When Emily Tirella opened her secondhand crafts store, Make & Mend, in 2017, she was thinking as a student. She was inspired to start the business after taking a weaving class at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and experiencing the high cost of art materials, especially reusable ones.
“All of the materials [in that class] were made of wood, handcrafted and completely reusable,” said Tirella, who found herself with gently used — but never to be used again — shuttles at the end of the class. But, when students didn’t have a like-course on their schedule in the near future, the pipeline to pass the used materials on or resell to peers wasn’t always straightforward.
Hoping to extend the lifecycle of craft and arts materials, Tirella came up with the idea of a specialty secondhand store to keep the inspiration going. The store operates as a donation drop-off for spare materials and a low-cost retailer for used supplies. Over seven years, Make & Mend has transitioned between three locations in Greater Boston, each a space upgrade to host more facilities.
Now, also operating as an online storefront, its current physical location opened in March 2022. The two-story shop in Union Square features retail space upstairs and a large basement with a warehouse and space to host events like the popular Fill-a-Bag shopping series.
Fill-a-Bag events, which happen approximately every six weeks, allow attendees to peruse bins and boxes of supplies and materials — from yarn to stamps to crayons — while stuffing a grocery bag to the brim for a flat rate of $10 before tax.
“It’s a great way for people who are just starting out creatively or are on a budget to stock up on materials for a low price,” said Tirella. Across the summer and into the upcoming Sept. 14 edition, the “fill-a-bag” event will include school supplies.
While art and grade school students may have the best luck in the bins this month, Tirella encourages all curious, sustainably-minded crafters to take a peek.
“We get all sorts of people that come to our events, children, families, and older folks,” Tirella stated. “There’s something for everybody whether you’re even creative or not.”
Fill-a-Bag, Sept. 14, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Make & Mend, 21 Hawkins St., Somerville. makeandmendshop.com
Arushi Jacob can be reached at arushi.jacob@globe.com.
