Show Notes
In this episode of The Localist podcast, host Carrie Rollwagen sits down with Blakely O’Connor, the Harvard-trained engineer who left academia to open The Craft Room, a creative reuse store in West Homewood, Birmingham. The Craft Room collects donated arts and craft supplies from the community and resells them at affordable prices, while also serving as a drop-in maker space, weekend workshop venue, and private event destination.
Blakely shares how The Craft Room came to life, why she believes having your hands busy is one of the most reliable ways to build genuine connection, how she manages an inventory she can never fully predict, what went into the decision to run a for-profit business instead of a nonprofit, and what it actually felt like to step away from a PhD research career at Harvard to open a secondhand craft shop in her own neighborhood.
Topics Covered in This Episode
- How to donate supplies, drop in to craft, book a workshop or host a private event at The Craft Room
- What a creative reuse store is and how The Craft Room sources and organizes donated inventory
- Why having your hands busy during a gathering makes conversation easier and connection more natural
- How The Craft Room balances looking organized with feeling approachable enough to touch
- Why Blakely chose to run The Craft Room as a for-profit small business rather than a nonprofit
- What a B Corp designation means and why it appeals to a values-driven business like The Craft Room
- How events became a core part of the business model and how the community helps shape the calendar
- The sweet spot for promoting events on social media: why two weeks out tends to work best
- Why doing your own social media can actually be an advantage as a small business owner
- What it felt like to walk away from a Harvard PhD career and rebuild an identity around a small shop
Connect with The Craft Room
The Craft Room is a creative reuse store in West Homewood, Birmingham. They sell secondhand arts and craft supplies at thrifty prices, host drop-in crafting, workshops and private events, and operate as a creative third space for the community.
Website: https://www.thecraftroom.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecraftroomhwd/
Mentioned in This Episode
- Nexus Fitness (West Homewood) https://nexusfitness.com
- The Craft Room https://www.thecraftroom.co
- The Craft Room donation guide https://www.thecraftroom.co
- Seeds Coffee Co. (West Homewood neighbor) https://seedscoffee.com
- Turnip Green Creative Reuse (Nashville) https://turnipgreencreativereuse.org
- Scrap ATL (Atlanta) https://scrapatl.com
- Make and Mend (Boston area) https://makeandmend.org
- Seattle Recreative https://www.seattlerecreative.org
Follow Carrie Rollwagen
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crollwagen
Website: https://www.carrierollwagen.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/crollwagen
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@crollwagen
Listen to The Localist on Spotify & Apple Podcasts
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/01dHWZxkHaguyawbXzrzwU
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-localist-with-carrie-rollwagen/id1482221936
Thanks to Our Sponsor, Infomedia
The Localist is sponsored by Infomedia, a Birmingham-based web and digital marketing company that helps small businesses get big results online.
Contact Infomedia: https://infomedia.com/contact
Join Us at Localist Lab
Localist Lab is our free live marketing event series for small business owners, held on the third Thursday of most months at Saturn in Avondale. Each session features practical strategies you can use right away, plus free tacos and coffee.
See upcoming events and register https://infomedia.com/events
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