Redux: Where Art and Ecology Intersect

Redux Studios and Gallery, an ambitious and innovative social enterprise of the non-profit Society of St. Vincent de Paul, is now open for business and breathing new life into the site of the organization’s former Lincoln Avenue thrift shop. 

St. Vincent de Paul operated a conventional retail thrift store at the 2315 Lincoln Ave. site until the space was transformed this month into artist studios, a gallery and a retail store featuring handmade arts and crafts made from salvaged and reclaimed materials. 

The concept for the project evolved slowly, according to Chris Rummell, the manager of Redux. He said that in 2006 St. Vincent’s began an “artist in residence” program at its East Oakland facility and added a “fashion artist in residence” slot in 2009.

Eventually the organization established what it called a "functional found art project" at its West Oakland facility. Materials not sold at St. Vincent’s thrift stores were diverted to artists in these programs, who transformed them into salable creations. 

Redux studios in Alameda, he said, was created to similarly support local artisans working with repurposed or salvaged materials, but on a larger scale. It is offering 13 affordable work spaces to artists; five of these spaces have already been claimed. Its retail store and gallery will provide a venue for these in-house artists and others to show and sell wares.

All artists are welcome to rent the spaces, but those working with recycled materials are especially sought. In addition to having free wi-fi on the premises, the space boasts a private entrance for artists, who will have access to the communal space 24 hours each day, seven days per week. They will also be given weekly access to salvaged materials they can use to create their art.

Items that Redux will make available to artists renting space in its studio and leading its classes may include cast-off paper, books and textiles, cardboard, plastic, wood and metal. Some of the material may have been broken upon arrival at one of St. Vincent's thrift stores or did not sell for some other reason

Rummell anticipates artists using the space will be doing printmaking, creating collages, fashioning textile art, making mosaics, sculpting small outdoor art pieces and painting. No welding or heavy-duty woodworking will be allowed in the studio because of space constraints, he said.

He said he hopes the artists will find a sense of comradery and inspiration working side by side with one another. 

Rummell said St. Vincent’s has long been a leader in diverting merchandise it cannot sell from the waste stream — and that Redux is just part of a wider effort to be a good environmental steward.

In addition to providing space for artists to create, display and sell their work, Redux will also be holding art classes and offering tours showcasing to the public what can be done with materials that otherwise might be tossed. “Right now we are looking for teachers as well as tenants,” said Rummell. 

Even though it just opened, first through third graders from the Art Yowza camp in Alameda have already visited the studio and used recycled materials to create owl pins, which they donated back to Redux’s retail store to be sold to the public. 

Rummell said his ultimate wish is for Redux to become closely linked with some of St. Vincent’s other programs, such as a women’s sewing workshop operating out of its West Oakland facility. “My hope would be that we could provide these seamstresses with textiles to create items they could then sell in the Redux shop – perhaps allowing them to create a collective or micro-enterprise of some sort.” 

Revenue from Redux will be plowed back into St. Vincent’s many social service and jobs programs in the Bay Area, such as its West Oakland dining room that serves 1,000 meals each day, its culinary training program and its visitation shelters for homeless men and women. 

Rummell is not new to either the non-profit or environmental fields. He joined St. Vincent’s in 2008, working first with its e-waste collection program, which keeps electronic items out of landfills and offers clients experience in warehousing, shipping and receiving. Before that he served in the non-profit Ameri-Corps in Seattle, WA, and has worked in salvaging architectural materials. He grew up on California’s central coast but lives now in Alameda. 

One of his first orders of business, he said, will be to network with Alameda arts organizations and make the public aware of the store's existence. “We will be offering classes, holding gallery opening receptions each month and offering tours,” he said. The retail store will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.   

Although the site is no longer a “thrift store” as it was in the past, Rummell said it will still accept donations of items from the public during its normal business hours. No dumping or leaving items outside of those hours will be permitted, however. 

Staff members who worked at the site when it was a thrift shop have  been redeployed to other St. Vincent de Paul facilities and retain jobs, Rummell said. One of those staff members was transferred to Redux and will work closely with Rummell.

You may also visit Redux Studios and Gallery on Facebook.