Crafty new thrift store and creative space coming to downtown Rockford
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A new thrift shop coming to downtown sets out to be your source for affordable arts and crafts supplies while providing a creative space for you to fashion your own works of art.
The Scrap Jar, 324 E. State St., is billed as a creative reuse center, where you can shop for fabric, painting supplies, clay, yarn, stationery and a host of other do-it-yourself tools for arts and crafts. The east end of the business will become a creative space for workshops, craft clubs, maker markets and other events centered around arts.
“My dream for The Scrap Jar is for it to be a place where people can come be creative while also encouraging people to do their part to be sustainable and help the planet,” said Angela Martinez, a Rockfordian who owns the business. “The goal is to get things out of the waste stream, encourage reuse where possible and also make hobbies like arts and crafts more affordable and accessible for people.”
Martinez hopes to open the retail side of the business in time for Spring ArtScene, which is slated for April 25 and 26. The event space would open this summer.
The Scrap Jar fills the Urban Equity Properties-owned space that most recently housed JuJu Rey’s Art Clubhouse, a youth-centered art and play business that closed this past summer after a year in business. Before that, the space was home to Bath & Body Fusion, which relocated to Byron.
The new thrift shop is next door to a S’mores Collectibles & Vintage, an old-school toy and memorabilia shop, and two doors down from SRM Prints, an aritst-owned stationery and gift shop.
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Martinez, a former biology teacher at Guilford High School and Keith Country Day School, envisions The Scrap Jar as both a place to shop and a gathering spot for artists and makers to inspire one another.
She says the event space could eventually include classes led by guest artists, poetry nights and a host of other uses centered on crafts and creativity.
“The goal is to have a cozy, welcoming third space for people to come hang out,” she said. “Be creative, be sustainable and also foster that sense of community.”
Martinez is a 2012 graduate of Keith Country Day School who went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in biology from Rockford University, where she later earned a master’s degree in arts and teaching. She also worked as a voice and youth theater teacher for The Studio Rockford, a locally-owned theater company. This is her first foray into business for herself.
The shop accepts donations of gently used supplies, which it then sorts and stocks into its retail store for secondhand shopping. Martinez plans to offer a donor reward program, and she said there will be a teachers supply corner and discount program to give back to educators.
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The initial hours aren’t set yet, but Martinez said it will likely start with hours that match neighboring businesses with a goal to grow into a seven-days-per-week operation.
“It’s hard for people to make this their first choice when it’s not as easy as a big box store, which are open all the time,” she said. “I’d like to be able to offer that as a small business to encourage people — downtown is a place you can come and consistently find something you need.”
Martinez is accepting donations now as she prepares the retail space. You can contact her by email to arrange a donation.
Follow | The Scrap Jar
Location: 324 E. State St., Rockford
Opening: The goal is to open by late April
On Facebook: @thescrapjar
On Instagram: @thescrapjar
Email: scrapjar.shop@gmail.com
Website: scrapjar.com (Coming soon)
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
