If you ask Matt Elias, our Online Sales Specialist, what it’s like to run the ReBuilding Center’s e-commerce operation, he’ll smile, shake his head in amazement, and say the same thing he says every single week:
“Every day is Christmas.”
And he means it.
Because every day, Matt unwraps treasures.
Not the kind you’d find under a tree, but the kind that arrive tucked inside donated toolboxes, buried in buckets from garage clean-outs, hidden behind panels of reclaimed wood, or handed over carefully by community members who say, “I hope someone can use this.”
And more often than not—someone can.
A Daily Parade of Possibility
Matt’s world is a river of unexpected finds: vintage hardware, rare architectural salvage, hand-forged tools, midcentury fixtures, ornate drawer pulls, industrial oddities, reclaimed lumber, antique hinges, and the kinds of one-of-a-kind objects you truly cannot find anywhere else.
Some pieces are hyper-local—snapped up by Portland makers, homeowners, artists, and DIY dreamers. Others travel far beyond Oregon, shipped to customers across the country who are hunting for exactly what Matt lists: the just-right part for their restoration project, the missing piece of a repair, or a bit of history they couldn’t find anywhere else.
It’s a daily reminder that reuse connects us—across neighborhoods, cities, and time.
The Stories We Keep in Circulation
Every object that passes through RBC carries a story.
A doorknob from a 1910 craftsman.
A vintage saw restored to working life.
A cabinet hinge with fingerprints from three generations.
A pile of reclaimed cedar siding that smells like summer from a house long retired.
Matt doesn’t just photograph and list these items—he honors them. He sees their potential, their history, and their future home.
Because at the ReBuilding Center, we don’t just move materials.
We move stories, memories, and possibility back into the hands of people who will make something new.
It’s one of the purest expressions of our humanity: recognizing value where others see waste, and placing it back in community circulation so someone else can build, repair, or reimagine a second life.
A Circular Economy, Powered by Community
Matt’s work is one slice of a much larger ecosystem—one that keeps hundreds of thousands of pounds of usable materials out of landfills each year.
The ReBuilding Center is Portland’s oldest and largest reuse organization, and our online sales program is a crucial way we extend our reach. When Matt lists a 70-year-old tool and ships it to a woodworker in Vermont or a film set in California, that object becomes part of the circular economy in action:
Extract less.
Reuse more.
Reduce carbon emissions.
Keep materials in play longer.
Support jobs, creativity, and community innovation.
Every donation fuels this cycle.
Every purchase strengthens it.
And every “Christmas morning” moment Matt experiences is only possible because someone chose reuse instead of disposal.
We Need Your Donations—And Your Stories
To keep this magic going, we rely on materials donations from our community. If you have:
Tools (old or new)
Building materials
Hardware
Fixtures
Lumber
Unique or vintage pieces
Oddities with character
Cabinets, doors, windows (in good condition)
Items too interesting to throw away
…we would love to see them.
Your donations keep Matt’s “Christmas morning” alive, help makers and homeowners find what they need, and play a direct role in reducing waste and protecting our planet.
More importantly:
You help us keep stories—and resources—circulating in our community.
The Heart of What We Do
When Matt says, “Every day is Christmas,” he isn’t talking about surprises alone.
He’s talking about delight, gratitude, and connection.
About the joy of finding something unexpected.
About giving materials a second (or fifth) life.
About seeing strangers in Oregon, Ohio, and everywhere in between light up because they found exactly what they needed.
And beneath all of that, he’s talking about what makes the ReBuilding Center who we are:
A place where nothing is wasted.
A place where stories matter.
A place where community, creativity, and climate action meet.
A place where every day brings new gifts—for all of us.