Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Make and Mend – exploring needlework, vintage stylee

Those of you who know me well may also know that I’m a secret stitcher. I used to make all my own clothes when I was younger and had the time, am a dab hand at embroidery and needlepoint and am fascinated by textiles. Unsurprisingly the V&A is my favourite museum and I absolutely loved their latest exhibition about Quilts (go see it whether you’re into stitching or not – it’s just fascinating to learn and imagine the stories behind each of the pieces).

Anyway, I digress.

I’m going along to a new evening workshop this Friday evening in Shoreditch called ‘Make and Mend’. Lucy Wills is the brains behind it. She’s an RSA fellow who has been promoting recycling and reuse for years via http://www.weallreuse.com and is always looking for ways to combine performance and creativity, and this event is an example of that by the sounds of it.

Lucy tells me that Make and Mend is a mix of workshop, master class and performance held in the most vintage of venues, Time for Tea http://www.timefortea.org.uk. We’re invited to bring along  scraps and pieces – we’ll be admiring, using and swapping anything we bring. We’ll also have a chance to explore techniques and get help with our vintage projects and repairs. There’s also entertainment in the form of  Mae West movies, talking about her style & costumes with a Q&A as to how they were made & worn. And there’ll be special guests, couture jeweller Lucy Wills from http://www.seraglia.com and costumier and vintage stylist Helen Kathryn Goule to lend a hand. Oh, and there’ll be at least one sewing machine on hand as well as fabric and thread for us to try out techniques ourselves.

So, if you’re even slightly curious, why not brush up your vintage and join the fun at Make and Mend! It starts at 6.45pm on Friday evening and costs just £7 / £10 including some materials, so please book here: http://www.meetup.com/weallreuse/calendar/12923763/ 

The venue, Time for Tea is a charming former bank decorated with 1940's antiques which I’m absolutely fascinated to explore. What a treat for a Friday evening.