It's Traid's #Secondhandfirst week!

I was invited to guest write on Traid’s blog this week, so thought I'd post up a copy with a few more pictures on my own blog as well! This week Traid has initiated the first hopefully of many  #Secondhandfirst week, jam packed with interesting activities encouraging us to take the #Secondhandfirst Pledge. It is a great great initiative which also highlights the ways we buy our clothes and a reminder of all the environmental and social problems in the textile and garment supply chain. We all have the capacity to affect these problems in positive ways as conscious consumers and citizens.

The volume of textile and clothing waste in the UK is quite staggering (Source WRAP: 350,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill every year. 30% of our unwanted clothes goes to landfill. 60% of UK households have unwanted clothes & textiles at home) We are throwing away or just hoarding valuable resources!!

In the ‘Hierarchy of waste’; reduce and reuse are at the top of the pyramid. For me this way of thinking and being is very easy. I was brought up on a diet of second hand being careful. Hand me downs (or hand me ups!) was the norm without any shame or stigmas that today’s youngsters seem to feel. As a teenager (and continues to be so!) sourcing clothes from charity shops was fun, a great source of individuality, re styling possibilities and affordable! I still take advantage of Traid’s famous £2 sales!! As I enter my mid years I also appreciate the emotional durability of second hand, especially items from older relatives which hold memories, stories and history. Many vintage clothes were made to last too.

Care and repair is an important part of making our old clothes go further and re connecting with the joy in fixing and looking after items. Tired old clothes gives us an opportunity for re styling an item giving that buzz of wearing something completely different and you had a hand in making it happen! I have observed a skill shortage and lack of confidence in being able to do this. Back in the day these skills would have been passed on through the family or taught in school. This has motivated me to run regular classes in learning to sew and refreshing your wardrobe through simple alterations, mending, darning & embellishing and these classes are popular which is heartening!

Upcycling adds value through creativity and design. Items too damaged for re use present an opportunity for transformation. A few years ago I iinitiated ‘The Upcycling Academy’ to give young people the opportunity to experience a ‘Productive Line’ to re imagine a different approach to fashion, to create rather than consume. Partnering with Traid, War on Want & the Craftivist Collective, we each added ‘Values’ along the line.

Taking inspiration from ‘Cradle to Cradle’ thinking, imagine a garment circulating through many owners in its lifetime? (Truthfully many garments never reach their full potential in relation to resources, energy used to make and distribute the item)

I love the recent trend for Clothes Swapping or its older sister ‘Swishing’. Jo of Mrs Bears Clothes Swap tells me that that she has regulars who use her swaps to ‘rotate their wardrobe’ – brilliant!

Wonderfully TV programmes such as ‘The great British sewing Bee’ which added an upcycling / alteration challenge to the second series and ‘This old Thing’ (the vintage clothes show) have inspired the nation to look at old clothes and lost textile skills with a fresh passion. Even Coronation Street discussed the possibility of an ‘upcycled wedding’! It’s all good!

So now over to you dear reader! Get involved and feel inspired! There are a range of fun activities taking place during #Secondhandfirst week.

My next Fabrications craft club on Thursday 20^th November is a #Secondhandfirst themed evening with a clothes swap upstairs in the shop and revamp / mending session downstairs in the workshop. More information and Booking info.

P.S: All the featured projects in this post use clothing sourced from Traid!

Sustainable gift wrapping

Last week we were very happy to wave goodbye to a large order of our 'Rethink Rubbish' sustainable gift wrapping kits to Amnesty International. I thought it might be of interest to share some of the process with you.

A sack full of vintage scarves on arrival

This is how the scarves arrive from the recycling factory. We then sort into different colour ways for laundering. Then scarves are styled together according to colours and design into 3's and then the ironing marathon commences! (Any scarves with holes or stains get set aside for cutting up for our Rosette + Fascinator kits or educational workshops - so nothing is wasted here at Fabrications!) Alongside bows and rosettes are also made.

A box full of gift wrapping kits at departure

The 3 scarves are then packed with 2 handmade bows + rosettes with an instruction card showing how to wrap your gift in a scarf using the Japanese art of 'Furoshiki'

All safely packed before the next destination

The final result, I think you will agree is very stylish and it's re usable, so that's 2 gifts in one! Maybe even 3 if you count the handmade bows + rosettes which can be worn. As well as being available at Amnesty's shop, the kits are available at Fabrications and a number of other quality outlets. We will also be offering the gift wrapping as a service at Fabrications for all of December and also at the East London Design show.

what's in the window?

The Window changes alot at Fabrications but at the moment it's all about baked goods! There's crochet cupcakes and biscuits, and some amazing ceramic cakes by Robert Archer (you may have seen his stuff at the V&A's village fete in the summer!) His knitted playstation controller is also amazing!

These embroidered boxes are by Taman Sheikh, whose currently studyingTextiles at Chelsea college of Art aren't they lovely! Perfect for carrying your crochet cakes in! Which she also made along with the biscuits!

More pictures!

Meet Christina! A regular Fabrications vistor and an avid knitter, last time I met her she was proudly showing an amazing cardigan she'd knitted and this week she showed us this stunning vest and hat combination! Her hats are particularly incredible as she plays with mixing yarns and wire to manipulate the shape of the hat! She's going to be running a workshop demonstrating her wire and yarn mixing talents at Fabrications some time next year so keep a look out as I'm sure it will be amazing!

We are busy today getting ready for Hidden Art this weekend! Hope to see you there!

Not Another Rubbish Christmas!

Hello! It's Tuesday, my name is Claire and I'll be making guest posts each week to keep you up to date with what's going on at Fabrications! I'm also going to be rummaging around the shop to pick my favourite item of the week and giving you some insight on what goes on behind the scenes! This week is all about Barley's sustainable gift wrapping service! The service offers the oppurtunity to wrap your gifts and look after the planet! The gifts will be beautifully wrapped and knotted around using vintage head scarves, handmade bows and the art of ‘Furoshiki’ – a traditional Japanese technique used to wrap and carry objects using fabric. There will also be the opportunity to decorate by creating your own individual rosette and bows or tag made from a range of festive coloured reused materials.

Make your gift your own by adding bows and rosettes!

The service is available here at Fabrications - if you can't make it down during the day be sure to make a note of the late night openings in your diary Thursdays 10th + 17th December is when Broadway Market’s late night Xmas shopping event is taking place!

Barley's gift wrapping service at last Christmas' Hidden Art Design Fair

Barley is also going to be demonstrating at ‘Hidden Art Design Fair’ in Truman’s Brewery, Brick Lane from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th November and the ‘East London Design Show’, Shoreditch Town Hall from Thursday 3rd to Sunday 6th December.

The service can also be taken away in kit format! The kits come with enough to wrap 3 gifts and is available at Fabrications and soon will be avialble in Liberty too!

Rethink Rubbish

We launched our new Rethink Rubbish craft kits at this year's Pulse show. With a growing interest in craft and sustainability they were well received.
Our aim is to pass on different craft techniques and show that you can create beautiful / interesting items out of waste. One person's rubbish is another's treasure! Through my own design practise and collecting of 'waste' from local business and textile recycling factories, I have become very aware of how much materials and clothes get thrown away on a daily basis.

There are currently 4 kits in the range, which have evolved from our tried and tested workshops. Each kit contains enough re used materials and basic equipment for each project / technique and are assembled at the Fabrications studio with a sprinkling of love + fun! The printing and packaging is also eco friendly

The sustainable gift wrapping kit combines the Japanese art of 'Furoshiki' with vintage head scarves and bows. The kit contains 3 different sized head scarves (washed + ironed!) 2 bows / rosettes (with safety pins on) and instructions. A stylish way of giving and re usable!

Make your own recycled rosette kit includes enough materials (strips of re used ties, head scarves, fabrics, ribbons, lace) to make 5 rosettes. There is also basic sewing stuff for embellishing your creation (needle + cotton, buttons, safety pins..) The instruction card shows 4 different methods of creating a rosette / corsage.

Knit your own Mp3 / phone case shows you how to create your own bag yarn out of old plastic bags. There are also how to knit instructions, a simple pattern, a set of knitting needles and enough pre prepared bag yarn for the project.

Learn to weave on a simple frame includes a DIY style frame (we hope it will inspire you to create different sized ones or your own) and a range of different re used materials to experiment with. The A5 instruction card shows you how to warp up the frame, weave on it and how to finish your weave. You could make a tapestry style picture or a piece of fabric (for a purse, a table mat? - up to your imagination!)

Thank you Jawa and Midwich for your help with the graphics and to James Champion for your wonderful product shots!

Rethink Rubbish are currently on sale at Fabrications, The Barbican art gallery, The Geffrye Museum, Junky Styling, Eco People.

Not another rubbish Christmas!

Enhance your gift this Christmas with reusable wrapping offered by Hackney designer Barley Massey. Barley has teamed up with ‘Vintage for Sale’ on Brick Lane to bring a personalised gift wrapping service that won’t cost the earth!

Gifts will be beautifully wrapped and knotted around using vintage head scarves and the art of ‘Furoshiki’ – a traditional Japanese technique used to wrap and carry objects using fabric.
There will also be the opportunity to decorate by creating your own individual rosette, badge or tag made from old ties, lace, ribbons and envelopes.

The service will be available at:

Barley Massey’s shop ‘Fabrications’ on Broadway Market during all of December. Including at Broadway Market’s late night Thursdays (11th + 18th December) Xmas shopping event.

‘Hidden Art Design Fair’ in Truman’s Brewery, Hanbury Street / Brick Lane from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th November

‘Eco Design Fair’, in the Boiler House, Brick Lane on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th December.