Check Out Chris Scott’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Scott.

Hi Chris, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
ReCreative Denver was founded in 2016 by Emily Korson, Matthew Shaw, and myself. Initially, it was imagined by Emily as a creative reuse store (basically just a thrift store for art and craft supplies). She had previously co-founded a similar concept in Seattle called Seattle ReCreative and when she moved back to Denver with her family, we decided to try something similar here. As we were looking around town for potential spaces to house ReCreative Denver, we met Matthew, who had a woodshop set up in the garage of the space we ended up renting. We all got to talking, and as fate would have it, he was extremely enthusiastic about coming on board and helping us develop the idea.

So now we had a community workshop in addition to the thrift store. And in assessing our new home, we realized we could also offer private art studios. The idea certainly has evolved significantly to take advantage of circumstances we couldn’t initially foresee. Now, almost four-and-a-half years later, even as we settle more and more into a rhythm and know more what works and what doesn’t, it continues to change and evolve further, particularly given the challenges of the last year with COVID. Through it all, the creative reuse store has always been the engine of the whole endeavor, but the workshop and the studios are a huge part of what gives ReCreative Denver such a sense of community. And that community is what I cherish most of all.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t know if anything like this is ever going to be a smooth road, and we’ve certainly our share of challenges. Especially in the early going, it was a lot of long hours for everyone involved. Outside of the three of us, there was no other staff. Arriving at the point where we could actually pay people to help us was a huge milestone. And in general, money is always going to be a concern. Our rent is, frankly, obscene. Easily our biggest expense. So just making sure we have enough money to cover that and utilities, and to pay our staff every month is obviously paramount. As a nonprofit, nobody here is trying to get rich off this thing, so as long as we have enough momentum to keep moving forward, everybody is happy!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a former graphic designer. Current Director of Operations for and co-founder of ReCreative Denver.

What does success mean to you?
I have a lot of faith in the concept we have established here and am very proud of what we are able to offer to the community. Success to me is just being able to keep going, keep growing, and to keep the lights on. Every day someone new learns about us and is so thrilled to have done so. I get a lot of, “this is my favorite place in Denver.” That’s good enough for me.

Pricing:

• Expect prices up to 75% off of retail, and even less in some cases.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@recreativedenver.org
• Website: www.recreativedenver.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/recreativedenver
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/recreativedenver
• Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/recreative-denver-denver