East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse

This place is a dream! They sell anything and everything - jewelry, fabric, books, posters, board games. Great prices, organization and layout. Staff are very friendly and help with projects. Great for teachers setting up classrooms - I believe they have a program around that. Perfect place to wander looking for a gift.

This place is so much fun!! It's hard to sum up the spectrum of things you can find here, but I'll try: blank canvases, paints of all types (powder and liquid tempera, acrylics, enamels, for fabric, for glass, for crafts...), crayons, markers, pens, fabric, art paper, wrapping paper, gift bags, ribbons, stamps, buttons, sequins, small toys, glitter, decorations, jars, bottles, vinyl records, CDs, magnets, stickers, boxes, books, magazines, corks, yarn, thread... Perfect spot for art teachers and art enthusiasts. You'll com in wanting one thing and the store will trigger you're creativity in millions of different ways. Everything is very reasonably priced. Credit card minimum is $2.

These people are freakin' awesome! Super nice and helpful. Donated about 200 lbs of really nice fabric that I know will be put to good use.

I’m a teacher in Oakland and took my 12th grade class to this store on 12/7. Upon entering the store a white haired lady approached me and told me I couldn’t bring a class that size (17). The store had maybe 5 customers at the time. We remained at the store and shopped while the same lady stood and watched the students as if they were going to steal. I have never felt so uncomfortable and unwelcome. Upon checking out, I was denied the 25% teacher discount even though I provided my id. The lovely ladies checking us out directed me to a QR code to sign up for the discount, but the same white haired lady interjected and said I couldn’t do it that day. At that point it was clear that she just wanted us out of the store. I’m not sure if that lady is the owner or manager, but it is very clear to me that she is incredibly racist.

The store has really gone down hill since the older white woman took over. Staff used to be friendly and helpful and the store well put together; now the staff looks depressed to be there and the smug lady behind the counter is neither friendly or helpful. I’ve come in before to see her yelling at employees, which never happened before. The board would do themselves well to consider management change.

Every time I’m in Oakland I come here because it is FULL of treasures.

Wow! What a store. We were recommended to come here because my son loves books (They have a giat section of National Geography.) Our daughter is a little artsy. She loves art and craft since she was one year old. She got a big nice fablic for 25 cents! I got myself a very nice tea cups from England for $1! And 2 coffee cups from Japan for $1.50 each. What a deal! They have pretty everything. Children books are only $1! If you are thrifty or just want to save money on art projects, this is your place. Super friendly and helpful staff. Mask is still required.

I’ve been to the Depot many times. Always something new and intriguing and useful. I tend to hoard art and craft supplies. So I’ve also found a new home for items I no longer need. Win-win! But my one frustration is their drop off hours. Of course it’s a small, understaffed facility… and heaven knows what they do with the materials they can’t use… but I wish they had more open hours to accept donations. If you do want to donate, contact the depot directly to confirm the donation gate hours, which change often!