No RSVP needed!
come for COMMUNITY, fun, free crafts and cookies, amazing art, and all sorts of deals!
The other day I was out on the trail with Pearl and Mabel and the song “Oh Happy Day” popped into my head. It tends to pop into my head when I am feeling rather grateful, and gratitude often happens once I am in the woods. On this particular day I was immediately transported back in time to a moment when I was lucky enough to sing this song with a big choir. Nearly thirty years ago (I just did the math and realized how old I am, yikes!) I found myself in quite a grief stricken hole. My high school sweetheart/college boyfriend had died in a single car accident coming home from his final exam at the end of our freshman year of college. I spent the summer grieving with friends and family and then when fall hit, I decided it was time to go back to school. I had stupidly transferred schools in order to be closer to him (oh silly young love) and found myself starting my second year of college at a whole new school where I barely knew anyone. As I numbly moved from dorm to class and back again, I found myself looking for something, anything to help me deal with the grief.
Thankfully I knew a few people at my new school and one of them suggested we sign up for Black Voices- the UVA choir that sings music of the African American culture (i.e. anthems, spirituals, classical music, contemporary gospel, etc). Being neither African American, nor Christian, nor a singer, I was convinced that this was most definitely not the place for me. But this goddess of a friend dragged me with her and despite all the aforementioned reasons I should not join, this amazing group of singers took me in and taught me some incredibly beautiful music. Have you ever sung with a group of people before? There is something quite powerful about being in a group and singing. And being in a gospel choir where we got to perform in churches and see people react to the music?! There aren’t any words I can write that explain the powerful feeling I felt during those concerts. I am forever thankful to the people in that choir and community that took me in that semester and taught me those songs. Being part of that community certainly helped to ease the grief.
Creativity, sustainability, and community are our three core values here at the Scrappy Elephant. We are leaning hard into community right now because all of us are dealing with a whole lot. And when life is hard, being in community makes it so much more bearable.
Little Scrappy and I took a little road trip last week down to Durham, NC (highly suggest it if you are looking for a fun place to get away that is just a short trip from central Va). I saw this gorgeous mural (one of the many beautiful murals in Durham) and it hit so hard. Life is so beautiful (like this mural, like the Duke gardens, like the ability to spend time away with my preteen) and life is so very hard (like the senseless wars and deaths, like another record breaking summer of heat and fires, like *people being taken from their families and locked up simply because they were not born in this country). I can’t name one person I know right now who is not struggling. This is why we are working hard to build community and have Scrappy Elephant be a third space in Charlottesville and Lynchburg. We absolutely love hearing this sentiment, “I was having a bad day, so I came to Scrappy to get a little color and joy.” We want you to know that you don’t have to spend a penny when you come to Scrappy Elephant- just come and be.
While we can’t teach you gospel music or offer any group singing (though you are more than welcome to sing any time you are in the shop), in our Charlottesville location we have some people working to build community with some free and nearly free third space gathering activities. On Fridays we have our lovely Slow Stitch teacher Carolyn offering the Slow Stitch Sanctuary in our Book Nook. Starting in September, Scrappy’s own Charlotte will be hosting Crafter Hours in our classroom every Monday evening and the Fiber Arts Fan Club every Tuesday evening. We have an awesome group of UVA Environmental Science grad students offering a Knit and Learn series starting in September- it’s a chance to gather with fiber artists and learn about the natural world, how cool is that? And in our Lynchburg location our very own Marie and Natania host Thread Therapy Thursdays the second Thursday of each month. Our very own Jules offers Sober Social Craft Nights the fourth Friday of each month. So many opportunities to make new friends, make some art, and help lighten the load a bit!
In addition to these community gatherings, we also have a whole lot of amazing classes thanks to all the extraordinary teaching artists who choose to teach here at Scrappy Elephant. Thank you teachers!
In Lynchburg:
Taking a moment to say thank you to WTJU for helping us spread the Scrappy word in their Arts This Week segment. Thank you so much!
Reminder that this month marks our 4th year of being around in Charlottesville (and our 6th year overall, whoa) and we’d love to celebrate with you! Please join us from 10 am-2pm in our Cville location on Saturday, August 15th for an awesome artist fair, free crafts in the studio, free cookies for all, and lots of free prizes and sales!
None of this would be possible without the support of you and this incredible community. Thank you so much for supporting the work of this little creative reuse center with your donations, with stopping here first for supplies, with playing in our studio, with taking classes, with gathering for our free events, and with sharing this email with friends. We are so thankful to be here in community with you.
Sending all the love and light,
Sarah Sweet
*last year, the phenomenal Cville nonprofit, Sin Barreras came to one of our Craftivism meetings and told us all about the powerful work they are doing locally to help our immigrant community. They are in urgent need of our help right now. This is directly from an email I received from them this week:
“The surge in immigration enforcement activity across Charlottesville and the surrounding region has created an urgent and growing crisis for the immigrant families we serve. Deportations, incarcerations, and ongoing threats have left many community members living in constant fear and uncertainty. Some are afraid to go to work, creating immediate financial hardship. Others have lost their primary breadwinner to arrest or deportation and don’t know how to move forward. Many are in critical need and have nowhere else to turn.
Sin Barreras is now, and for many years has been, the central hub for the Latino immigrant community. Our phones are ringing more than ever, and we’re committed to answering every call and turning no one away. But our staff and our dedicated volunteers are at capacity. The volume and complexity of needs has far exceeded what our current team can sustain, and we need help.
Testimonial from a local mother:
“They took my husband away and left me alone with four children. I suffer as a wife, as a mother, watching my children suffer for their father. But the pain of those children, who every day were used to seeing their dad, who love their dad, who is a good man, who takes them to the park, who takes them out. Now those children are afraid to even go outside . . .”
You can help us hire the staff we need to be there for every family that calls. Please consider giving through the Charlottesville Community Area Foundation (CACF), one of our community partners, or directly via our website.”
Here is the link to donate through CACF and here is the link to donate directly to Sin Barreras.
Happy Birthday, Scrappy Elephant. Sarah and team, you are doing an amazing job meeting your core values of creativity, sustainability, and community.
I had the pleasure of attending Carolyn’s Slow Stitch Intro class and Slow Stitch Sanctuary. I have one mostly completed project and have sourced amazing fabric scraps from the store. For less than $30, I have all the fabric, embroidery floss, and needles for dozens of projects. I was overly excited and bought a bit more than I really need. I have gotten good at donating back extras that I come home with.
I’ll be a regular on Fridays for Slow Stitch Sanctuary. Last week, everyone shared a few materials and ideas with each other. How fun is that.
Sarah, I was in choir from middle school to high school. There is nothing like singing with a group of people. Our choir participated in completions all over the southeast, and participated in massive events where dozens of choirs came together to sing. Because I was in show choir and concert choir in high school, I had about 2.5 hours of choir a day and more when we had upcoming completions. This was at a regular high school, not an arts school. I loved it! I am hoping to find a choir in Charlottesville. I haven’t been in choir for decades, but I crave the connection that comes through music.