The Small Town Coffee shop on Kaua'i got a little bigger recently when it opened a clothing and housewares exchange store at its Kapa'a location.

The Small Town Exchange opened about a month ago on the second floor of the Small Town Coffee building on Kuhio Highway. The exchange sells used clothing, accessories and other items, and also provides eBay trading assistance to customers.

Jeremy Hartshorn, one of three Small Town Coffee owners, said the exchange was a natural extension of the coffee shop, which features fair-trade, organic coffees. He said the goal of the exchange is to reduce consumer textile waste and provide Kaua'i residents with inexpensive, eco-friendly clothing.

Hartshorn, his wife, Julie, and friend Anni Caporuscio purchased Small Town Coffee in February and have made improvements to the shop, including a new deck and offering free wireless Internet connection.

Small Town Coffee also has opened its doors to local artists, musicians, independent movie-makers and even politicians.

"We're striving to recapture kind of what the old coffee houses were, which are kind of a meeting place where ideas are exchanged and people hang out and talk politics, religion, basically just a place that stimulates conversation," Hartshorn said. He said the shop recently began allowing political candidates to place literature on a "know your candidate wall" as a service to customers.

"It's normally covered in art," Hartshorn said.

The idea for the exchange came up when a tenant on the second floor of the shop moved out. Hartshorn said the three of them wanted to start a business that was in line with their community and environmental concerns.

The exchange buys, sells and trades textiles, and it also sells items for customers through eBay. Many of the products are "things you'd find at a garage sale," Hartshorn said.

"We've heard people say, 'People could do it themselves.' And the answer is, sure. Some people enjoy doing it and some people have more important things to do with their time," Hartshorn said. "And some people just think it's fun to roll the dice with us."

He said the exchange's commission on each sale varies from 20 to 40 percent.

Small Town Coffee and Small Town Exchange are at 4-1495 Kuhio Highway.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.