Ideas are great. I am a huge fan of ideas. When I have ideas, they are usually fairly grandiose and terribly specific. The wonderful thing about this is when I have the means, I can generate fantastic results! The dreadful reality is I often do not have the resources to support my vision. Thankfully, I often times can come up with creative solutions to bring my notions to fruition. This time is no exception. My first thought was THRIFT STORES! And oh my holy goodness, has that been a great resource! Check out some of my favorite finds:
Another resource I have tapped into is discounts and coupons with craft retailers – SLPs in schools, YOU are teachers too! Use those teacher discount programs and often times they layer on top of other coupons. Hobby Lobby and Michaels have been great for odds and ends like these:
So if you’re local to the Metro Phoenix area and work in the schools, you need to check out Treasures 4 Teachers! I bet there are local organizations like this all around the country so do some research! This place is going to be invaluable once I start the job. Come with a shopping list of things you would ordinarily go get from your school’s supply closet but that maybe there just isn’t enough of to go around. Anything you’d schlep to Staples for can be found here for SUPER cheap or even for free. The bonus of this place is you will likely come away with a few bonus items that you weren’t expecting and I think that’s the most fun! On my first visit, they happened to recently have a large donation of fairy garden supplies from JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts. The sale event was over and as long as I spent $10 that day, I was able to take several free items. They wound up sending me away with an entire fairy garden sample display because “if you only take the pieces you want we’ll never be able to get rid of the rest of it”! Yep, they are in it to be rid of it! So go get what you need! I spent $11 on this day (in addition to my annual membership fee of $35) and came home with this:
Now the next resource I have been utilizing is one that initially I planned to stay away from but hear me out: boutiques and antique stores. In my experience, any shop using the words “boutique” or “antique” in their names or descriptions are bad news. Yes, there may be VERY valuable collectible antiques inside but I have also found they are in amongst lots and lots of items that are not all that old, unique, or valuable. Yes, the items are adorable and rustic/shabby chic is very in…but that doesn’t mean they need to price the items at the same premium. With all that being said, I have to say, there are times when a visit to such a shop is worth while. I struck a little bit of gold with a boutique going out of business. I waited a bit too long on the sale dates and missed out on a few rockin’ pieces I wanted but I have time and things come ‘round again in my world.
Here’s another creative avenue you may have never considered…a side gig! Mine happens to be that I am a rep for a direct sales company. About a year and a half ago I found a product I love and a whole lot of people around me love it too. I signed up first with the purpose of building my own collection which evolved into earning some extra money for family fun and whimsical experiences. I’ve taken my family on a few small adventures with my earnings this last year and while that is still a goal I work towards, I have added funding this project to my list of reasons why I proudly represent my chosen company. I’m really not out to fish for customers here but if you feel inclined to support my project by patronizing my small business, you can check it out here.
The last suggestion I have, if you really believe your purpose is rightly aligned, is to ask for donations! Now, please realize, I’m not saying you need to start a Go Fund Me page or even a Donors Choose project for creating a unique learning environment. I thought long and hard about these avenues and I came to 2 personal conclusions:
1) I don’t want to ask my friends and family for money outright. Yes I keep my personal network informed of the goings on of my direct sales business and I do welcome contributions of old items they don’t need that would fulfill a purpose in my room or their contributions of time, ideas, and shout outs when they spot something at a great price when they’re out and about. But I don’t wish for them to give me their hard-earned money when I am not providing them anything directly in return. I am happy to earn money by providing a product or service but I am not a charity and prefer not to ask for it.
2) Donors Choose could be a useful resource but many districts have policies and procedures about donations that come in this form. In my case, I have no idea what my new district would require for this and while I probably could go find out, at the end of the day the items I am collecting need to belong to me. SLPs in particular get moved around more than the average teacher due to frequent shifts in need. I’d hate to put all this work into this project only to be told I can’t take it with me if I ever needed to move. I don’t intend for these materials to serve as just a “pretty room” but rather I have a whole outlook on treatment that goes with it (more on that soon!) so the room without me just wouldn’t fulfill my intentions here.
“So Mary, what are you talking about when you say you ‘ask for donations’???” Listen up, kittens, because you may have never considered this…businesses and organizations! Surplus STUFF and untapped funds! I’m only just starting out with this piece but I will tell you that I scored 3 decent sized pieces of faux grass for my garden floor just by emailing a local turf company and asking if they had any remnants! If you think I’m stopping there, you’re wrong! I can’t wait to spend some time thinking of other local business I can contact for this type of thing. I'm not going to just collect and hoard junk - my inquiries are very specific. You'd be surprised what you can find!
Here’s my best anecdote for this avenue of support yet…are you ready for this? It's a good one!
Through a train-of-thought style search expedition on Google, I discovered there is a fabulous organization called the Lewis Carroll Society of North America! Who knew, right?? Well, I gathered up all my courage and wrote an email to their president explaining my vision. Guess what – the president of the organization is also an educator and really loves this concept! She said they have never made a contribution like this before so there are no policies or procedures in place to follow about this but she definitely wanted to present my query to the board to see if they can contribute financially to this project! Isn’t that amazing??? If you take away one piece from this bit of my story, I hope it is this: You are not alone in your passions. There are people – sometimes entire groups of people – sometimes entire groups of people who have organized themselves and devoted themselves to work on behalf of the very same thing you are passionate about. Find your tribe! I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at the support that’s out there that is perfectly matched to your unique niche. Can’t wait to find out what they say – I’ll update as soon as I hear!
Oh! I can't forget this last piece - I hope to thank my contributors in some small way. I can't decide exactly how I'd like to do it yet. I really don't want to make a large sponsor display because I feel commercial logos would lessen the aesthetic but I do want to promote those who have helped whether individuals, organizations, or companies. Ideas welcome!
