Wherever I travel, I like to look for people doing creative reuse. Here’s my running list of people I want to meet for when I travel. The keywords I use when searching for these people are creative recycling, fiber art or folk art center, school of crafts, scrap, textile center and upcycled.

EVENTS IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

• Maker Faire – All over the world
• Renegade Craft Fair – “Indie” craft fairs

ALABAMA

• Alabama Chanin – Organic cotton design awesomeness – in Florence

ARGENTINA

• Botito Ecoguardian – Plastic robots from caps and other packaging – in Carmen
• Fabiana Gadano – jewelry from recycled plastic bottles – in Buenos Aires

AUSTRALIA

• Afloat by Recolab – Bags from up-cycled boat sails, abandoned festival tents
• Sean Avery – Animal sculptures from recycled CDs – in Perth
• Craft School Oz – Ruth Woods – craft classes, especially coiled baskets- in Amsterdam
• Ministry of Handmade – Handmade skills with a modern twist – in Brisbane
• Reverse Garbage Queensland – Creative reuse center – in Woolloongabba
• Textile Beat, Jane Milburn – Slow Clothing author, TEDx speaker – in Toowong

BRITISH COLUMBIA

• Hine Mizushima – Crafter who makes incredible felt creatures – in Vancouver
• Nadine Flagel – Rug hooking artist – in Vancouver
• Our Social Fabric – deadstock fabric rescue organization – in Vancouver
• Sans Soucie Textiles – Clothing & art from recycled hosiery by Katherine Soucie – in Vancouver

CALIFORNIA

• A Place to Grow – Greenhouses from recycled windows & building supplies – in San Luis Obispo
• Bolt Threads – Make a leather-like material from mycelium – in Emeryville
• Camp Couture – Classes to make clothing from recycled materials – in San Mateo
• Chimera Arts and Maker Space – A maker space – in Sebastopol
• Couch Guitar Straps – Guitar straps & wallets from recycled seat belts – in Long Beach
• East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse – creative reuse center – in Oakland
• The Ecology Center – Ecology activities like farm tours & community meals – in San Juan Capistrano
• FabMo – Rescue designer fabric scraps and host events for designers – in Sunnyvale
• Fallen Fruit – Mapping fruit tree locations on public lands
• Tess Felix – beach trash portrait artist – in Stinson Beach
• Maranoni – Quilter and home goods designer Lorena Marañon – in Los Angeles
• Mariana Nelson – creative reuse artists focusing on plastic, rope, thread – in Laguna Beach
• Marty Ornish – Wearable art – in San Diego
• Recology – Waste management facility artist-in-residence program – in San Francisco
• Re-Create – Thrift store & studio, children’s creative reuse programs – in Rocklin
• Rediscover Center – Connecting educators with recycled materials – in Los Angeles
• Ruth’s Table – Maker space – in San Francisco
• Scrap – The first of the “scrap” creative reuse centers – in San Francisco

CHILE

• Artenosanas – Art from recycled CDs by Vanessa Silva

COLORADO

• Green Guru Gear – Upcycled bicycle parts and climbing ropes – in Boulder
• Moore Family Folk Art – metal bottle cap and aluminum can art – in Denver
• Repurposed Materials – America’s largest industrial thrift store – in Henderson
• The Makerie – In-person and online artist retreats – in Boulder

CONNECTICUT

• KZStevens (Karen Stevens) – Fiber artist – in Kent

DENMARK

• Thomas Dambo – Wood and plastics artist – in Copenhagen – b

GERMANY

• SirPlus – Grocery store that specializes in diverting food waste – in Berlin

HAWAII

• Nurdle in the Rough, Kat Crabill – Jewelry from marine debris
• Upcycle Hawaii, Mattie Mae Larson – Wallets, jewelry, pouches from inner tubes & fused plastic – in Hilo

ILLINOIS

• Community Art Cart – encourages people to create art carts of recycled craft materials, like the Little Free Library movement – in northern Illinois
• Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange – Lots of cool resources such as urban farming – in Chicago
• Urban Growers Collective – Teaches urban farming – Will and Erika Allen – in Chicago

INDIANA

• Sayaka Ganz – a recycling artist in Fort Wayne

JAPAN

• Chinami Mori – a weaver (1000wave)
• The town of Kamikatsu – I would love to visit this town which produces almost no waste
• Natsumi Tomita – Animal and people sculptor from recycled materials

MAINE

• A Gathering of Stitches – Maker space for fiber and textile artists – in Portland
• One Woman Studio – Skirts from recycled t-shirts and other recycled fibers – in Ellsworth
• Parris House Wool Works – rug hooking artist Beth Miller in South Paris
• Weaving a Life – Susan Barrett Merrill teaches people to be weaving instructors – in Brookville

MARYLAND

• Broken Plates Pendant Company – Jewelry from broken plates – in Baltimore
• Cotton Monster, Jennifer Strunge – Monster toys from recycled clothing – in Baltimore
• In-jeen-yuhs – Creative reuse art – in Olney
• ManneqART – Wearable art contest – in Laurel
• Scrap B-More – Creative reuse center – in Baltimore

MASSACHUSETTS

• Gather Here Stitch Lounge – Maker space for fiber artists – in Cambridge
• The Beautiful Stuff Project – free materials for creative reuse by teachers & students – in Somerville
• Rubbish to Runway – a trash fashion show – in Groveland
• Sharon McCartney – Fiber artist – in Belcherville
• Swanson’s Fabric – Creative reuse store for fabric by Kathryn Swanson – in Turner Falls

MICHIGAN

• Ability Weavers – A weaving workshop – in Lowell
• Arts and Scraps – Maker space / creative reuse center – in Detroit
• Figjam Studio – Creative reuse artist Kerry Heath – in Coldwater
• Scrap Creative Reuse – Creative reuse center – in Ann Arbor

MINNESOTA

• Creative Chicks Cafe and the Old School Art Studio – Creative collaboration – in Afton
• Indigenous Food Lab – in Minneapolis
• Textile Center of Minnesota – Wonderful classes – in Minneapolis

MISSOURI

• Perennial Community Workshop using all salvaged materials – in St. Louis

NEWFOUNDLAND

• Norton’s Cove Studio – Janet Davis’ studio – Hooked rugs – in Brookfield

NEW HAMPSHIRE

• Dorr Mill Store – Source for rug hooking artists – in Newport

NEW JERSEY

• Lisa Bagwell – Plastic assemblage sculptures – in Red Bank
• dordesign – Furniture from recycled billboards – in Rumson
• Peters Valley School of Craft – Craft classes – In Layton
• Terracycle – Innovators in recycling/upcycling – in Trenton

NEW YORK

• Adirondack Folk School – Craft classes – in Lake Luzerne
• Aurora Robson – Plastic artist and teacher – in the Hudson Valley
• Ken Butler – Hybrid Luthery – makes instruments from recycled materials in Brooklyn
• Cindy Pease Roe – Sculptor who makes marine life from beach trash – in Greenport
• Crazy As A Loom – Weaving school & recycled fiber artist – in Glens Falls
• Elle.Ewaste, Marcele Godoy – Necklaces from recycled computer cables – in Brooklyn
• FabScrap – textile waste recycler in Brooklyn
• Finger Lakes Re-Use – ReUse Art Show & creative reuse center – in Ithaca
• Glenn Fischer – Geometric designs from recycled papers – in the Hudson Valley
• GrowNYC – Community events to reduce waste – in NYC
• Katrina Rodabaugh – slow fashion activist – in the Hudson Valley
• Lexy Ho-Tai – Monsters from recycled materials, community art and murals – in Queens
• Materials for the Arts – Run by the New York Department of Cultural Affairs – in NYC
• Nic Annette Miller – salmon and bats, fish market – in Brooklyn
• Textile Arts Center – Fiber classes – in Brooklyn & Manhattan

NORTH CAROLINA

• John C. Campbell Folk School – Folk art retreats – in Brasstown
• Paperhand Puppet Intervention – Giant puppets – in Saxapahaw
• Penland School of Crafts – Folk art retreats – in Penland
• Scrap Exchange – Creative reuse center – in Durham

NOVA SCOTIA

• Lunenberg Makery – Maker Space – in Lunenburg
• Martine Vermeulen – She makes collages from recycled linoleum – in Port Medway
• Trainyard Store – Artists from across Nova Scotia – in Dartmouth – Here’s my podcast episode about creative reuse in Nova Scotia.

OHIO

• Art Grange – Michelle Stitzlein, queen of plastic caps and one of my favorite artists – in Baltimore
• Indigo Hippo – Art supply creative reuse center – in Cincinnati
• Sherri Lynn Wood – Creative reuse improvisational fiber artist- in Cincinnati
• Upcycle Parts Shop – creative reuse center – in Cleveland
• Zero Landfill Cleveland – upcycling program for artists and art educators – in Cleveland

OREGON

• Dropcloth – Embroidery innovator Rebecca Ringquist – in Portland
• MECCA or Materials Exchange Center for the Creative Arts – in Eugene
• Scrap Portland – Creative Reuse Center – in Portland

PENNSYLVANIA

• Lydia Ricci – Tiny sculptures of everyday items from found objects – in Philadelphia
• Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens – Mosaics made from amazing things
• Pittsburgh’s Center for Creative Reuse – Creative reuse center – in Pittsburgh
• Resource Exchange – Creative reuse center – in Philadelphia
• Jennifer Savo – license plate art

SWEDEN

• Johanna Törnqvist – trash fashion artist, designed necklaces from blister packs
• ReTuna Återbruksgalleria – check about my podcast about this shopping mall with all recycled products

TENNESSEE

• Churp Modern, Matt Estrada – Awesome birdhouses in Murfreesboro
• Salvage Goods – amazing bags made from recycled seatbelts – in Nashville
• Turnip Green Creative Reuse – in Nashville, creative reuse center

TEXAS

• Austin Creative Reuse – Creative reuse centers – in Austin
• Texas Art Asylum – Creative reuse center – in Houston

UNITED KINGDOM

• Institute of Making – annual Festival of Stuff in the summer – in London
• Joining Bottles – Micaella Pedros uses a heat gun to melt plastic bottles so they connect pieces of wood and other items to make furniture
• Pillar Box Blue, Claire Armstrong – Upcycling crafter in Bedford
• Reclaim Bags – Made from recycled rubber by Sophie Postma
• Rehash Panache, Bee Yasko – lighting made from recycled materials – in Hebden Bridge
• Michelle Costello – Smartie Lids on the Beach – She makes art from trash she finds on the beach.

UTAH

• Clever Octopus Creative Reuse – in Murray

VERMONT

• Amy Oxford, Oxford Rug Hooking School – Maker of the super-popular punch needle – in Cornwall

VIRGINIA

• ArlingtonWeaves – a weaving workshop – in Arlington

WASHINGTON

• Art Salvage – Creative reuse center – in Spokane
• Seattle ReCreative – Creative reuse store and artist studio – in Seattle