ReClaim It: A Reuse Store for Art and Craft Supplies

If you make things with your hands and hate seeing usable materials end up in the trash, ReClaim It is worth knowing about. It is a nonprofit arts and reuse store in North Portland, operating under the legal name Cracked Pots. Its motto is "Reuse, Repair, Reimagine," and that sums up the idea: keep reusable materials out of the landfill and get them into the hands of artists, neighbors, and do-it-yourselfers.

Most of the stock comes from the Metro Central Transfer Station, where volunteers work with Recology to gather wood, metal, and vintage goods. Back at the store, volunteers clean and repair items before they go out on the floor. The range is wide. You can find furniture and home decor, garden supplies, hand tools and hardware, lumber and metal, art supplies and craft materials, fabric, yarn and sewing notions, and one-of-a-kind oddities and antiques. If you are looking for craft materials, the art supplies, fabric and yarn are the sections to check. Several Google reviewers mention the low prices, and one of the store's features is its community space, where neighbors and artists are invited to show work at art shows and events.

The store has a 4.7 out of 5 rating from 346 Google reviews. Customers praise the low prices, the helpful volunteers, the community space and the trash panda shrine, a display that reviewers single out. One reviewer described it as "a household thrift store on steroids - in a good way." The organization also has a history with art. It ran its Reuse Art Show for twenty years at McMenamins Edgefield, starting in 2000 after beginning in a garden in 1998 with eight artists. The show grew to more than 100 reuse artists before it ended in 2019. According to the store, since 2014 volunteers and staff have saved 1,397,438 pounds of reusable materials and returned them to the community.

The current store is at 1 N Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97217, and you can call 503.866.7855. It is open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 12 to 5 pm, and Friday and Saturday from 12 to 6 pm. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so it is closed today. The store is moving to 710 NW 17th Ave, at the corner of NW 17th and Irving. Construction for the new space is expected to start soon, and the group hopes to open to the public by the end of November 2026, so it is a good idea to check before you make the trip.

If you want to donate, know that most donations have been on hold since September 14 until the move. The exceptions are drop-in donations of art supplies, fabric and yarn. All donations must be approved in advance by emailing materials@reclaimitpdx.org, and the store does not accept donations on Thursdays. It does not take appliances, electronics, household goods, mattresses, clothing, bicycles, pianos, paperback books or plastic children's toys. The online store at reclaimitpdx.org is pick-up only.