Scraphouse, a creative reuse market and makers’ studio will open in Village Square on June 20. The nonprofit, run by co-directors Tony DeMartile and Shira Lompa, will offer donated arts and crafts supplies and crafting workshops as well as being a community hub for local artists and makers.
Attention local artists, makers, crafters and tinkerers: Mark your calendars for June 20, because a local resource named Scraphouse will open its doors in Orinda where you can shop, share and learn.
Lamorinda will soon have a convenient space to pick up art supply needs, or get ideas for a craft project. The timing couldn’t be better with the closure of craft stores like big box chain Joann Fabrics, along with the growing numbers of crafters of all ages.
Located at 128 Village Square, Scraphouse’s marketplace – open every Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. (until further notice) – is on to something good.
Co-directors Tony DeMartile and Shira Lompa want Scraphouse to be the first place Lamorinda residents think of when searching for supplies for a project, when looking to donate materials, or share their creativity.
This new creative reuse market and makers’ studio is behind the Orinda Safeway (in the Saint Anthony’s Thrift former location),and is already taking shape with neatly stacked watercolor papers, colorful bolts of fabric and dozens of yarn skeins.
Tables are set up, ready for gathering and later for workshops, including classes on needle felting, embroidery, painting and herbal remedies – which begin in the fall.
This idea of setting up a physical community space to serve as a creative reuse market and makers’ studio in Lamorinda began about a year ago when Lompa met DeMartile.
DeMartile is one of the owners of Saint Anthony’s Thrift in Orinda, using his keen eye for curating and repurposing items that would otherwise end up in a landfill. When Lompa left a career in the corporate world, she discovered an “obsession” with fiber arts – everything from felting, crocheting and rag basket making.
Together, with their love of creativity, shared joy in working with their hands and making connections, they formed a partnership and decided to create Scraphouse. Their vision for Scraphouse is to be a local space to “inspire sustainable thinking and ensure that potential waste becomes a catalyst for education, connection and art.”
There is a particular emphasis on cycling items within the community, taking excess items no longer wanted or needed that have been cluttering businesses, garages and homes, and reusing them for projects.
Scraphouse wants to be the “go-to” donation spot for arts and crafts supplies. This also enables artists and people interested in taking up a new medium or project to do so more easily since some supplies can be prohibitively expensive.
The creative center’s founders are keen on encouraging “‘skills’ sharing.”
Lompa explains that “a beginner might see a professional artist transforming reclaimed wood or scrap fabric, sparking immediate inspiration and mentorship.”
She is already a good example of skills’ sharing, having taken the skills she has learned from family members and teaching in after school programs.
While showing a scrap fabric basket project in progress, she explained that the process of making, even while listening to a podcast, is so much more fulfilling than looking at her phone. DeMartile took up sewing in the pandemic and his love of recycling items led him to offer mending workshops at his Saint Anthony’s Thrift shop earlier this year.
The two are not alone, but part of a larger trend. According to a 2025 US Arts and Crafts Consumer Report, 71% of adults identified as crafters, seeking ways to reduce stress and build community.
DeMartile and Lompa hope Scraphouse will become a place to build community, where people can feel free to create outside home or work. They’ve already made connections with artists and creatives of all ages who will be teaching workshops in the fall.
Scraphouse is a nonprofit and relies on volunteers. They are currently seeking community members for two- to-three hour shifts on Saturdays and Sundays, beginning June 20. Those interested can sign up at scraphouse.ai/volunteer.
They are also actively accepting donations of creative supplies to stock their shelves. To see the specific list of accepted items and donation guidelines, see scraphouse.ai/donate and visit their website at scraphouse.ai.
