Milwaukee is full of incredible stores and hidden gems. New shops are added to that list all the time. At the end of August, a thrift store for art supplies opened, making art materials accessible for everyone.
It’s called Magic Hands Creative Reuse in Milwaukee’s Murray Hill neighborhood. A spool of thread is $0.50 used or $1.00 new. You can fill a bag of fabric scraps for $3.00. Folders are $0.10, highlighters are $0.25, and stamps range from $0.50 to $3.00.
“I think art making is magical. It’s an alchemical process. You’re taking something that, again, maybe is someone else’s trash, and they’re just looking to get rid of it, and you’re turning it into your own treasure,” Emily Downes, the owner of Magic Hands Creative Reuse, said.
Downes is a lifelong artist, has hosted art workshops for more than a decade, and teaches animation at UW-Milwaukee. She wanted to make art ultra accessible. Everything in her shop was donated, from the yarn to the googly eyes to the glue to the popsicle sticks and to the jewelry. It’s all second-hand, gently used, or even brand new. For basically $1.00, you can get all the supplies you need to make art…