ROANOKE, Va. – A community trinket exchange in Roanoke’s Grandin Village has been temporarily shut down after its creator says it was vandalized overnight.
The Roanoke Trinket Trade box, located outside Show Pony, had become a popular stop for residents looking to swap small items, leave gifts and connect with neighbors.
“I love stuff like that,” said Elena Leando, who works nearby at Grace’s Place Pizzeria. “I just think it brings people together. I just think it gives happiness and some color to the place.”
But the box is now gone after the creator said it was vandalized overnight.
Leando described the exchange box as “something sweet and cute and fun,” adding that it was upsetting that someone felt it necessary to take away that magic.”
According to social media posts from the owner, surveillance footage showed a man destroying items inside the box and ripping up flowers beneath it. The owner said the contents were stolen and replaced with trash, while signs connected to the project were torn off and taken.
“Because of this, I will be taking the boxes down as of today,” the owner wrote in a social media post. “I put so much love, time, money, and care into creating this little community space, so this is incredibly upsetting and disappointing.”
Leando said the box had become a constant source of activity in the neighborhood.
“It was just constantly, every day, all day. I’d see somebody out here,” she said. “People would either leave here, and they’d drop something off, or I’d see teenagers, kids getting stuff with their parents.”
Despite the vandalism, supporters remain hopeful the exchange will return.
“I really hope that they can manage a comeback for it,” Leando said. “I loved it so much.”
The owner said the closure is temporary and that plans are underway to reopen the trinket exchange at a safer indoor location somewhere in Grandin Village.
“The Trinket Trade box is not going anywhere — and this is just a reset, not the end,” the owner wrote.