Full Transcript for RESALE

don't even know what to do with these or where 00:01:46.540 --> 00:01:49.459 to put them. Because no one's ever told me what 00:01:49.459 --> 00:01:52.829 to do with them once they're empty. Like an old 00:01:52.829 --> 00:01:55.769 CRT TV for sure because that seems like something 00:01:55.769 --> 00:01:57.730 that I can't just toss out. It's a little too 00:01:57.730 --> 00:02:00.349 heavy. There's probably some like toxic something 00:02:00.349 --> 00:02:03.290 somewhere in there, so that is for sure one of 00:02:03.290 --> 00:02:05.010 those. And I just moved, so it's currently sitting 00:02:05.010 --> 00:02:07.090 in my living room, useless, and I don't know 00:02:07.090 --> 00:02:12.310 where to go. A stuffed animal that I got from 00:02:12.310 --> 00:02:17.449 England when I was in high school, so like... 00:02:17.289 --> 00:02:19.469 years and years and years ago that I was just 00:02:19.469 --> 00:02:20.889 like I'm gonna get this because it's in England 00:02:20.889 --> 00:02:23.949 and now it's been sitting in my closet and I'm 00:02:23.949 --> 00:02:26.449 like I want to get rid of it because I got it 00:02:26.449 --> 00:02:29.050 in England but also what am I ever gonna do with 00:02:29.050 --> 00:02:35.069 this little stuffed animal? Nothing. I have so 00:02:35.069 --> 00:02:39.909 many like planters like ceramic pots for planters 00:02:39.909 --> 00:02:45.659 that I have like Amassed over the years thinking 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:48.039 that I will ever be able to take care of a plant 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:50.419 and I can't like they all just die So I just 00:02:50.419 --> 00:02:52.419 have like literally like how some people have 00:02:52.419 --> 00:02:55.800 like drawers full of drunk. I have like empty 00:02:55.800 --> 00:03:02.719 planters full of junk Probably like old t -shirts 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:05.060 jeans stuff like that. Yeah, cuz you're like, 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:08.699 oh I have such good memories, but yeah one of 00:03:08.699 --> 00:03:15.020 these fit me Even for folks who aren't familiar 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:17.219 with the circular economy or who don't really 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:20.300 even consider themselves to be green, those things 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:22.360 that they have stashed in the back of their closet 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:24.860 is a sign that they want to do better. They just 00:03:24.860 --> 00:03:29.199 don't know how. Welcome to the Circle Up podcast, 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:31.439 where we tell the stories of the circular economy 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:38.469 in Philadelphia. Well, so let's circle up. I'm 00:03:38.469 --> 00:03:40.469 Candice Lawton, the executive director of Circular 00:03:40.469 --> 00:03:42.490 Philadelphia. And I'm Sandwich Inn, one of the 00:03:42.490 --> 00:03:45.270 co -founders of Circular Philadelphia. The Circle 00:03:45.270 --> 00:03:47.969 Up podcast continues on its journey around the 00:03:47.969 --> 00:03:50.810 continuous loop of the circular economy. We've 00:03:50.810 --> 00:03:53.370 talked about recycling, both blue bin recycling 00:03:53.370 --> 00:03:56.050 and specialty recycling that's available in Philadelphia 00:03:56.050 --> 00:03:58.250 for everything that can't go into your curbside 00:03:58.250 --> 00:04:01.229 bin, back in our very first episode. Yep, and 00:04:01.229 --> 00:04:05.469 we also dug in, pun intended, to the recycling 00:04:05.469 --> 00:04:09.060 of food and organic waste. composting, where 00:04:09.060 --> 00:04:11.979 we do exactly what mother nature does and transforms 00:04:11.979 --> 00:04:15.099 food scraps, grass clippings, and leaves back 00:04:15.099 --> 00:04:18.399 into nutrients for soil and plants. And other 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:20.660 ways we can make our food system less wasteful 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:23.500 and more circular from how we cultivate, distribute, 00:04:23.879 --> 00:04:26.899 and enjoy food across grocers, restaurants, and 00:04:26.899 --> 00:04:29.060 what happens after. That's right. And now in 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:31.959 this episode, we'll talk about another critical 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:33.879 piece of enabling the highest and longest use 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:38.720 of goods, resale. Resale is one of the most tangible 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:40.939 and accessible ways people can participate in 00:04:40.939 --> 00:04:43.800 the circular economy. Whether it's vintage furniture, 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:46.740 art supplies, or pre -loved clothing, extending 00:04:46.740 --> 00:04:49.399 the life of products keeps materials in use and 00:04:49.399 --> 00:04:51.779 out of the landfill. And it's not just about 00:04:51.779 --> 00:04:54.360 buying and selling stuff. It's about community, 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:58.399 creativity, and rethinking value. Today we'll 00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:00.259 hear from organizations who are proving that 00:05:00.259 --> 00:05:03.300 resale can be both sustainable and stylish while 00:05:03.300 --> 00:05:05.920 strengthening our local economy. So grab your 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:08.740 reusable coffee cup and get ready to circle up 00:05:08.740 --> 00:05:11.120 because this is where old things find new life. 00:05:19.610 --> 00:05:22.410 So this gives you an idea of the types of materials 00:05:22.410 --> 00:05:28.170 that we save. This is the art zone, which is 00:05:28.170 --> 00:05:32.689 everything from pictures and framing and supplies, 00:05:33.029 --> 00:05:38.250 photography. The range is endless, paints, inks. 00:05:40.350 --> 00:05:42.370 My name is Karen Jared, and I'm the executive 00:05:42.370 --> 00:05:45.350 director here at the Resource Exchange. The Resource 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:48.149 Exchange is a creative reuse center. And what 00:05:48.149 --> 00:05:50.350 that essentially means is that we save all manner 00:05:50.350 --> 00:05:53.269 of materials for reuse from the community, from 00:05:53.269 --> 00:05:57.649 local businesses, anything from glitter to 2x4s.

00:05:57.850 --> 00:05:59.509 It's kind of a wide range of materials and then 00:05:59.509 --> 00:06:01.610 we try to get that back out into the community 00:06:01.610 --> 00:06:10.610 for reuse. Pencils. Cork. It really changes all 00:06:10.610 --> 00:06:12.750 the time. You never really know what's going 00:06:12.750 --> 00:06:14.750 to come through our door, but once you take a 00:06:14.750 --> 00:06:17.160 look around and see... Just the sheer volume 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:19.300 of it is amazing to keep in mind that it's all 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:21.879 donated, that we don't buy anything, and that 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:25.680 there's so much material to source and use from 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:27.439 here that it just comes from folk studios when 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:29.100 they don't need them anymore or don't use them 00:06:29.100 --> 00:06:31.879 all. So it's constantly changing supply of stuff 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:39.660 to make stuff. Back in 2008, I wrote the film 00:06:39.660 --> 00:06:42.600 productions sets guide, which was a sustainability 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:46.230 in shooting film in this region. Short -term 00:06:46.230 --> 00:06:49.410 productions, whether it's theater, film, or studio 00:06:49.410 --> 00:06:51.350 productions, event productions, they often have 00:06:51.350 --> 00:06:54.129 long -term consequences that you don't really 00:06:54.129 --> 00:06:56.029 think about unless you're in that business and 00:06:56.029 --> 00:06:58.290 know the sort of behind -the -scenes part. So 00:06:58.290 --> 00:07:02.290 I love movies and have always been a bit of a 00:07:02.290 --> 00:07:04.730 movie freak, but until I started working in the 00:07:04.730 --> 00:07:06.370 business, I wouldn't have known the sheer amount 00:07:06.370 --> 00:07:12.000 of waste that is in that industry. whole buildings 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.040 will be constructed for just a few shots, and 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:17.399 then at the end of the shot, all of it taken 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:19.839 down. All of those building materials, all of 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:24.500 the sets, the furniture used to all get thrown 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:30.040 away. This was the train car from White Christmas 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:33.600 at the Walnut Street Theater, I guess 15 years 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:40.160 ago now. And it's just... It's a good visual 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:42.660 cue. It now houses all kinds of, you know, uniques. 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:45.319 It's a great, like, space in our shop for people 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:48.759 to find unique finds. But we wanted to keep the 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:52.139 scenery itself because, again, I think just to 00:07:52.139 --> 00:07:54.939 give people the visual, the physical, you know, 00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:57.439 visceral understanding of just the sheer amount 00:07:57.439 --> 00:07:59.519 of this stuff that actually gets thrown into 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:01.879 a dumpster and the scale of it, you know. This 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:05.819 was just one scene in one play many, many years 00:08:05.819 --> 00:08:11.779 ago. So the SETS guide was really trying to make 00:08:11.779 --> 00:08:14.319 a couple of very important points. The first 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:17.259 was that all of this reuse and recycling that 00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:19.079 happened then, and I think to some extent still 00:08:19.079 --> 00:08:22.480 does, is crew level. It happens from the crew. 00:08:22.899 --> 00:08:25.720 It's the folks who are on the ground making the 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:28.509 shots. And what really needs to happen is there 00:08:28.509 --> 00:08:33.110 has to be more of a top -down mandate and a budgetary, 00:08:33.110 --> 00:08:35.389 you know, budgetary considerations again from 00:08:35.389 --> 00:08:38.370 the very beginning to think about how the entirety 00:08:38.370 --> 00:08:40.870 of the production from the beginning of sourcing 00:08:40.870 --> 00:08:43.350 the materials to the end when they're, you know, 00:08:43.490 --> 00:08:45.169 unfortunately disposing of the materials, how 00:08:45.169 --> 00:08:47.870 to save more of them, how to design in a more 00:08:47.870 --> 00:08:50.269 circular way. You know, that's why I quit the 00:08:50.269 --> 00:08:53.779 business. I mean I was in it for 10 years and 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:56.720 just year after year of just watching those dumpsters 00:08:56.720 --> 00:08:59.039 roll on out and I just thought like this is not 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:00.720 a problem I want to continue to be part of but 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:07.279 it's a tough one. But again, the majority of 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:10.019 the guide was also about local resources, about 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:12.519 instead of dumpstering them, where can this material 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:14.960 be recycled? Where can it be donated? Where are 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:17.360 the local places that exist that you can take 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:19.200 those things at the end of the production and 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:21.179 get them back into the community at low cost 00:09:21.179 --> 00:09:24.700 instead of just into 40 -yard dumpsters? And 00:09:24.700 --> 00:09:27.220 then after that, after writing the guide, I realized 00:09:27.220 --> 00:09:30.009 they're really... was not a lot of infrastructure 00:09:30.009 --> 00:09:31.629 for the stuff that I was recommending that folks 00:09:31.629 --> 00:09:35.350 do. This was quite a long time ago. Also, I lived 00:09:35.350 --> 00:09:37.149 in San Francisco for a while. I'm from here, 00:09:37.149 --> 00:09:39.090 but I moved to the Bay Area for several years, 00:09:39.110 --> 00:09:41.549 and there's a wonderful place there called Scrap. 00:09:41.870 --> 00:09:43.629 And as an artist, I used to shop there all the 00:09:43.629 --> 00:09:46.029 time with my friends, and that's where we sourced 00:09:46.029 --> 00:09:48.070 all of our materials. So when I moved back to 00:09:48.070 -->

00:09:50.110 Philadelphia, I said, oh, I wish that there was 00:09:50.110 --> 00:09:52.950 a Scrap here. So as I was a film and theater 00:09:52.950 --> 00:09:55.070 scenic, it took 10 years, but after 10 years, 00:09:55.110 --> 00:09:57.929 I thought, well, why not just start one? So that's 00:09:57.929 --> 00:10:06.100 really the... impetus for the place. Yeah, we 00:10:06.100 --> 00:10:09.320 started in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. We started 00:10:09.320 --> 00:10:14.019 in like just a rented 500 square feet with no 00:10:14.019 --> 00:10:16.879 electricity, no running water, no lights, nothing, 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:22.500 leaky roof and kind of went from there to a basement 00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:26.460 area in Port Richmond to then like a much too 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:29.279 small for us warehouse around the corner on 2nd 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:32.110 and Cecil to now. that this is such a great and 00:10:32.110 --> 00:10:34.029 accessible location. It's so easy to get to. 00:10:34.230 --> 00:10:36.250 It's on a subway line. It's on a bus line. And 00:10:36.250 --> 00:10:39.529 we have a big parking lot. So there's a lot was 00:10:39.529 --> 00:10:42.049 achieved when we found this space, which we all 00:10:42.049 --> 00:10:44.970 call the wheelhouse because of its history. It 00:10:44.970 --> 00:10:47.429 was a big, giant railroad turntable. All the 00:10:47.429 --> 00:10:49.129 train tracks that were all along American got 00:10:49.129 --> 00:10:51.450 pulled and ripped up during the American Improvement 00:10:51.450 --> 00:10:55.029 Zone thing. It was just like a massive, huge 00:10:55.029 --> 00:10:57.129 turntable. And all the tracks came up into this 00:10:57.129 --> 00:11:02.980 parking lot outside. It's very cool. I think 00:11:02.980 --> 00:11:07.399 in the beginning we saved mainly lumber and set 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:09.779 construction materials, two by fours, sheet goods, 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:14.240 because we were housed temporarily. in the Navy 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:17.600 Yard where things were filmed back then. And 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:19.899 so when the sets came down, we didn't have an 00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:21.620 open to the public location yet. We were just 00:11:21.620 --> 00:11:24.139 forming. So we really sort of fell upon those 00:11:24.139 --> 00:11:25.960 sets like ants and tried to save as much of those 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:28.460 materials as possible. And then gradually, as 00:11:28.460 --> 00:11:31.000 we grew and then got to public, open to the public 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:34.039 warehouses, we get quite a bit of, apart from 00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:36.759 sort of the overlap with typical thrift stores, 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:39.220 home goods and things like that, is the maker 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:41.500 materials, is the art materials themselves because 00:11:41.500 --> 00:11:43.360 there is no other place in Philadelphia. that 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:48.399 saves those and that's our mission to

try to 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:51.980 keep as much of that available to get back into 00:11:51.980 --> 00:11:53.720 the community instead of throwing them away. 00:11:56.300 --> 00:11:58.320 We actually say, you never know what you'll find 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:01.200 in the resource exchange. So as I said, we did 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:04.259 get our start with film and theater sets. So 00:12:04.259 --> 00:12:06.419 along with things that you would find in a typical 00:12:06.419 --> 00:12:09.220 thrift store, there are also set materials, set 00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:11.840 props, all kinds of things that come from the 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:13.700 latest production that was shot here in Philly, 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:15.879 to things that have been shot some time ago, 00:12:16.340 --> 00:12:20.590 along with maker materials. That is our focus 00:12:20.590 --> 00:12:22.750 is to try to save the materials that you wouldn't 00:12:22.750 --> 00:12:25.090 find in a typical thrift store half -use tubes 00:12:25.090 --> 00:12:28.509 of paint that are still functional You know bulk 00:12:28.509 --> 00:12:31.389 colored pencils and bulk markers and things like 00:12:31.389 --> 00:12:34.110 that that come from all over the place you know 00:12:34.110 --> 00:12:38.460 the last bits of of paper and sketchbooks. Things 00:12:38.460 --> 00:12:41.080 that still have a lot of life left in them, but 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:43.759 for any number of reasons, they're studio cleanouts. 00:12:43.940 --> 00:12:47.399 People change the type of making that they do. 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:49.600 There are all kinds of reasons why people end 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:52.659 up having... you know, resources in their homes 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:54.580 that they want to make sure that get, you know, 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:57.360 that someone uses them for artistic purposes. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:00.879 So we get a lot of that. And again, fabrics is 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.539 something, you know, maybe somebody used to quilt 00:13:03.539 --> 00:13:06.340 and doesn't quilt anymore or a lot. We get a 00:13:06.340 --> 00:13:08.539 lot of designer remnants and things like the 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:12.220 last four or five yards on a bolt, fabric samples 00:13:12.220 --> 00:13:15.500 from design houses. So that's, you know, it's 00:13:15.500 --> 00:13:21.370 a huge wealth of materials. Are these local artists? 00:13:21.549 --> 00:13:27.769 Yes. Yeah. So this is the recreate gallery and 00:13:27.769 --> 00:13:30.389 where we feature local artists who make things 00:13:30.389 --> 00:13:32.490 out of reclaimed materials and have sustainability 00:13:32.490 --> 00:13:36.350 as a key part of their creative process. So we 00:13:36.350 --> 00:13:40.470 have four seasonal shows a year that are group 00:13:40.470 --> 00:13:42.889 exhibitions. And as you can see from this one, 00:13:43.210 --> 00:13:46.950 the range is pretty broad. You know, 2D, 3D, 00:13:47.210 --> 00:13:49.789 everything in between, all different mediums. 00:13:51.339 --> 00:13:54.100 And it's a great way for us to showcase what 00:13:54.100 --> 00:13:58.059 happens to the materials once they are sourced 00:13:58.059 --> 00:14:00.220 here and go to the studios and come back. And 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:02.480 this is what they come back as. And we're constantly 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:06.039 amazed by how beautiful what people make out 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:11.879 of them. It's about making. That's really what 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:17.179 most people come here for. A place like this, 00:14:17.379 --> 00:14:21.220 what often happens is donors and customers overlap 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:24.919 and then repeat donors and customers. It's kind 00:14:24.919 --> 00:14:27.139 of a natural progression. So a lot of the artists 00:14:27.139 --> 00:14:30.960 who show here are regulars and therefore a lot 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:33.240 of the materials that are in their works are 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:39.080 from the shop. Reuse on the River Wards is big. 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.320 It's ground zero in Philadelphia for all things 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:46.899 reuse. There's architectural salvage here. There's 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:49.019 us. There are several other thrift and reuse 00:14:49.019 --> 00:14:51.240 organizations. And then this building in particular 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:54.840 is also filled with a ton of makers. And there's 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:58.240 a lot of studio rental spaces. And yes, we have 00:14:58.240 --> 00:14:59.919 a lot of customers from within the building that 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:02.419 come in and come and go and source their materials 00:15:02.419 --> 00:15:10.379 for their projects. Reuse retail is complicated 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:13.519 and all reuse retail organizations do things 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:15.679 a little bit differently. What I think sets us 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.179 apart in our process for intake and processing 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:22.980 is that we keep everything local. So we screen 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:26.019 the materials when they come in and really do 00:15:26.019 --> 00:15:27.980 the best we can to accept things that we truly 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:29.620 think are going to be repurposed here in the 00:15:29.620 --> 00:15:31.679 Philadelphia region. There's no big dumpster 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:34.279 out back. There's no bailing and shipping things 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:37.379 overseas. There's no like we'll you know... Saving 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:38.639 things for a while and then whatever doesn't 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:43.639 sell gets trashed or sent to other distribution 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:47.639 places. We kind of keep everything here. So when 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:52.279 folks come, if you have a bag box or bin, small 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:53.919 amount, you can walk in our doors any time that 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:55.740 we're open and we just greet you when you come

00:15:55.740 --> 00:15:57.240 in and take a look at what you have and make 00:15:57.240 --> 00:15:59.559 sure that it's the type of thing that we do accept. 00:15:59.740 --> 00:16:02.299 And then if you have... large amounts, vans, 00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:04.159 truckloads. We do accept that amount as well, 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:07.120 but then we ask that folks set an appointment 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:09.299 so that we can have some time to take a look 00:16:09.299 --> 00:16:12.259 and see what you have. We're a small and mighty 00:16:12.259 --> 00:16:15.720 staff, so we do quite a bit with very small staff 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:19.799 and very little funding. So the big amounts are 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:23.059 something that we also do, but we're not a national 00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:27.190 or global chain. So we do... at the door and 00:16:27.190 --> 00:16:29.090 through our donation process take a look and 00:16:29.090 --> 00:16:30.549 see what you've got and try to make sure that 00:16:30.549 --> 00:16:33.970 we're doing best use and either taking it ourselves 00:16:33.970 --> 00:16:36.110 or trying to do the best to help you know where 00:16:36.110 --> 00:16:38.610 to take it. During the intake process we do weigh 00:16:38.610 --> 00:16:40.269 the materials when they come in and then log 00:16:40.269 --> 00:16:42.710 them and also log them by category so we can 00:16:42.710 --> 00:16:46.289 sort of keep track of the general gist of what 00:16:46.289 --> 00:16:48.889 the majority of it is. Although I will say that 00:16:48.889 --> 00:16:51.080 tonnage over the years we've learned is really 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:53.899 not the best measure. It's the standard tool 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:57.039 that most, you know, reduce, reuse, recycle businesses, 00:16:57.259 --> 00:16:59.080 you know, that's kind of the gold standard is 00:16:59.080 --> 00:17:02.220 tonnage. But we've realized that it's really, 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:05.470 you know, the weight of... some paintbrushes 00:17:05.470 --> 00:17:08.750 or vintage photographs saved from some, you know, 00:17:08.970 --> 00:17:10.869 film set or, you know, there's just so much that 00:17:10.869 --> 00:17:13.329 we save that has true value that doesn't have 00:17:13.329 --> 00:17:15.809 a lot of weight. It's not the same as weighing 00:17:15.809 --> 00:17:19.069 cinder block. So we do keep the tonnage, but 00:17:19.069 --> 00:17:21.750 it's not what we focus on. What we instead have 00:17:21.750 --> 00:17:23.890 shifted to focus on is really enabled projects. 00:17:26.869 --> 00:17:29.829 Our staff is really not just a, you know, ring 00:17:29.829 --> 00:17:31.710 folks up and off you go. We engage with folks 00:17:31.710 --> 00:17:33.650 and talk to them and are really interested in 00:17:33.650 --> 00:17:35.410 finding out what people are making with what 00:17:35.410 --> 00:17:37.890 they source here and those projects are tracked 00:17:37.890 --> 00:17:40.789 as best as we can. So we have numbers at the 00:17:40.789 --> 00:17:43.029 end of the year, every year, annual reports where 00:17:43.029 --> 00:17:45.390 we say like this many artists made studio art, 00:17:45.690 --> 00:17:47.750 this many local businesses source things and 00:17:47.750 --> 00:17:50.289 do our best to track what happens from the stuff 00:17:50.289 --> 00:17:55.740 once it leaves the door. The important part about 00:17:55.740 --> 00:17:59.099 reuse in the larger scheme of things like climate 00:17:59.099 --> 00:18:02.799 change and trying to improve the local and global 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:05.119 environment is there's a lot of embodied energy 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:08.700 that is in these materials that is something 00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:10.900 that people don't often think in those terms. 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:15.000 But it is much better for the environment to 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:17.900 save materials and repurpose them than to have 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:20.980 them. Recycling is great, but recycling is reprocessing 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:23.339 the material again. It's, you know, often really 00:18:23.339 --> 00:18:26.380 what recycling is for a lot of materials is downcycling. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:28.900 It's taking, you know, a material and shredding 00:18:28.900 --> 00:18:30.539 it into bits and then just trying to have one 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:33.720 more, but usually inferior product made out of 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:36.099 those materials, whereas repurposing keeps it 00:18:36.099 --> 00:18:38.019 in the local economy. It keeps it, you know, 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:40.039 in the environment and used over and over again. 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:44.079 So that's why we focus on reuse. And then for 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:46.019 us, since the other part of our mission is not 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:49.400 just reusing the environment but the arts, it's 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:52.819 just a wonderful starting place. It's great to 00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:55.000 not have to start from a blank slate and from 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:57.859 a blank paper and starting from scratch. The 00:18:57.859 --> 00:19:00.039 histories behind the materials are often a great 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:02.799 springboard for ideas and for folks to make things 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:05.599 being inspired by what they find and what they 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:09.279 discover here. Yeah design constraints. Yeah 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:12.400 there it's it's really where we just are constantly 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:15.920 inspired by what folks make from just what you 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:18.759 know an idea that gets sparked by some material 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:20.539 that they find in our random room or going through 00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:23.640 the bulk drawers or or just you know seeing something 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:25.440 they didn't anticipate that they were going to 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.319 be making when they arrived and then they it's 00:19:28.319

--> 00:19:31.339 just like it seeds a lot of projects locally. 00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:36.460 So yeah if you were to clean out your art studio 00:19:36.460 --> 00:19:38.740 and think you know I no longer use these materials 00:19:38.740 --> 00:19:41.720 and these are you know half used or you know 00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:43.720 or haven't really used them in a while but they're 00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:47.200 still functional you know if you throw them into 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:49.859 the garbage you know we often say here there 00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:53.059 is no away so throwing them away there really 00:19:53.059 --> 00:19:57.859 is no such thing away is landfill and we you 00:19:57.859 --> 00:20:03.230 know both here and then globally, it's not sustainable. 00:20:03.609 --> 00:20:06.869 That sort of use, consume, throw away, use, consume, 00:20:06.930 --> 00:20:09.329 throw away model is just not going to work any 00:20:09.329 --> 00:20:11.890 longer. Whereas if you actually take the time 00:20:11.890 --> 00:20:14.650 to save those tubes of paint and those paint 00:20:14.650 --> 00:20:16.670 brushes and those things and bring them to a 00:20:16.670 --> 00:20:19.609 place like this, those types of materials in 00:20:19.609 --> 00:20:24.210 particular will definitely get reused. It's filling 00:20:24.210 --> 00:20:30.680 a huge need. We sell them at low cost. So for 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:33.700 a lot of struggling artists and young folks who 00:20:33.700 --> 00:20:35.779 are doing various kinds of creative projects, 00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:39.500 having a place to go to get those things and 00:20:39.500 --> 00:20:42.000 having affordable places to get a half -used 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:43.619 tube of paint versus having to go to a brand 00:20:43.619 --> 00:20:46.220 new art store and buying new supplies is critical 00:20:46.220 --> 00:20:52.480 for a lot of projects to even happen. Philadelphia's 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:56.339 had a lot of growth in sustainable and circular 00:20:56.339 --> 00:20:59.660 businesses in the last 15 years that we've been 00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:04.140 here. And so as we've grown, I've seen a lot 00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:06.480 of organizations like Circular Philadelphia pop 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:13.420 up and try to address what the city needs. I 00:21:13.420 --> 00:21:17.220 think there are a lot of models out there of 00:21:18.120 --> 00:21:20.200 municipal involvement in reuse and recycling 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:25.380 where the referral from the city is also in the 00:21:25.380 --> 00:21:28.880 direction of reuse, over recycling in a lot of 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:30.539 cases. I think that is something that is really 00:21:30.539 --> 00:21:33.539 helpful to be able to uplift the various reuse 00:21:33.539 --> 00:21:36.700 organizations. I think recycling is often the 00:21:36.700 --> 00:21:39.539 first thought. And reuse maybe is a little bit 00:21:39.539 --> 00:21:41.619 not so much, other than maybe clothing. I

think 00:21:41.619 --> 00:21:43.380 clothing is sort of a given for a lot of folks. 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:45.460 I think a lot of folks know about where to take 00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:49.660 their clothing. But beyond that, I think having 00:21:49.660 --> 00:21:53.559 the city support in how to uplift reuse organizations 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:57.039 is something that I think would be great to see 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:00.299 more of. And then I think the other thing is 00:22:00.299 --> 00:22:04.460 space. So that's always a challenge. This is 00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:07.779 our... technically our fourth location and for 00:22:07.779 --> 00:22:09.880 different reasons along the way I mean we have 00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:12.519 definitely grown but also we've lost every space 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:15.579 that we've had for one reason or another so it's 00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:18.440 very challenging for all reuse businesses to 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:23.799 have the big warehouse the big space so I think 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:26.440 you know all city governments would it would 00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:29.400 be great for them to be able to help with with 00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:33.160 that aspect, whether it's city property or initiatives 00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:38.240 to help with having space available to save these 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:41.789 challenging materials. And then we have something 00:22:41.789 --> 00:22:44.390 called the Resource Philly tool and what that 00:22:44.390 --> 00:22:46.529 has, we've been doing that for over 10 years. 00:22:46.609 --> 00:22:49.930 And that's a sort of a vetted resource and map 00:22:49.930 --> 00:22:52.509 to show folks in Philadelphia where to take things 00:22:52.509 --> 00:22:55.789 if we don't accept them. And also places to take 00:22:55.789 --> 00:22:57.789 them for recycling if they're end of life and 00:22:57.789 --> 00:23:01.970 not really reusable. I think the biggest holes 00:23:01.970 --> 00:23:09.170 in the referring that we do is, again, is textile 00:23:09.170 --> 00:23:13.750 recycling. big hole and also ironically sort 00:23:13.750 --> 00:23:15.609 of one of the materials that we got our start 00:23:15.609 --> 00:23:19.690 doing which is construction materials is that 00:23:19.690 --> 00:23:23.329 we save standard sort of like usable two by fours 00:23:23.329 --> 00:23:25.589 and you know half sheet goods or and larger and 00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:29.029 things like that but building material reuse 00:23:29.029 --> 00:23:33.690 is a much much larger landscape and so Right 00:23:33.690 --> 00:23:36.990 now there are a few people that do different 00:23:36.990 --> 00:23:42.269 things, but none of us have the ability to handle 00:23:42.269 --> 00:23:44.970 everything that would happen in a city this size. 00:23:46.029 --> 00:23:48.789 So that's a challenge, is trying to figure out 00:23:48.789 --> 00:23:52.049 whether the solution is to further support the 00:23:52.049 --> 00:23:54.829 folks like

us who do that and enable us, or whether 00:23:54.829 --> 00:23:58.900 we need some... you know, a larger, a lumber 00:23:58.900 --> 00:24:01.400 yard size thing that is something that could 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:03.519 be managed to handle just those things that, 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:05.779 you know, are not architectural salvage, are 00:24:05.779 --> 00:24:08.839 not the maker materials that we save, but much 00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:12.200 bigger. So that's sometimes a challenge. There 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:14.900 are places for a lot of those materials, but 00:24:14.900 --> 00:24:18.200 not all at once on a large scale. And that's 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:24.119 kind of, that's sometimes a challenge. Yep, there's 00:24:24.119 --> 00:24:26.420 there, there's there. That's why this is the 00:24:26.420 --> 00:24:28.480 resource Philly is like placed right near the 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:31.799 This this this is why it's placed here So we 00:24:31.799 --> 00:24:33.720 can be able to be like over there like if you 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:35.559 do you where to take your light bulbs We don't 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:37.480 take those but this is where you take them. Definitely 00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:42.480 use it. Yeah Many people have This is so beautiful. 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:47.799 Yeah, it is. It's it's lo -fi cute Yeah, yep 00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:56.480 So one of the biggest benefits of us and our 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:57.980 partnership with Circuit of Philadelphia is what 00:24:57.980 --> 00:25:00.720 we're working on now, which is to take what we've 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:03.660 been using for over a decade now, Resource Philly, 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:07.759 which is our referral guide, and to take that 00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:11.740 tool and upgrade it to a digital interactive 00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:15.160 platform online that can be used throughout the 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:19.769 city. It's been invaluable to us to have this 00:25:19.769 --> 00:25:21.970 list, and our staff maintains it and researches 00:25:21.970 --> 00:25:25.789 it. But it's lo -fi. At the front of our shop, 00:25:25.970 --> 00:25:28.490 we have the list on our website. But for a long 00:25:28.490 --> 00:25:31.589 time, I've been talking to Circular Philadelphia 00:25:31.589 --> 00:25:34.170 about how wonderful it would be to be able to 00:25:34.170 --> 00:25:38.450 have it truly an interactive online platform. 00:25:38.549 --> 00:25:40.450 So that's what we're working on together with 00:25:40.450 --> 00:25:45.170 them, and we're really excited about that. So 00:25:45.170 --> 00:25:46.609 this is what we're working on in Philadelphia 00:25:46.609 --> 00:25:51.289 is to make this digital. It's quite an endeavor. 00:25:51.970 --> 00:25:53.869 But to have it be like a searchable database 00:25:53.869 --> 00:25:56.349 and to have like the back end tech of it is something 00:25:56.349 --> 00:25:58.269 that takes money and effort and funding that 00:25:58.269 --> 00:26:00.930 we just don't have. So that's why it's great 00:26:00.930 --> 00:26:03.950 for us to be able to partner with them. You know, 00:26:04.150 --> 00:26:06.390 reuse and recycling materials is a very, very 00:26:06.390 --> 00:26:09.539 big... challenge in a city of this size and no 00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:13.079 one organization can do it all. So with the Resource 00:26:13.079 --> 00:26:15.960 Philly tool we're trying to point folks in the 00:26:15.960 --> 00:26:17.660 in the direction of seeing this like consortium 00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:19.539 of folks that are all trying to come from different 00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:22.380 angles to solve this problem and having the city's 00:26:22.380 --> 00:26:25.420 participation in it, you know, and increasing 00:26:25.420 --> 00:26:27.019 that is what we hope. We hope that there will 00:26:27.019 --> 00:26:30.440 be a back and forth there. Resource Philly is 00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:34.390 about being able to either search a specific 00:26:34.390 --> 00:26:37.250 material that you have, search for a specific 00:26:37.250 --> 00:26:40.490 material that you would like, but in both directions 00:26:40.490 --> 00:26:43.150 to try to do things in a more circular fashion 00:26:43.150 --> 00:26:45.690 and to know what resources are available here 00:26:45.690 --> 00:26:47.970 in the Philadelphia region to do so. So where 00:26:47.970 --> 00:26:49.730 to take things that are reusable that you would 00:26:49.730 --> 00:26:51.990 like to donate, where to take things that are 00:26:51.990 --> 00:26:54.150 actually not reusable but are recyclable and 00:26:54.150 --> 00:26:56.460 where to do that. how to source more sustainable 00:26:56.460 --> 00:26:59.279 products and to have a comprehensive list that 00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:04.240 is easy and quick to go through and so we have 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:07.039 all of that information compiled for some time 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:09.819 and this is about trying to make it as user friendly 00:27:09.819 --> 00:27:12.420 and simple and to be able to quickly do it on 00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:16.680 your phone and to update and have a more high 00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:18.420 tech version of what we've been using Lo -Fi 00:27:18.420 --> 00:27:24.700 in the shop for a while now. That was Karen Jared 00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:27.019 from the Resource Exchange, Philadelphia's Creative 00:27:27.019 --> 00:27:40.779 Reuse Center. My name is Elaine Hardman. My husband 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:44.559 and I live in Germantown. Shortly after coming 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:47.880 to Philadelphia, we wandered into the Resource 00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:51.539 Exchange Center and right away it felt like my 00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:55.190 kind of place. The people are lovely and they 00:27:55.190 --> 00:27:57.329 have all kinds of things that are ready to be 00:27:57.329 --> 00:28:00.769 seen and used in a new way. While I couldn't 00:28:00.769 --> 00:28:05.250 resist buying things there, they

have a lot of 00:28:05.250 --> 00:28:07.710 odd little things and I like odd little things. 00:28:08.609 --> 00:28:12.750 Also, in our small hometown I held a lot of workshops 00:28:12.750 --> 00:28:16.890 in my home and in libraries or schools and even 00:28:16.890 --> 00:28:21.119 in the back room of a hairdressing salon. We 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:23.740 felt honored that the resource exchange was willing 00:28:23.740 --> 00:28:27.779 to put my work and my husband's work in their 00:28:27.779 --> 00:28:34.119 recreate gallery. And so it was great. But a 00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:38.019 greater benefit to me is that they've allowed 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:40.839 me to host workshops where I've been able to 00:28:40.839 --> 00:28:43.960 make things with other people. It's exciting 00:28:43.960 --> 00:28:46.660 to watch someone learn to use their hands to 00:28:46.660 --> 00:28:50.599 build something in a new way. I think people 00:28:50.599 --> 00:28:53.359 need to make things, and I love being part of 00:28:53.359 --> 00:28:57.339 that with them. I speak to people about the resource 00:28:57.339 --> 00:29:00.559 exchange all the time. I tell them it's a fantastic 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:03.799 place to get fabric, but whatever kind of maker 00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:07.980 they are, it's worth exploring the resource exchange 00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:10.480 because you just never know what's going to be 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:24.700 there. My name is Stephen Evans and I live in 00:29:24.700 --> 00:29:31.539 South Philadelphia Newbold area I've been a participant 00:29:31.539 --> 00:29:35.559 with the resource exchange since fall of 2023 00:29:35.559 --> 00:29:40.839 summer of 2023 Just out looking at what fish 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:45.140 town had as far as thrift stores, etc my friend 00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:50.450 found this amazing place and it was the climax 00:29:50.450 --> 00:29:54.549 of our day to come visit that. When we got to 00:29:54.549 --> 00:29:58.430 Resource Exchange, it was just an instant affinity. 00:29:59.910 --> 00:30:03.490 The vibe in there was friendly, it was welcoming, 00:30:03.650 --> 00:30:08.589 it was not pretentious. As an artist using junk, 00:30:08.809 --> 00:30:11.509 I find that people's noses are turned up and 00:30:11.509 --> 00:30:15.950 what I found here was just friendliness and just 00:30:15.950 --> 00:30:20.410 genuine authenticity, human being peoples. You 00:30:20.410 --> 00:30:24.470 know, that was just what was so great about them. 00:30:25.309 --> 00:30:28.250 When I first stepped into the resource exchange, 00:30:28.789 --> 00:30:33.710 Rebecca had pointed out to me the application 00:30:33.710 --> 00:30:37.829 for the fall 2023 show. I think that's the biggest 00:30:37.829 --> 00:30:41.769 benefit is for me to finally put my work into 00:30:41.769 --> 00:30:46.769 a show in public. after about 10 years of not. 00:30:47.789 --> 00:30:51.549 I've done several exhibitions there and it's 00:30:51.549 --> 00:30:54.549 just been a great thing to be seen there. I've 00:30:54.549 --> 00:30:59.430 donated a piece there because my work is appreciated, 00:30:59.730 --> 00:31:05.410 seen, loved, and used. I've tried to introduce 00:31:05.410 --> 00:31:07.730 people to the resource exchange and it's really 00:31:07.730 --> 00:31:11.309 hard to describe what it is, but I say it's a 00:31:11.309 --> 00:31:19.140 whole city block. of creative ingenuity, cooperation, 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:24.680 and amazingness. And the resource exchange itself 00:31:24.680 --> 00:31:28.980 is just a little corner of amazing in that entire 00:31:28.980 --> 00:31:35.920 building right there. You go from the wheel to 00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:39.920 computer printing, one end of the building. It's 00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:42.759 like evolution of art and human participation. 00:31:49.339 --> 00:31:51.240 Circular Philadelphia and the Resource Exchange 00:31:51.240 --> 00:31:53.579 partnered to launch Resource Philly online search 00:31:53.579 --> 00:31:56.440 engine in June of 2025. Go to resourcephilly 00:31:56.440 --> 00:31:59.019 .org for a one -stop shop to find where to donate, 00:31:59.240 --> 00:32:01.539 repair, and recycle your stuff and where to buy, 00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:04.079 rent, or borrow secondhand, bulk, recycled, or 00:32:04.079 --> 00:32:08.420 sustainable goods in the Philly region. So Sam, 00:32:08.579 --> 00:32:10.970 reading anything good lately? Yeah, actually, 00:32:11.150 --> 00:32:13.289 I've been reading this book called Playground 00:32:13.289 --> 00:32:16.250 by author Richard Powers that I actually bought 00:32:16.250 --> 00:32:19.089 at H &H Books last year to give to my brother 00:32:19.089 --> 00:32:21.369 -in -law for Christmas. And then when it was 00:32:21.369 --> 00:32:23.410 my birthday this year, I asked for that same 00:32:23.410 --> 00:32:25.390 book and he gave me back the same book that I 00:32:25.390 --> 00:32:28.490 had just bought for him from H &H. Well, that's 00:32:28.490 --> 00:32:31.250 great because there is a waste problem in the 00:32:31.250 --> 00:32:34.069 publishing industry. Millions of books are printed 00:32:34.069 --> 00:32:36.750 and discarded each year, and it's easy to forget 00:32:36.750 --> 00:32:38.829 the resources and energy that went into making 00:32:38.829 --> 00:32:41.549 them. But there's a different way to think about 00:32:41.549 --> 00:32:43.829 books. When we share them, just like the story 00:32:43.829 --> 00:32:46.430 you told, treasure them, pass them along through 00:32:46.430 --> 00:32:49.029 book clubs and communities, they become more 00:32:49.029 --> 00:32:51.390 than just objects. They become part of a story, 00:32:51.650 --> 00:32:54.750 part of a connection. That kind of intentionality 00:32:54.750 --> 00:32:57.009 about the journey a book takes to reach your 00:32:57.009 --> 00:32:59.490 hands is exactly what drives the circular economy. 00:33:00.089 --> 00:33:01.849 Today, we're talking

with the team at the head 00:33:01.849 --> 00:33:04.670 and the hand who are reimagining how books and 00:33:04.670 --> 00:33:06.769 objects can live longer, more meaningful lives. 00:33:09.420 --> 00:33:13.140 My name is Linda Gallant and I am the project 00:33:13.140 --> 00:33:16.700 director at The Head in the Hand. We started 00:33:16.700 --> 00:33:21.779 out as a small publisher in 2012. That sign over 00:33:21.779 --> 00:33:25.799 there is the first sign from our first location 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:28.700 on Subiva Street and we were just a writer's 00:33:28.700 --> 00:33:34.440 workshop and small publisher. We started out 00:33:34.440 --> 00:33:37.150 with Our first publication was called the Rust 00:33:37.150 --> 00:33:40.289 Belt Rising Almanac because it was this, we are 00:33:40.289 --> 00:33:43.009 part of the Rust Belt and it's where creative 00:33:43.009 --> 00:33:46.390 enterprises have sort of taken the place of industrial 00:33:46.390 --> 00:33:49.809 enterprises. Right? So how can art take the place 00:33:49.809 --> 00:33:52.349 of commerce and where that intersection is? We 00:33:52.349 --> 00:33:54.450 thought that was really interesting. So we had 00:33:54.450 --> 00:33:57.410 writers representing from like Ohio out to Philly 00:33:57.410 --> 00:33:59.869 and we actually did a little tour. We like brought 00:33:59.869 --> 00:34:03.829 the anthology along the Rust Belt. We really, 00:34:03.890 --> 00:34:05.789 that's a special, that has a special place in 00:34:05.789 --> 00:34:11.110 our heart. So we did themed almanacs at first 00:34:11.110 --> 00:34:14.750 and then we moved into nonfiction, fiction, and 00:34:14.750 --> 00:34:19.949 then the pivot to chapbooks. Chapbooks are short 00:34:19.949 --> 00:34:23.690 books. It's like chapter. That's the inspiration. 00:34:24.409 --> 00:34:26.650 There's shorter form works that can be any genre. 00:34:27.010 --> 00:34:30.510 I would say 60 pages is the max, and then a novella 00:34:30.510 --> 00:34:32.110 would be a little bit longer, and then a novel. 00:34:32.289 --> 00:34:36.869 So there's steps to get to the full length publication 00:34:36.869 --> 00:34:40.369 that we began with, but then pivoted to be in 00:34:40.369 --> 00:34:42.809 chapbooks because it just felt like more of a 00:34:42.809 --> 00:34:51.710 balance of where our capacities lay. We had distribution 00:34:51.710 --> 00:34:54.869 with small press distribution, which works with 00:34:54.869 --> 00:34:57.190 lots of indies and unfortunately that was a big 00:34:57.190 --> 00:35:00.360 story recently. They shuttered. Lots of that 00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:02.539 stock had to go to the next biggest one, which 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:04.239 is Consortium. This is getting in the weeds a 00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:06.840 little bit of the publishing industry. But people 00:35:06.840 --> 00:35:09.300 can return books, right? Like if they don't sell, 00:35:09.400 --> 00:35:14.000 they can go back to the publisher. So the sales

00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:17.599 are huge per individual. Like when you go out 00:35:17.599 --> 00:35:21.420 to a bookstore, that sale, that's going. That's 00:35:21.420 --> 00:35:24.119 important for the author to make that sale because 00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:26.980 bookstores can buy in bulk and then they can 00:35:26.980 --> 00:35:29.679 return the overstock back to the publisher. and 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:33.280 then those numbers will just suddenly shoot back 00:35:33.280 --> 00:35:35.900 up. Wait, we had hundreds sold this month, but 00:35:35.900 --> 00:35:39.239 wait, no, they're coming back. So that kind of 00:35:39.239 --> 00:35:41.659 fluidity, it doesn't really benefit the author, 00:35:41.699 --> 00:35:43.840 but when you buy a book in a bookstore, it benefits 00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:46.400 the author. That's a sale for that book. It's 00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:49.980 not going back to the publisher. I think that 00:35:49.980 --> 00:35:54.860 there is a lot of, you have to sort of be... 00:35:54.960 --> 00:35:57.360 bit of a fortune -teller where you're saying 00:35:57.360 --> 00:35:59.739 this is gonna hit and I'm gonna you you have 00:35:59.739 --> 00:36:02.760 to guesstimate how much to put out there what 00:36:02.760 --> 00:36:05.320 the demand will be how to market it like all 00:36:05.320 --> 00:36:07.500 of these factors have to break your way in order 00:36:07.500 --> 00:36:11.480 to have a successful like experience with your 00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:13.460 perhaps it's your debut book and you have a print 00:36:13.460 --> 00:36:15.380 run that's followed by another and another and 00:36:15.380 --> 00:36:17.239 then the books are out there and it's thriving 00:36:17.239 --> 00:36:19.579 and this this is like the model that we're all 00:36:19.579 --> 00:36:22.079 going for but then sometimes books just language 00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:25.780 language in a warehouse Publishers sometimes 00:36:25.780 --> 00:36:28.280 make the decision to destroy, right, if they 00:36:28.280 --> 00:36:32.880 don't sell. One author was faced with a really 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:35.800 hard decision, which is that their hardback wasn't 00:36:35.800 --> 00:36:38.400 selling and they said, you know, can you take 00:36:38.400 --> 00:36:40.139 some of these copies because they're just going 00:36:40.139 --> 00:36:44.800 to incinerate them. But I think the paper book, 00:36:45.139 --> 00:36:49.920 to me, it's an aesthetic experience. I mean, 00:36:49.980 --> 00:36:51.579 a lot of people interact with their phones to 00:36:51.579 --> 00:36:58.789 do all kinds of things and I like the quiet that 00:36:58.789 --> 00:37:01.010 takes hold when you're actually only able to 00:37:01.010 --> 00:37:04.530 interact with this thing that is not connected 00:37:04.530 --> 00:37:06.230 to the internet. It's important. I mean, people 00:37:06.230 --> 00:37:09.610 get distracted. So I think that the book itself, 00:37:09.969 --> 00:37:14.369 this is so obvious, but you just find a way to, 00:37:14.690 --> 00:37:16.230 I don't know, you go out of time or something. 00:37:16.510 --> 00:37:21.159 That's your time with this. author and no one 00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:23.980 can interrupt that except you so when I'm on 00:37:23.980 --> 00:37:27.079 this I feel like at any second someone's gonna 00:37:27.079 --> 00:37:29.280 text me or you know obviously there's settings 00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:32.659 for that but I don't know I think that the the 00:37:32.659 --> 00:37:35.300 greatest possible connection you can have this 00:37:35.300 --> 00:37:39.719 is biased with a writer's work is by feeling 00:37:39.719 --> 00:37:41.960 the book in your hand and interacting with it 00:37:41.960 --> 00:37:51.530 that way So we wanted to sort of pivot a bit 00:37:51.530 --> 00:37:55.349 away from the full -time publishing model. We 00:37:55.349 --> 00:38:03.210 wanted to sort of branch out into this. H &H 00:38:03.210 --> 00:38:06.469 Books is the brick -and -mortar presence of the 00:38:06.469 --> 00:38:11.750 head and the hand. And now we publish chat books 00:38:11.750 --> 00:38:15.610 and have this community -focused bookstore that 00:38:15.610 --> 00:38:19.429 we're sitting in, that we opened in 2019. It's 00:38:19.429 --> 00:38:22.070 a long and winding road to get in a nutshell, 00:38:22.329 --> 00:38:27.030 but that's where we're at now. It was always 00:38:27.030 --> 00:38:29.730 a gamble to start a bookstore. We thought, you 00:38:29.730 --> 00:38:33.769 know, it would be an interesting way to have 00:38:33.769 --> 00:38:38.840 this new... avenue for creative expression by 00:38:38.840 --> 00:38:43.260 hosting writers here to do talks and put books 00:38:43.260 --> 00:38:46.239 out that are, you know, community -focused, like 00:38:46.239 --> 00:38:48.239 our Philadelphia local lit section is really 00:38:48.239 --> 00:38:51.980 important to us. So we thought, and then of course 00:38:51.980 --> 00:38:54.719 our own independent publications would also be 00:38:54.719 --> 00:38:58.280 in the bookstore. So we thought that that sort 00:38:58.280 --> 00:39:03.750 of... ecosystem would make sense in this neighborhood 00:39:03.750 --> 00:39:07.789 which now has more bookstores but at that time 00:39:07.789 --> 00:39:09.969 we thought you know every neighbor could could 00:39:09.969 --> 00:39:15.130 use more. For our curation for the bookstore 00:39:15.130 --> 00:39:18.690 at large, it's a big group effort. So we all 00:39:18.690 --> 00:39:20.949 have our sensibilities. I have my favorites I 00:39:20.949 --> 00:39:23.710 love the local lit section like curating that 00:39:23.710 --> 00:39:26.409 is a big deal for us and then we have community 00:39:26.409 --> 00:39:29.809 members suggest we have our volunteers Emerson 00:39:29.809 --> 00:39:33.349 our manager Shoshana our assistant editor Claire 00:39:33.349 --> 00:39:36.630 our co -director everybody has their Fingerprints 00:39:36.630 --> 00:39:39.550 all over here with their

choices and we happen 00:39:39.550 --> 00:39:42.610 to skew in a few different Like we love women 00:39:42.610 --> 00:39:46.630 in translation, we love queer writers, we have 00:39:46.630 --> 00:39:51.170 a great representation of, again, if you're either 00:39:51.170 --> 00:39:54.389 from Philly, published in Philly, or it's about 00:39:54.389 --> 00:39:56.969 the greater Philadelphia region, that goes on 00:39:56.969 --> 00:40:01.070 the local lit shelf. So yeah, some of our big 00:40:01.070 --> 00:40:05.190 identity points come through in those places. 00:40:06.510 --> 00:40:11.880 So we are a non -profit. And we are open to the 00:40:11.880 --> 00:40:14.219 public as much as we can be. And the volunteers 00:40:14.219 --> 00:40:17.800 are a huge reason why we're able to have the 00:40:17.800 --> 00:40:20.619 hours we do. And they staff a lot on the weekends, 00:40:21.199 --> 00:40:24.159 which is our most critical time. And most of 00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:26.760 them live in the neighborhood. So that volunteer 00:40:26.760 --> 00:40:29.880 program is incredibly important. And Emerson, 00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:33.260 our manager, is an incredible steward of that 00:40:33.260 --> 00:40:38.050 program. They organize the team, basically. The 00:40:38.050 --> 00:40:39.570 revenue stream that comes from the bookstore, 00:40:39.789 --> 00:40:41.650 that was a reason why we started to think about 00:40:41.650 --> 00:40:43.289 let's do a bookstore because it would help bring 00:40:43.289 --> 00:40:45.309 another revenue stream into the organization 00:40:45.309 --> 00:40:50.090 and that coffer is filled up in order to support 00:40:50.090 --> 00:40:56.110 salary, stipends, honorariums. The programming 00:40:56.110 --> 00:40:58.710 is really important to us and we do host workshops, 00:40:58.909 --> 00:41:01.829 not as many as we'd like. We have a writing group 00:41:01.829 --> 00:41:05.170 co -hosted with Valerio Coffee. in the neighborhood. 00:41:05.429 --> 00:41:07.989 So we're so excited about that. 27 people have 00:41:07.989 --> 00:41:10.289 signed up. It seems like it's filling a need 00:41:10.289 --> 00:41:14.289 that people want this and we're happy to be a 00:41:14.289 --> 00:41:18.590 venue for that. And then we do free or low cost 00:41:18.590 --> 00:41:22.650 author programming as much as possible. We average 00:41:22.650 --> 00:41:26.110 between three and four events a month and we 00:41:26.110 --> 00:41:28.969 also have a regular family story time that happens 00:41:28.969 --> 00:41:33.090 in our kiddo section once a month the last Sunday. 00:41:33.559 --> 00:41:38.519 And we have a local, she's a resident caregiver 00:41:38.519 --> 00:41:41.679 and is an educator who does musical story time 00:41:41.679 --> 00:41:46.099 now. So that's Miss AJ. And the stories and songs 00:41:46.099 --> 00:41:49.769 that come in, they have themes per month. I hope 00:41:49.769 --> 00:41:52.170 that that continues because, yeah, that's another 00:41:52.170 --> 00:41:55.090 volunteer effort. Like Miss AJ comes in and volunteers 00:41:55.090 --> 00:41:57.769 her time to make that story time programming 00:41:57.769 --> 00:42:00.329 happening and we really appreciate it. Like community 00:42:00.329 --> 00:42:01.789 members just kind of show up and say, hey, I 00:42:01.789 --> 00:42:04.010 want to try this. And we're like, great, that's 00:42:04.010 --> 00:42:06.030 wonderful. Let's give you a space to do that 00:42:06.030 --> 00:42:09.250 in. So yeah, we just want to bring the community 00:42:09.250 --> 00:42:13.909 in as much as possible. Every day is different. 00:42:14.010 --> 00:42:16.869 I don't work every day. I have, you know, one 00:42:16.869 --> 00:42:19.769 or two days a week. Emerson, our manager, has 00:42:19.769 --> 00:42:22.150 probably the most interaction with our community 00:42:22.150 --> 00:42:24.989 members. But yeah, there's just people, some 00:42:24.989 --> 00:42:27.469 people come in for direct orders. That's an important 00:42:27.469 --> 00:42:29.389 part of our revenue stream for us too, because 00:42:29.389 --> 00:42:32.150 we're so small we can't possibly, we're not a 00:42:32.150 --> 00:42:35.010 Barnes and Noble. We never will be. But we do 00:42:35.010 --> 00:42:37.469 have distributors. We can basically get any book 00:42:37.469 --> 00:42:41.070 through our distributor. We just have to put 00:42:41.070 --> 00:42:43.369 in the request for it. So folks can pick them 00:42:43.369 --> 00:42:46.550 up there at the direct order shelf. We do our 00:42:46.550 --> 00:42:50.550 best to explain to folks that you do have to 00:42:50.550 --> 00:42:53.250 wait a few more days. You're not going to get 00:42:53.250 --> 00:42:56.670 it the next day. But we can draw down from the 00:42:56.670 --> 00:42:59.389 same resources that Amazon is drawing from. The 00:42:59.389 --> 00:43:02.590 publishers that Amazon is getting stock from 00:43:02.590 --> 00:43:05.090 are the same publishers that we can access through 00:43:05.090 --> 00:43:08.190 our distribution network. So an indie bookstore 00:43:08.190 --> 00:43:12.460 can get the book you want. most likely, it just 00:43:12.460 --> 00:43:14.940 won't appear on your doorstep the next day. And 00:43:14.940 --> 00:43:17.340 it also, you know, factor in, like the carbon 00:43:17.340 --> 00:43:20.280 footprint, you know, like that kind of speed 00:43:20.280 --> 00:43:24.059 and that kind of, yeah, that convenience comes 00:43:24.059 --> 00:43:28.699 with a price. We try to be sustainable in that 00:43:28.699 --> 00:43:33.340 way. We bulk buy once a week so that we experience 00:43:33.340 --> 00:43:36.219 the benefit of free shipping. and then we don't 00:43:36.219 --> 00:43:39.500 charge our customer shipping in order to like 00:43:39.500 --> 00:43:41.340 do a direct order with us and it's here to be 00:43:41.340 --> 00:43:43.539 picked up in the store. If you're willing to 00:43:43.539 --> 00:43:45.579 wait for our weekly order, if it's in

stock with 00:43:45.579 --> 00:43:48.340 the distributor, then it will come. We get free 00:43:48.340 --> 00:43:49.739 shipping. You don't have to pay for that either. 00:43:49.940 --> 00:43:53.380 And we unbox a big box and put it out. So we 00:43:53.380 --> 00:43:56.679 try to make our purchases in bulk that way through 00:43:56.679 --> 00:43:58.460 our one -offs. Like we can ship direct to home 00:43:58.460 --> 00:44:01.110 if you need something. It can go right to your 00:44:01.110 --> 00:44:03.230 front door, but a lot of what we have in this 00:44:03.230 --> 00:44:05.309 neighborhood are like porch pirates, right? So 00:44:05.309 --> 00:44:08.690 people sometimes would prefer to come to our 00:44:08.690 --> 00:44:11.250 store and pick up here. But if it's convenient 00:44:11.250 --> 00:44:13.469 for you, we can also ship directly to your house 00:44:13.469 --> 00:44:16.409 in a one -off situation. But we prefer to do 00:44:16.409 --> 00:44:18.650 things in bulk. It's more sustainable to do that. 00:44:19.190 --> 00:44:21.909 So you could think about like, do I need to read 00:44:21.909 --> 00:44:25.289 this in 24 hours or can I wait? three to five 00:44:25.289 --> 00:44:28.409 business days and support a local ecosystem rather 00:44:28.409 --> 00:44:31.789 than just like participating in a behemoth that 00:44:31.789 --> 00:44:35.469 will continue to negatively impact bookstores 00:44:35.469 --> 00:44:39.289 everywhere and as long as it exists. And then 00:44:39.289 --> 00:44:42.510 we offer book bank which I think the circularity 00:44:42.510 --> 00:44:44.829 part of it too where people can donate their 00:44:44.829 --> 00:44:48.329 books and then shop the used inventory. So we 00:44:48.329 --> 00:44:50.750 are a mixed inventory of new and used books. 00:44:51.579 --> 00:44:54.360 We just thought you can refresh your shelves 00:44:54.360 --> 00:44:58.679 at home by bringing new inventory in, potentially 00:44:58.679 --> 00:45:01.579 from here, but then have more opportunities to 00:45:01.579 --> 00:45:04.019 explore new authors. There's all kinds of benefits 00:45:04.019 --> 00:45:08.000 from it. The life cycle can continue of a book, 00:45:08.280 --> 00:45:10.880 especially a hardback. And then the second was 00:45:10.880 --> 00:45:12.679 accessibility because now the books are cheaper 00:45:12.679 --> 00:45:15.469 because they're discounted. So you just bring 00:45:15.469 --> 00:45:18.070 them in and a volunteer will count them, get 00:45:18.070 --> 00:45:20.590 your information, and then they go downstairs 00:45:20.590 --> 00:45:24.650 for evaluation. Staffers go through them and 00:45:24.650 --> 00:45:27.130 if they're accepted, you get an email letting 00:45:27.130 --> 00:45:29.449 you know if you have credit. And then you just 00:45:29.449 --> 00:45:31.449 show that email when next time you come in, you 00:45:31.449 --> 00:45:34.539 say, hi, I have these credits. And the staffer 00:45:34.539 --> 00:45:37.880 allows you to purchase either, you get one credit 00:45:37.880 --> 00:45:40.159 per paperback, two credits for a hardback. So 00:45:40.159 --> 00:45:43.920 you can kind of like use it that way. And again, 00:45:43.940 --> 00:45:46.340 those are used when you're redeeming your credits. 00:45:46.639 --> 00:45:50.579 So that's basically it. It's an email verification 00:45:50.579 --> 00:45:54.880 system. The condition is important, you know, 00:45:54.980 --> 00:45:56.760 we don't accept books that have like mold on 00:45:56.760 --> 00:46:00.219 them, that's not gonna work out. And we also 00:46:00.219 --> 00:46:03.159 sort of, if you know the inventory here, you 00:46:03.159 --> 00:46:04.920 kind of get a sense of like we're not really 00:46:04.920 --> 00:46:07.280 looking for the most mass market commercial books, 00:46:07.400 --> 00:46:09.500 like you can find those pretty much anywhere 00:46:09.500 --> 00:46:12.280 and we are... When you walk into the bookstore, 00:46:12.360 --> 00:46:14.239 you want to feel like you're in a specific time 00:46:14.239 --> 00:46:17.480 and place. You're here in Philadelphia, in Fishtown, 00:46:17.500 --> 00:46:20.860 and we want people to feel that when they see 00:46:20.860 --> 00:46:23.860 what we have on our shelves. So, yeah, we do 00:46:23.860 --> 00:46:26.239 tend to go for more experimental fiction, like 00:46:26.239 --> 00:46:29.619 we said, like queer authors, translated authors, 00:46:29.920 --> 00:46:33.139 and if you spend some time in the space, you 00:46:33.139 --> 00:46:35.599 can get a sense of what is more likely to get 00:46:35.599 --> 00:46:39.440 accepted versus then hand it over to Circle Thrift. 00:46:40.460 --> 00:46:44.360 kind of how we, it's a book by book basis. And 00:46:44.360 --> 00:46:47.579 it's really subjective. Based on our tastes, 00:46:47.960 --> 00:46:51.239 yeah. It's a great thing because when you're 00:46:51.239 --> 00:46:53.480 allocating resources, right, where you wanna 00:46:53.480 --> 00:46:57.150 bring the person. to the thing that actually 00:46:57.150 --> 00:47:00.630 does spark interest for them. Like one person's 00:47:00.630 --> 00:47:02.530 favorite book is another person's, I'm gonna 00:47:02.530 --> 00:47:06.090 recycle this book. So that is what we're trying 00:47:06.090 --> 00:47:09.010 to do in our own small way here with the book 00:47:09.010 --> 00:47:12.010 bank where folks, we don't accept everything. 00:47:12.860 --> 00:47:15.659 And then when we don't accept books, we bring 00:47:15.659 --> 00:47:17.739 them to circle thrift. So circle thrift across 00:47:17.739 --> 00:47:19.800 the street is a big deal for us because we can 00:47:19.800 --> 00:47:22.940 just continue to like spread out the library 00:47:22.940 --> 00:47:25.280 of books that are coming in from our community 00:47:25.280 --> 00:47:27.860 members and make sure they just don't end up 00:47:27.860 --> 00:47:30.500 like, you know, rotting away in somebody's basement 00:47:30.500 --> 00:47:34.000 or, you know,

like they could find a match. Like 00:47:34.000 --> 00:47:36.639 it's possible to have a second and a third and 00:47:36.639 --> 00:47:38.360 fourth life with a book, especially if it's a 00:47:38.360 --> 00:47:41.599 hardback. And then, you know, like we have connections 00:47:41.599 --> 00:47:43.860 with with A .J. Brown, which is the elementary 00:47:43.860 --> 00:47:48.139 school over on Sargent, and they have library 00:47:48.139 --> 00:47:53.619 volunteers, so we try to find ways to collaborate 00:47:53.619 --> 00:47:56.699 with them. There's lots of ways to get rid of 00:47:56.699 --> 00:47:58.699 books that you feel like are just taking up space 00:47:58.699 --> 00:48:01.500 in your place, and then they can find a new life 00:48:01.500 --> 00:48:09.260 somewhere else. 295 folks have... done the program 00:48:09.260 --> 00:48:11.920 since we started it so we have 295 individuals 00:48:11.920 --> 00:48:16.199 in our database and then in May we accepted 135 00:48:16.199 --> 00:48:19.460 books from whomever like just that that was the 00:48:19.460 --> 00:48:22.239 number of books that we got in from our book 00:48:22.239 --> 00:48:24.380 bank donation so that's kind of like those are 00:48:24.380 --> 00:48:27.889 our average numbers. And yeah, I think we don't 00:48:27.889 --> 00:48:32.050 have a huge budget for marketing. So I think 00:48:32.050 --> 00:48:36.530 if we did more awareness raising about it, I 00:48:36.530 --> 00:48:41.230 think we could increase those numbers. Makes 00:48:41.230 --> 00:48:45.269 logical sense. I feel like people who come in 00:48:45.269 --> 00:48:49.469 and get to know us, they like the program. And 00:48:49.469 --> 00:48:52.650 then they tend to browse. And then that does 00:48:52.650 --> 00:48:58.019 impact sales eventually. hard stats on that, 00:48:58.019 --> 00:49:01.139 but this is just anecdotal and yeah, we've gotten 00:49:01.139 --> 00:49:03.099 positive feedback from the community members, 00:49:03.199 --> 00:49:05.639 so we will continue to do it for as long as people 00:49:05.639 --> 00:49:13.400 want it. I have a very tactile, you know, like 00:49:13.400 --> 00:49:15.119 you have that tactile relationship with the book 00:49:15.119 --> 00:49:18.699 that you want to continue along with it. They're 00:49:18.699 --> 00:49:20.780 beloved objects, and that's why they have multiple 00:49:20.780 --> 00:49:23.539 lives, right? Like that's why the circularity. 00:49:23.980 --> 00:49:27.940 Idea is has great amount of potential with books 00:49:27.940 --> 00:49:30.900 because books just have this ability to sort 00:49:30.900 --> 00:49:34.659 of become part of our Yeah, our world in a way 00:49:34.659 --> 00:49:37.159 that other like a news. Yeah, it's it's not as 00:49:37.159 --> 00:49:42.340 it's not as ephemeral I Think people can really 00:49:42.340 --> 00:49:48.480 think about yeah where they are spending their 00:49:48.480 --> 00:49:54.139 time and money and I can't just like stop using 00:49:54.139 -->

00:49:57.000 Amazon for like easy first step. Just don't do 00:49:57.000 --> 00:49:58.800 it. Just don't do it Like just don't ever use 00:49:58.800 --> 00:50:01.579 it. You don't just like don't I can't say it 00:50:01.579 --> 00:50:05.519 enough. Just try to try to do Three other steps 00:50:05.519 --> 00:50:08.280 before going to that if it's desperate then you 00:50:08.280 --> 00:50:10.760 know, you got it but like I would say start there 00:50:10.760 --> 00:50:15.059 and I would say to that think about taking care 00:50:15.059 --> 00:50:17.780 of your books as you use them like while you're 00:50:18.400 --> 00:50:20.219 interacting with them, think about like they 00:50:20.219 --> 00:50:23.000 could have a second life. And so maybe like, 00:50:23.139 --> 00:50:24.599 yeah, sometimes you take a book to the beach 00:50:24.599 --> 00:50:27.400 and it gets ruined. I am sometimes guilty of 00:50:27.400 --> 00:50:30.320 this, but like maybe just have another sense 00:50:30.320 --> 00:50:33.039 of it passing on to someone as you're enjoying 00:50:33.039 --> 00:50:37.780 it. So that's two quick ones that I can come 00:50:37.780 --> 00:50:40.539 up with. But for the industry at large, I would 00:50:40.539 --> 00:50:47.840 say I think I hope people just go to... more 00:50:47.840 --> 00:50:49.699 independent bookstores and buy the books so that 00:50:49.699 --> 00:50:53.699 people don't return them as much. That's a big 00:50:53.699 --> 00:50:59.260 deal. So think about that when you're in the 00:50:59.260 --> 00:51:01.860 market. If you have disposable income and you 00:51:01.860 --> 00:51:04.179 want to support an artist who's a writer, then 00:51:04.179 --> 00:51:06.699 think about going to a independent bookstore 00:51:06.699 --> 00:51:10.659 because that's a great way to do it. It has so 00:51:10.659 --> 00:51:13.099 many ripple effects. It does. It means a big 00:51:13.099 --> 00:51:15.179 deal. It means so much to the bottom line of 00:51:15.179 --> 00:51:18.739 the store that may be teetering on opening or 00:51:18.739 --> 00:51:23.920 closing. The bottom line is the margin is so 00:51:23.920 --> 00:51:27.780 narrow, and it is so difficult. So any support 00:51:27.780 --> 00:51:30.519 that, if you have the ability to put disposable 00:51:30.519 --> 00:51:34.780 income somewhere, think about that for your local 00:51:34.780 --> 00:51:40.179 impact. That was Linda Gallant from H &H Books. 00:51:40.480 --> 00:51:42.480 Their circular book bank is a great way to pass 00:51:42.480 --> 00:51:44.320 on some of those beloved books you have sitting 00:51:44.320 --> 00:52:10.280 on your shelf. I was moving and I had more books 00:52:10.280 --> 00:52:14.300 than shelf space as the case is for so many so 00:52:14.300 --> 00:52:17.280 I brought about a hundred to the book bank and 00:52:17.280 --> 00:52:18.900 it really I mean it couldn't been easier they 00:52:18.900 --> 00:52:22.280 made the process simple and welcoming I did end 00:52:22.280 --> 00:52:25.360 up browsing afterward but I was sort of exhausted 00:52:25.360 --> 00:52:27.699 from the move so picked up a few titles that 00:52:27.699 --> 00:52:30.239 felt like the right kind of replacements much 00:52:30.239 --> 00:52:35.659 to my husband's chagrin and you know really really 00:52:35.659 --> 00:52:37.760 leaned into the stories that had already lived 00:52:37.760 --> 00:52:41.760 a little before coming to me. Shopping there 00:52:41.760 --> 00:52:43.800 I think feels like what a neighborhood bookstore 00:52:43.800 --> 00:52:47.940 should feel like. It's approachable, it's intentional, 00:52:48.260 --> 00:52:51.320 it is full of personality. It's the kind of place 00:52:51.320 --> 00:52:53.519 where you always find something that you didn't 00:52:53.519 --> 00:52:55.199 know you were looking for and that's sort of 00:52:55.199 --> 00:52:57.780 built into the very nature of what the head in 00:52:57.780 --> 00:53:00.000 the hand is meant to recreate for you, right? 00:53:00.519 --> 00:53:03.340 It's a place where It feels good to spend your 00:53:03.340 --> 00:53:05.440 money because you know it's supporting something 00:53:05.440 --> 00:53:11.719 local and really meaningful. I love free libraries. 00:53:11.940 --> 00:53:14.619 I use them all the time. Elkins Park is positively 00:53:14.619 --> 00:53:17.619 littered with them in the best way. But this 00:53:17.619 --> 00:53:20.340 felt like a way to really contribute to a bigger 00:53:20.340 --> 00:53:22.679 ecosystem, which is something that is tremendously 00:53:22.679 --> 00:53:26.139 important to me The book bank is obviously part 00:53:26.139 --> 00:53:29.179 of the local circular economy Which means it 00:53:29.179 --> 00:53:32.099 values reuse and local business again having 00:53:32.099 --> 00:53:36.590 lived in Philadelphia for 17 years being really 00:53:36.590 --> 00:53:38.630 passionate about seeing those local businesses 00:53:38.630 --> 00:53:41.429 thrive and making things more accessible in a 00:53:41.429 --> 00:53:43.869 responsible way for more individuals. I felt 00:53:43.869 --> 00:53:46.849 like my donation really became part of a cycle 00:53:46.849 --> 00:53:49.949 that supports a small bookstore and other leaders 00:53:49.949 --> 00:53:53.769 and the community around. So it's not just giving 00:53:53.769 --> 00:53:56.150 something away, right? It's investing in something 00:53:56.150 --> 00:54:01.179 that matters. Why doesn't every city have this? 00:54:01.360 --> 00:54:04.719 It's part bookstore. It's part community exchange 00:54:04.719 --> 00:54:08.420 It's a place where books keep moving and it's 00:54:08.420 --> 00:54:10.840 also connecting people instead of collecting 00:54:10.840 --> 00:54:14.079 dust, right? You are living in the experience 00:54:14.079 --> 00:54:16.639 of reading a little bit. It's good for your shelves 00:54:16.639 --> 00:54:20.880 It's good for your neighbors. It's good for Philly 00:54:20.880 --> 00:54:28.460 Thanks for joining us on this episode of circle 00:54:28.460 --> 00:54:32.340 up where we explore the world of resale. And 00:54:32.340 --> 00:54:34.980 special thanks to Linda Gallant from H &H Books. 00:54:35.460 --> 00:54:37.639 You can find out more about the store, events, 00:54:37.719 --> 00:54:44.159 and the book bank at theheadinthehand .com. And 00:54:44.159 --> 00:54:46.360 thanks to Karen Jared from the Resource Exchange. 00:54:46.780 --> 00:54:48.219 If you want to find out more about the store, 00:54:48.340 --> 00:54:51.599 you can visit theresourceexchange .org. And to 00:54:51.599 --> 00:54:53.880 learn more about Resource Philly, the city -wide 00:54:53.880 --> 00:54:56.360 searchable database for where to donate just 00:54:56.360 --> 00:55:00.420 about anything. go to resourcevillie .org. We'll 00:55:00.420 --> 00:55:02.659 have all these resources and more in the show 00:55:02.659 --> 00:55:05.900 notes. And if you, like me, have a bunch of clothes 00:55:05.900 --> 00:55:08.079 to donate in the back of your closet, you may 00:55:08.079 --> 00:55:11.719 be interested in our next episode all about textiles. 00:55:13.280 --> 00:55:15.880 The Circle Up podcast is presented by Circular 00:55:15.880 --> 00:55:18.820 Philadelphia. It was produced by Meredith Nutting 00:55:18.820 --> 00:55:22.219 at Cool Goon Productions. This podcast was supported 00:55:22.219 --> 00:55:24.539 by a grant from Penn Treaty Special Services 00:55:24.539 --> 00:55:27.269 District. If you want to learn more about the 00:55:27.269 --> 00:55:29.369 circular economy, go to circularphiladelphia 00:55:29.369 --> 00:55:30.190 .org.