St Louis artists band together in wake of recent vandalism

St. Louis has taken a beating lately, and in the wake of recent riots and vandalism , I would like to share this story of hope.

Local St. Louis Craft Mafia member, Autumn Wiggins opened a store called The UpCycle Exchange in St. Louis. The UpCycle exchange offers St. Louis' creative community craft and art supplies at a Pay-as-you-wish pricing. After the Michael Brown ruling in Ferguson, a peaceful demonstration near The UpCycle Exchange went awry and the windows of her building were broken out.

The next morning , an online "kickstarter-type" campaign was started to help The Upcycle Exchange pay for new windows. Within 4 fours over $2,000 was raised to help this small, independent business replace her broken windows. Artists stick together!

St. Louis has gotten a lot of bad press lately, but having lived in this community for over 50 years, I can tell you that this city and residents are an amazing group of people. I feel honored to be part of this city.