The Long Beach Depot for Creative ReUse

As previous reviews have stated, this place is SUPER inspirational. If you love thrift shops, you will love this place. It’s kinda like a craft thrift shop! I love how they have boxes of small things, like paper, buttons, ribbons, etc. that you can buy for like 10 cents each. The people who work here are super sweet too. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for something new for inspiration! Totally unique and beautiful place here.

What a great craft spot! I’m in this store at least once a week piecing together some kind of project. It’s great that they’re keeping the landfills empty, and everything is so inexpensive — I put together a gift and went into the Depot to get wrapping paper, a bow, materials to make a card, a whole bunch of stuff, and it cost me less than a dollar! Definitely a fun spot I’d recommend to anyone.

Wonderful little place, lots of excellent finds, extremely well-​priced and a great place to catch up on local going-on’s.

Love this little place.

I absolutely love this place! It’s like a treasure chest! If you’re looking for unique materials for arts and crafts this is definitely the place and the prices are amazing! One of my favorite places in all of Long Beach :)

This has to be one of my favorite places of all time. They keep items out of landfills and into the hands of artists, crafters and teachers! Lisa is always so sweet!

great place to find projects to work on if you’re crafty! Everything’s like a dime or quarter! I always get my greeting cards and wrapping paper/​bags here. Love to get materials here for halloween (home made) costumes on a budget! thankfully these items get reused instead of thrown in the landfills. the family that works this place (mother — daughter duo?) are so friendly and helpful.

Love, LOVE this place! An amazing concept beautifully executed by Lisa and her daughter. Super cool stuff in a neat, organized space. Great conversation, inspiration and artist connection. Went in with my daughter and didn’t want to leave!

I love this place! I get so many great ideas from the bins of neatly organized odds and ends here. Little scraps of felt and buttons and stickers along with a ribbon or two and construction paper have all made their way onto my party invitations, holiday cards, Easter baskets — just about any project I can imagine, these little bins of goodies lend themselves to the task. This is not the place to «shop» for a particular item, but rather to find a way to reuse a discarded item that still has plenty of life left in it — like the statuette of a trophy that can be repurposed or curtain fabric samples that turn into wonderful tote bags when sewn together. The local artists make some pretty creative and useful items from items sourced at The Depot and I always pick up great gifts for friends and family that you just won’t find anywhere else. Really, where else can you find a stuffed ninja voodoo doll (Yes! I found one there!) or homemade cat toys with fresh catnip, or Eco-​friendly reusable sandwich bags — all in one place? I get so many compliments on the gifts I give from here, and it makes me feel good to be a part of the cycle of reducing, reusing, and repurposing.
If you’re hands-​on, creative, and looking for inspiration, this is your place. Also, if you’re challenged with finding a cool and unique gift for an environmentally-​aware friend, what better place to look than here!

Shrug, OK. My most recent experience here, I walked in a few months ago and they had a nearly identical array of junk as the last time which had been several months before that. If your art is specifically about reclaiming random junk, that’s super — and you could do just as well to make a habit of scrounging thrift stores, bargain stores, alleyways, garage sales or all the other places that free secondhand stuff can be rescued from landfill, rather than holding your breath waiting for this outfit to have something materially helpful for you here. A lot of people obviously like this place, and the owner too, but she does give me the stink eye and the cold shoulder when I walk in even though she doesn’t really know me. Probably has something to do with the time she tried to run the arts nonprofit that my studio is at out of town on a rail. (It didn’t work, too bad so sad.)
Your mileage may vary.

The women who run this place are absolutely lovely and the store is so much fun! Basically, they take objects and materials that can be upcycled (which is virtually anything) and then sell it at super reasonable prices.
Artists come in here to buy supplies for their projects, families come by to purchase materials or objects they might need around the house or for an event. It’s a super diverse clientele, which I really like.
You can purchase items individually or in large quantities and the owner will always helpfully suggest a project in which you may be able to apply the item. They also offer classes to the community, so even if you aren’t initially inspired, they’ll help you figure out how to best express yourself!

This store was such an awesome idea, and I think that it’s such a cool thing to have in Long Beach! This shop survives off of donations — bits and pieces that a lot of people might usually throw away. But like they say, «one man’s trash is another man’s treasure». There are so many odds and ends in this shop, anything from scrap fabric to bottle caps.
Some people may be overwhelmed by this store, or think many of the items are useless, but this is like a playground for creative people! Even though I may not see all ye possibilities with these bits and pieces, I truly appreciate it and understand that lots of people make use of these items. And the best part — everything is SO CHEAP! Many things are even sold for 5 and 10 cents, so you can buy tons of items and only end up spending a dollar or two. I really respect this store and hope that it continues to thrive!

Be CREATIVE and REUSE that item
If you’re a child of DEPRESSION parents REUSE’ing is NOT a NEW idea to you. If fact if you’re one of those OVER THE TOP, tree hugging, Save the Planet one Yogurtland spoon at a time type person or you’re the Mr. or Mrs. Save-​A-​Lot or the CEO (Constantly Examining Others) and making a mental note to go dig that piece of chewing gum wrapper out of the trash can because it can be used for line a bird cage! While I do think recycling has its place I can’t say I recycle EVERYTHING! It’s time consuming and frankly I was born in to this cesspool we call our plant but I’ll will go out of my way to try and reuse plastic grocery store bags in my bathroom waste paper baskets. Not because I should recycle but more because I can save a buck or two and NOT have to buy those mini trash bags they sell at OVER inflated prices.
So if you’re THAT person or maybe an ART teacher, or just into creating different items from discarded or old things this might be your place! They can take just about anything and they will separate it and RESALE it for REUSE. I found out about this place after this lovely lady I used to work with found it. My company at the time was going through a logo redo/​renew type of design. My company had oodles of things from award ribbons and trophy’s, clothing, paperweights, REUSE-​able bags, leather wallets, pins, stickers, letterhead, etc that they could no longer use because it ALL had the OLD LOGO on it. And God forbid it be used after our new logo was reviled at the start of the new year!
My company was going to rent a dumpster and basically have a BIG BBQ in the parking lot (minus the hot dogs) until this Save the Planet employee (very nice lady) said «Hold up wait a minute, let us put some BOOM in it». Not really all that… hahahha, but she did say wait I will head up a committee to help dismantle what we can and separate things to donate to this company. At first the company «Powers that be», were like most companies and didn’t want to pay employees to help them save money and get a tax break. REALLY! So she had people VOLUNTEER their precious lunch and breaks to take crap apart and separate it into boxes that she would take her own gas, mileage and time to drive over to LB to donate because they did not do pick-​ups. Can you say «Tree Hugging Angle»?
Anywho, while the committee of Save the Planet Worker Bees took hundreds of hours and months to pick items apart to donate the company STILL WHINED and COMPLAINED like UNGRATEFUL BRATS that the process was NOT going fast enough! WAIT a D*MN MINUTE… Are you trying to tell me that all this FREE labor to help YOU… NOT the employees save money and get a tax refund is taking TOO FRICKIN LONG! REALLY, REALLY… I guess you ARE THAT SELFISH! Why don’t you go relax on your 150 foot yacht in the South of France so we can finish and NOT listen to you B*ITCH and COMPLAIN! Some people.
Months later after all was said and done the REUSE STORE sent a lovely letter telling the company how all their donations helped them out! A few of us went by to check it out and this place is AHHH-​MAZING! They were able to use EVERY SINGLE thing DONATED! From buttons, to ribbons with logo cut off that could still be used for some project, small useless looking plastic boxes a teacher used for crafts in her classrooms so kids could decorate and make a pencil holder for Mother’s/Father’s Day.
Several crafters came in were able to make all sorts of jewelry, or wall art I AM NOT INTO but some body apparently likes because they seemed to NOT have missed a meal and were driving a very nice car. So I’m guessing sales are going well for them. Even my co-​workers was able to make a company skirt and line a blazer and come as our company mascot made all in award ribbons for Halloween… Pretty wild what can be done with REUSE items if you put your mind to it.
This place is a crafters HEAVEN! The sky is the limit and the limit is the sky depending on what you can think up to do. This place takes the phrase, «One person’s trash is another person’s treasure», to a-​whole-​nother level. Stop by if you have ankle biters that are in need to an items for a school project or if you just want to keep them busy this place starts off where Michael’s craft store end. If you have things to donate in bulk this is your place, or if you’re an artist, or just want to make your own accent pieces to go around your home because you’re on a budget and someone lied and told you that you have talent… This is YOUR place!

I just moved to Long Beach and was looking for cute artsy places to go to, and this was definitely a good find. Bought a couple of things that I plan to make jewelry with, and only spent two dollars! I plan on going back soon, I had a lot of fun looking through everything and the lady behind the counter was so sweet.

I have so many praises for this place. It’s a godsend for art students (artists in general, really) and people looking for inspiration, odds and ends, and pieces of crafting material that you just can’t find anywhere else. I’ve found the coolest stuff in here (old projector slides, black and white photographs, old keys, an Exotica album that I promptly stuck on my wall…)! Everything is super inexpensive and very well organized, and the owner is such a wonderful person. She’s super friendly and will tell you everything going on in the Long Beach area, introduce you to local artists if they happen to be in the store, and will always make your experience in the depot a very pleasant one.
The stuff in there changes out all the time, so I make it a point every now and again to pop in and see what’s new. You never know when something unusual and eye-​catching might just show up in a bin tucked next to rubber circles and old nuts and bolts. :)

I love this place! It is packed full of all sorts of fun stuff to play and make neat things with. It is owned by the sweetest Mother and daughter team, who are very helpful.
If you are ever in the neighborhood it is worth a stop, even if you don’t have anything specific in mind to make. Maybe it will inspire some new creations:)

This is another little gem hidden within Downtown Long Beach’s East Village Arts District.
This place is where you should go whenever you are feeling crafty, in need of inspiration, in need of a last minute gift, or whenever you’re just on an adventure.
They have nearly everything here.
Paper towel rolls (which my rabbits and the rabbits I care for at the shelter LOVE to nom).
Beads (which I can never get enough of being a dreadhead).
Fabric.
Glitter.
Cards.
Wrapping paper.
Carpet.
Googley eyes.
Wooden dowels.
I could go on for paragraphs.
I like looking at the things people have created from using recyclables.
The shopkeeper and her daughter are really sweet and talkative.
The prices are so cheap, which encourages you to use recyclables.
If you haven’t checked this place out yet, please do.

Interesting place that collects a lot of donations for re-​use purposes. We’re talking like a poor man’s Michael’s or Joann’s. You’ll find bottle caps, paper clips, glitter, stickers, tubes, etc etc… just tons of stuff you can make if you let your imagination take over. Sometimes, they accumulate too much stuff and they give the extra away for free.
One of the more interesting things I saw was a car tire refashioned into a purse!

When I first walked in, I was a bit disappointed at the place because it was so small. This place is not meant for browsing because you would have absolutely no use for the things that they are selling. The items that they sell are actually considered junk laying around the house to most people.
However, if you need items to put together an art project or need items to make a Halloween costume/​props (which is only around the corner), then this is the best place to go. You’d be surprised to see how much random stuff they have it, and even more surprised that you actually need these random stuff for your project!
To just name a few things that they have for sale: wine corks, toilet paper rolls, matches from various hotels, soda/​beer bottle caps, photographs… each for less than 10 cents!
The owner was so sweet and obviously knew her store very well. With a place like this, it is very hard to know exactly where things are, and to find exactly what customers are looking for. My boyfriend described the type of material that he needed for his project, and she found exactly what he needed. As we went to pay for them, we were a quarter short (used them all on the parking meter). He told her to put back some of the items because we didn’t carry enough with us. The nice owner kept insisting that we took them and that it was no big deal.
Do not let the looks of it deceive you. Come take a visit, and this little hidden gem will definitely surprise you.
***Bring some change for metered parking***

What an awesome, hidden gem in downtown Long Beach!
A friend told me about this place and I just had to go. She had me at random trinkets and recycled stuff with potential.
There’s soooo much stuff here!
You can get a usb cable for five cents!
How awesome is that?
In my most recent visit, I came in looking for some nice paper to fold into an envelope for my grad invites. Instead, I found some nice envelopes for one cents each. ONE cents!
The owners, Lisa and her daughter, are so pleasant to work with.
Another thing that I really love about this place is they have info on different businesses in the area and can be used as a resource to connect with others as well. The business cards board is such an awesome idea!
Donations accepted! One bag at a time please!
Happy recycling!!!