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For Humboldt makers and crafters, especially those who prefer upcycling materials, it was a sad day when beloved creative reuse store SCRAP Humboldt closed its doors. But now a new space is opening up in Old Town to fill the hole left in our hearts. 

Makers Apron – a new creative reuse center led by Kati Moulton, Eureka City Councilmember, former SCRAP director and Kinetic royalty (known to many as Kati Texas) – will soon open at 317 E Street in Old Town Eureka, selling the same types of reusable supplies that SCRAP did. 

“It’s definitely a spiritual successor to SCRAP,” Moulton told the Outpost on Thursday, as she was readying the space to open during this Saturday’s Arts Alive. 

For those who may not be familiar with SCRAP Humboldt, it was a nonprofit that carried donated items – including yarn, fabric, paints, picture frames, postcards and all sorts of random trinkets – that people could use for art, crafts or anything that they could think of! Creative reuse, also known as upcycling or repurposing, aims to reduce waste by encouraging people to find a new use for items that might ordinarily be thrown into the landfill, while also helping creative types find materials that fit into their budget. 

Kati Moulton inside the new Maker’s Apron space

When SCRAP permanently closed its doors in July, 2020, Moulton had the idea to start another reuse center to fill the need in the community. SCRAP donated some items to Moulton to help with her effort and she purchased some of SCRAP’s items too. But it was a difficult process trying things going right away (you know, a global pandemic and all that.) Luckily, Recology offered to store the stuff for Moulton and has been holding on to it for the last two years. 

In 2021, Moulton was able to launch the Makers Apron nonprofit with help from the Ink People’s DreamMaker Program. Moulton then started fundraising to help cover the costs to open the storefront. Recently Moulton met her $3,000 goal and very recently — as in, earlier this week —she officially moved into the E Street space and Recology helped move the stuff over from storage. 

Moulton wants Makers Apron to be very similar to SCRAP, with the bulk of the inventory consisting of donated supplies. But Moulton also wants to feature upcycled products from local makers. Since Old Town gets a lot of tourism and holds events like Arts Alive, Moulton thinks it makes sense to have some pre-made items that people can purchase as gifts. She also plans to stock some new items – mostly tools, like embroidery needles or crochet hooks – so that people can find everything they need to start a project. SCRAP did not usually have many tools in stock, because people don’t donate them very often. 

Moulton also wants to focus a lot on education, and has been working with some local teachers to offer creative reuse classes and workshops at local schools, clubs and other community groups. There will also be workshops and workspaces for people to craft in the storefront location. 

Once the retail and education pieces are running smoothly, Moulton also wants to focus on “community redirection of waste,” she said, which consists of making connections with local businesses to help find a use for products that they might regularly throw away, either finding an individual or another business that wants it.  

If all goes to plan, Moulton expects Makers Apron to be up and running by the end of January.  Though Moulton isn’t ready to fully open the business yet, she wanted to have something going for the December Arts Alive. So she reached out to local makers who reuse materials and will be holding a crafts and gifts pop-up in the space this Saturday, Dec. 3. From 6 to 9 p.m. 

Moulton holding a chicken headband knitted by Esther Trosow

The featured makers will include Lifestyle Art by Jess, who makes shopping bags out of plarn (yarn made from plastic bags); Esther Trosow, who knits chicken headbands and other whimsical accessories from upcycled yarn; Q Crafted, which crafts knives and other utensils from scrap metal and wood; Put a Cork in It, which makes decorations out of wine corks, and more. 

Moulton is really looking forward to opening the space to the public and is excited for the Old Town location, which she thinks will get a lot more foot traffic than the old SCRAP location on south G Street in Arcata. 

“My heart is in Arts Alive, in Old Town and in the art community supporting each other,” Moulton told the Outpost. “We can reach a lot of different parts of the community from here, that I don’t think we could [by] the Arcata Marsh.”