Show Notes

In this episode of The Localist podcast, host Carrie Rollwagen sits down with Blakely O’Connor, the Harvard-trained engineer who left academia to open The Craft Room, a creative reuse store in West Homewood, Birmingham. The Craft Room collects donated arts and craft supplies from the community and resells them at affordable prices, while also serving as a drop-in maker space, weekend workshop venue, and private event destination.

Blakely shares how The Craft Room came to life, why she believes having your hands busy is one of the most reliable ways to build genuine connection, how she manages an inventory she can never fully predict, what went into the decision to run a for-profit business instead of a nonprofit, and what it actually felt like to step away from a PhD research career at Harvard to open a secondhand craft shop in her own neighborhood.

Topics Covered in This Episode

How to donate supplies, drop in to craft, book a workshop or host a private event at The Craft Room
What a creative reuse store is and how The Craft Room sources and organizes donated inventory
Why having your hands busy during a gathering makes conversation easier and connection more natural
How The Craft Room balances looking organized with feeling approachable enough to touch
Why Blakely chose to run The Craft Room as a for-profit small business rather than a nonprofit
What a B Corp designation means and why it appeals to a values-driven business like The Craft Room
How events became a core part of the business model and how the community helps shape the calendar
The sweet spot for promoting events on social media: why two weeks out tends to work best
Why doing your own social media can actually be an advantage as a small business owner
What it felt like to walk away from a Harvard PhD career and rebuild an identity around a small shop

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Connect with The Craft Room

The Craft Room is a creative reuse store in West Homewood, Birmingham. They sell secondhand arts and craft supplies at thrifty prices, host drop-in crafting, workshops and private events, and operate as a creative third space for the community.

Website: https://www.thecraftroom.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecraftroomhwd/

Mentioned in This Episode

Nexus Fitness (West Homewood) https://nexusfitness.com
The Craft Room https://www.thecraftroom.co
The Craft Room donation guide https://www.thecraftroom.co
Seeds Coffee Co. (West Homewood neighbor) https://seedscoffee.com
Turnip Green Creative Reuse (Nashville) https://turnipgreencreativereuse.org
Scrap ATL (Atlanta) https://scrapatl.com
Make and Mend (Boston area) https://makeandmend.org
Seattle Recreative https://www.seattlerecreative.org

Follow Carrie Rollwagen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crollwagen
Website: https://www.carrierollwagen.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/crollwagen
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@crollwagen

Listen to The Localist on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/01dHWZxkHaguyawbXzrzwU
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-localist-with-carrie-rollwagen/id1482221936

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Thanks to Our Sponsor, Infomedia

The Localist is sponsored by Infomedia, a Birmingham-based web and digital marketing company that helps small businesses get big results online.

Contact Infomedia: https://infomedia.com/contact

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Join Us at Localist Lab

Localist Lab is our free live marketing event series for small business owners, held on the third Thursday of most months at Saturn in Avondale. Each session features practical strategies you can use right away, plus free tacos and coffee.

See upcoming events and register https://infomedia.com/events

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