation to Big Reuse?
See you on Saturday!
-Willem