Welcoming (ARTT) Another Reclaimed Treasure From Trash, 1033 C Street, to Downtown San Rafael!
Another Reclaimed Treasure from Trash (ARTT) was recently founded by Crystal Lynn Vargas and Michelle Hope Martinez local moms, longtime friends, colleagues, burners (Burning Man enthusiasts) and artists. ARTT’s mission is to advance recycling efforts, use reclaimed/recycled materials to create works of art and provide a space and opportunity for local artists to do the same. The mission can be summed up as follows: less landfill & more art.
ARTT is located at 1033 C Street between 4th & 5th streets in San Rafael’s Arts & Culture district. The location has both an amazing retail shop and art workshop/studio. While other counties in the SF Bay Area enjoy non-profits, such as SCRAP, dedicated to keeping items out of landfill AND using those reclaimed materials to create art and foster a community of artist, there was nothing like that in Marin, County…until now!
The retail space offers a curated selection of art supplies, fabric, yarn, sewing supplies, maker supplies, jewelry, housewares, apparel, and original works of art spotlighting local artists, all at very reasonable prices. ARTT’s studio space offers a wide variety of arts & crafts workshops and is available to rent for events, parties, and community meetings. ARTT collaborates with local businesses profit & nonprofit alike including Settling Seniors, Birch Circle Movers, Make it Home and Changing Places to source items for the retail space, helping to keep things out of landfill.
Crystal notes “there are many aging Marin residents downsizing or moving on to non-earthly addresses. We make sure useful items do not make it to landfill (in 2023 Marin sent ninety-three (93) tons of items to landfill). ARTT uses the items to stock the store and/or to make art with a focus on recycled materials. It is a win/ win for families and businesses that are clearing out homes and for ARTT to use the items to further our mission.”
Crystal and Michelle met over ten (10) years ago while volunteering at Bacich Elementary and became fast friends. Crystal is a California native who has published a small-town adjudicated newspaper “Ridge Rider News”, ran a busy COVID testing lab during the pandemic and worked as a project manager for a homeless solutions nonprofit. Michelle has a degree in dance and an MBA in nonprofit management. She worked as the Director of Finance at By the Bay Health and the CFO at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. In 2024 both left their jobs to focus more on their love of community and art. We are working to enrich and better our little corner of the world. ARTT is open Tuesday-Sundays 10am-6pm and accepts donations with gratitude. You can learn more about ARTT at www.arttca.org.
