Ahhhh!
Wow!
So as a support worker for homeless young people I get to do a lot of things that technically are "work" but which I can honestly say would be something I would do wether I was paid or not!!
One of my recent tasks was to find affordable art supplies for a project our young people want to do. As I hunted on the Internet for the best deals I ran across something called "Bright Ideas". It's seemed to good to be true. A warehouse filled with any number of random left overs donated by businesses or individuals that find themselves with a lot of left overs that they just can't bare to throw away. The epitome of "one man's trash is another man's treasure".
My manager (who happens to be the best manager ever) said she knew about the place from back in the day when she was a journalist and wrote a story on it opening up and she would drive us down there to see what we could find.
OH
MY
GOODNESS!!!
When we walked in there was so much goodness and loveliness everywhere I didn't know where to start. From glitter in little tubs, to left over cut off of paper, to shavings of coloured plastic, to buttons, to left over paint, to crazy Christmas decorations, to bags of magnetic tape from inside videos all ripped out and put into separate SELLABLE bags! It just didn't stop!
And it wouldn't be a scrap scheme in Essex if they didn't have an abundance of mascara!!!
Not only is this place a great place to let your creative juices flow, but it's also a way to give back and make this world a better place. Waste is something that always annoys me and I also love the creativeness of recycling. Loads of people think recycling is this really boring, out of the way rubbish job. But Colchester Scrap Scheme reminded me how awesome it is to not just throw something away because its original purpose passed, but to try and revisit its use with a different angle or purpose and to HAVE FUN!!!
So if you find yourself in need of cheap craft supplies or are just curious about this treasure trove in Colchester then get yourself to the Hythe in Colchester Monday, Friday or Saturday 10am to 1pm and get shopping.
By the by, my manager and I stuffed two shopping baskets full and only spent £12 so yo! Being creative, giving back and recycling is affordable and ANYONE can do it. So DO IT!
P.S. I see this place as being a common prayer room supply top up shop!
Over this weekend my hubby and I got to go to this cafe in Marks Tey called the Food Company (well its actually a specialty shop added home decor shop, recently added restaurant cafe. We wanted something a bit different, but nice and to be fair it is kinda hard to find places that serve breakfast after 10am (which is complete crap because if you are not going to make breakfast for yourself it is most likely because you have slept in and hence would not be waking up early to fill your breakfast need!) But I digress..
So as we were sitting in said cafe/restaurant I noticed that they had nice tables, professional looking chefs, there own fromagary, butchers, fish bar, bakery and a host full of other hand selected items.
You could tell that the staff knew what they were doing and that the types of items you were choosing had been selected with the purpose of being the best item of choice for you. It felt a lot less like "what deal can I get or how much are they ripping me off for this" and way more like.... well like home. A safe place were good products were chosen, yes to fill a need, but also to make the most out of life. A place where I could finds good things to add to my life and not just a place that took good things from me and gave me crap in return.
I like places that make me feel like I are making the most of life. In this world where apathy has numbed our sense of worth and value by encouraging us to just complacently load up our lives with the cheapest "value brand" (that is anything but valued) this shop was a breath of fresh air.
I also didn't pity the people that worked in this shop. In fact I found myself envying them. I wanted to be down with the club, to be involved in something that had so much purpose and quality. I found myself dreaming of working in their fromage cupboard or baking up goodies for the rest of my life in their bakery. What a life of value to be able to be a part of a team of people adding such quality to our world.
It didn't take me long to connect the dots as to where I find this worth in my own personal life, but it did make me wonder how many other people are hungry for this type of place... where each and every item is chosen with a purpose, where quality of people, environment and service means something.
I'm glad this places exists in our world... and that (at least for now) we still have to option to shop at places where there is such a sense of purpose, quality and respect interwoven into their DNA.
It also reminded me that if I ever have the chance to build something, to please please please not let the illusion of money, success or power out way the beauty of good quality, heathy relationships and a true value of worth.
http://www.thefoodcompany.co.uk/
About Me
- Teen Bean
- I'm just some regular girl trying her best to be a good friend, woman, christ-follower, wife, mom and adventurer (in no particular order). I love variety, trying new things and meeting new people and sharing experiences with others. All of which in one form or another can be found in this space. WELCOME!
Heart Heart Time!
Stevie and Beanie
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