Please note - donations are ON HOLD through the end of August!

Donation Guidelines

Creative Chaos Emporium accepts donations of

clean, usable, arts & crafts supplies.

Since we opened (January 2026) we have collected over 13,000 pounds of arts & crafts items!

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we sort through the donated items we currently have in storage. We hope to be able to accept donations again in the fall as we clear some space.

Please review the current guidelines below and check back after August for updates to our policies for dropoffs and what we can accept. Thank you!

yes, please!

  • Arts & Crafts Supplies

    • New or lightly used paints (oil, acrylic, watercolor etc), brushes; pencils, crayons, working markers & pens 

    • Empty sketch books & journals, blank canvases, paper in good condition, easels

    • Printmaking tools/supplies, screen printing supplies, sculpting & other art tools; stained glass tools/supplies

    • Stamps, ink pads, paper punches, working scissors, stickers, rulers, bookbinding supplies, paper craft tools, blank cards + envelopes, scrapbooking supplies, tape, glue/adhesives

    • Beads, findings, jewelry-making supplies & tools

    • Arts & crafts books (how-to), craft-related magazines

    • Little crafty items - pipe cleaners, pompoms, googly eyes, rhinestones, sequins, buttons, small tiles (under 1”), etc

  • Fibers & Fabric

    • Clean, usable fabric (ideally at least ¼ yard), thread, sewing needles, notions, pins, zippers, buttons, trim, ribbon, elastic, closures, velcro, bobbins, bias tape, fabric dye/paint, working sewing machines/sergers, embroidery floss & hoops, other tools & supplies for sewing/needlework

    • Yarn (tidy skeins or balls please!), “unfinished business” - small, partially completed projects, other tools & supplies for knitting, crochet, tatting, felting, spinning & weaving, etc

  • Upcycling Stuff

    • Tiny boxes, wine corks, metal springs, old board game pieces, dice, marbles

    • (Please note - we are currently at capacity for the following upcycling items: brown paper shopping bags with handles, empty paper towel rolls, empty toilet paper rolls, cardboard mailing tubes, clean bottlecaps, unused chopsticks)

  • Other Interesting, Unusual & Vintage Items

    • Wooden & metal picture frames (with glass & backings)

    • Small toys (especially animals, cars, action figures, dolls, wooden blocks, legos, wind-up toys), miniatures (dollhouse furniture/accessories), trophies, trinkets, shells, seaglass

    • Vintage ephemera - old photographs, slides, filmstrips, cigar boxes, vintage maps, vintage sewing notions/art supplies with interesting packaging

    • Wooden crates/boxes, wicker baskets in good condition, vintage tin containers, costume jewelry (whole &/or broken), ceramic/terracotta planters & live potted plants, small lamps and lampshades. 

      If you have something else we haven’t thought of, please reach out to us (hello@creativechaosemporium.com)!

Please double-check donations to make sure they are CLEAN & functional, and that they don’t include items we’re unable to accept (see below).

Bonus points for organizing by type - thanks for your help!

no, thank you

For the safety of our staff & patrons, please do not donate items that are smelly, moldy, mildewy, damaged, hazardous or illegal.

We* are also unable to acccept :

  • Holiday & party decorations/supplies

  • Wrapping paper, plastic ribbon

  • Artificial flowers

  • Household decor/houseware items

  • Plastic/styrofoam plates/utensils

  • Packing material (Bubble wrap, used packing air cushions, etc)

  • Construction materials (household paint, insulation, etc)

  • Books (other than how-to or arts/crafts related)

  • Weapons

  • Pill bottles, medical supplies 

  • Cleaning supplies

  • Plastic food containers

  • Cosmetics/hygiene supplies

  • Clothing, shoes

  • Large toys or stuffed animals 

  • Furniture, large appliances/electronics

  • As of April 2026, we will only be able to accept donations during the first two weeks of each month in order to have time and space to sort/organize items properly.

  • If you have more than 3 full bags/boxes of items to donate, please contact us ahead of time to make sure we can accommodate your donation.

  • Please do not leave donations outside of the store if we’re not open!

    • Your donations are valuable and if they get damaged by rain, wind or neighborhood creatures they’ll have to be thrown away instead of repurposed :(.

HOW TO DONATE

to Creative Chaos Emporium:

* If you have good, usable stuff that we can’t take,

other local organizations may be able to help!

donate to local organizations

(PLEASE NOTE - donations are currently ON HOLD through the end of August!)

any questions

about donations?

If you have a question that wasn’t answered above, please feel free to contact us at hello@creativechaosemporium.com.