VIDEO: Free Store Pops Up in Eagle Rock

They came by the scores to Eagle Rock from as far as Venice and Miracle Mile, bringing with them clothes, shoes and houseware, books, videos and electrical appliances. Gathering in a parking lot on York Boulevard, just a few blocks west of LAFD Fire Station 55, they spent much of Saturday afternoon swapping, giving, sharing and offering free lessons in a range of subjects that would make UCLA Extension blush. Not a dime was exchanged—everything was free.

Many passersby had trouble figuring out just what was going on in the parking lot in front of Casa Princesa cafe at 4527 York Blvd. But to everyone there, the aim was clear: To give away unwanted belongings while strengthening community bonds.

The 10 a.m.-2 p.m. November 13 event was the brainchild of Krisha Hernandez-Pruhs, a Highland Park-based community organizer and student at Cal Poly Pomona who heads LAfreestore, a volunteer group evidently so dedicated to reducing waste that it prefers to even get rid of the spaces between the words "Free" and "Store," merged with the name of the nation's second-largest city.

"I'm constantly looking to reduce my waste stream and I wanted to bring my inspiration to others as a way to build community," said Krisha, explaining that she got the idea for a pop-up store from The Diggers Free Store, a volunteer group of hippies who run a permanent swap store in New York City. This is the first free pop-up that Krisha and her fellow volunteers have oragnized, and people got to know about it by word of mouth or through the group's Facebook page, which has 427 members. Krisha plans to host at least three similar swap events every year. The next one will be in spring, she said,  and it will probably be held in the neighborhood.

As a guitarist sang country songs, people went about browsing and picking up anything that caught their fancy. "I brought a lot of clothes and just now talked to someone who took one my dresses," said a Highland Park resident who identified herself only as Erica. "I said to her, 'that dress looks great on you—it's my dress,' and she said she was going to wear it to a Bar Mitzvah."

Each of the swappers was given a sticker to wear, which advertised the free lessons or services they were willing to offer for free. Themes ranged from "Chef," "Gardening" and "Chickens" to "Soccer," "Chess" and "Childcare." Some of the stickers had "Smiling" scrawled across—a vital ingredient for community building, said Krisha.

As many as 50 to 60 people swapped goods at any given time, which, organizers said, suggested several hundred people attended the event. Among them was Annabel Feeney, a resident of Monterey, who came with her dog Penelope. Feeney said she wants to start a similar pop-up in her Northern California hometown.

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