Elpis Enterprises has many products to share with the community built by the interns; from bird feeders to chairs, t-shirts, and even repurposed coffee bean tote bags.
These tote bags are made at Elpis’s office and made from old coffee bean bags that would otherwise be thrown away. Once the bags are repurposed into their new designs, Elpis distributes them to the various coffee shop partners within the community, including Wildflyer Coffee in Minneapolis and Tapestry Coffee in Lakeville.
“Working with Elpis was a no-brainer for us,” said Kelly Van Daalen, co-founder of Tapestry Coffee. “We absolutely love any time we can source things for our business that go beyond just providing us with a product or service.”
“I got introduced to Elpis in 2019 when I founded Wildflyer, and obviously, Elpis does really similar work so someone had connected me to Paul to learn from his experience,” said Carley Kammerer, executive director of Wildflyer. “I connected him with our roasting facility because we had access to coffee bags and if they were going to do something with it, I thought it would be great. Once we made that connection they ran with it.”
Providing space for a non-profit such as Elpis to have their handmade products available for people to purchase has been a draw for many who stop into Wildflyer and Tapestry for their caffeinated drinks. Carrying these products at their coffee shops, Kammerer and Van Daalan are always happy to share the backstories of how these bags are made with their customers in their shops.
“There’s just a sense that we’re all working together because they see we’re partnering with others and doing better together. When people buy these bags and support us they’re also supporting multiple different people and agencies in the Twin Cities so it just feels very communal and keeping our sales and support local. Just being a part of this greater stem of support for youth experiencing homelessness is a great thing,” said Kammerer.
“Providing at risk youth jobs is an incredible mission and it goes along with many of our values at Tapestry in the same way we value providing longevity and livelihoods from crop to cup and within our staff and employees. Sourcing goods for our shop that are backed by a mission and similar values is so important for us,” added Van Daalan.
With gaining intrigue from customers on the greater mission of Elpis plus seeing how interns can create products from scrap and into reusable bags. Both Wildflyer and Tapestry will continue to sell Elpis’s repurposed coffee bean bags in their stores not only because of their popularity with customers, but also to support the many interns learning valuable career skills as they are making them as well.
“It’s just so refreshing to be able to work with a vendor with a deeper mission! Tapestry’s owners are passionate about employing at-risk youth and young adults. it’s incredible to see the work that is happening inside of Elpis. I hope all coffee shops in the area + beyond are able to work with Elpis to continue to support their awesome mission,” said Van Daalan.
“They’ve sold well. I like the story of it, letting our customers know how this partnership has created multiple jobs using a product that was going to go to waste. I think it’s something people believe is cool and get excited about and they’re cool bags, so they always sell well. It’s been a fun addition to our merch lineup,” said Kammerer.
In addition to marketing the Bean Bag totes to coffee shops, these bags also make great premium gifts for companies to hand out to employees or guests at various events. Most recently, JAMF, an Apple device management company, purchased 96 bags to be used for a swag bag give away within their company. Other companies have purchased bags and had Elpis embroider their logo brand on them as well.
You can stop into Wildflyer Coffee or Tapestry Coffee to find one of the many different types of reusable and repurposed coffee bean bags for sale. Or, you can visit Elpis’s website to find them for sale on our digital shop.
