by Zack Mink
If you have ever wandered around the Arcata Plaza, you are certainly familiar with Eco-Groovy Deals and their wide range of second hand clothes and home goods. You might have also been someone that would walk out of the store without purchasing anything because you were looking for a wider range of affordable furniture, home utility tools or just sticking to a personal budget.
Jayce Walker, owner of Eco-Groovy Deals, has heard your calls and opened the Eco-Groovy Clearance Outlet on 513 K Street just five blocks away from the Arcata Plaza. The store opened on Jan. 10 after months of work and stays open everyday of the week from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Students can purchase items tax free until the end of this month.
With this new clearance outlet store, Walker’s goals are to provide the budget furniture, home utility tools and affordable clothing the community has been asking for.
“People say, ‘what’s your secret to success?’ Listening to what people need and want,” Walker said. “Trying to find that and doing it in a way that is as sustainable as possible.”
Unlike Eco-Groovy in the plaza which is 75% clothing and 25% refinished furniture and home products, Walker’s goal for the outlet store is to utilize the larger space and have 75% budget furniture, hardware and home goods.
“There are items that we were stashing to fix that started to build up. And when people said, ‘don’t they have budget furniture?’ It’s like well, I do have some,” said Walker. “That wasn’t something I could do in the plaza.”
Other goals for the clearance outlet store are to continue Eco-Groovy’s textile recycling program which lends support to smaller non-profit thrift stores, and do more furniture repairs extending the life of useable items which contributes to their sustainability focus.
Walker’s goal for the clearance outlet store is to continue their textile recycling program that supports smaller non-profit thrift stores. This program contributes to their focus in sustainability as they hope to do more furniture repairs.
Walker’s set of founding principles are held at both of her stores.
- Reduce local landfill
- Create local jobs
- And serve the community
In the future, Walker would like to expand the impact she has in Arcata, both interpersonally and environmentally, by doing more upcycling of clothing, shoe repairs and turning the empty outdoor space into a community garden to host community members.
“My passion is more about community service than it is about padding my pocket,” Walker said.
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