&Mend Clothing Repair Station

The &Mend Clothing Repair Station, was a project that took over an empty store in April 2022 in Lewisham Shopping Centre with the aim of bringing mending to the wider public as a low cost and accessible creative skill that is particularly relevant in today’s environment. The project was funded by a grant from Shapes Lewisham and supported by a collaboration with LandSec who provided free usage of a vacant retail unit in Lewisham Shopping Centre. The aim of the project was to empower people through teaching practical mending skills with the ability to not only mend what they already owned, but also explore their own creativity through crafts . By keeping textiles in circulation for longer we impact through engagement in a ‘slow’ craft that can also bring us time and space to reflect. The aims of the &Mend Clothing Repair Station alongside my training as a Mental health First Aider was to combine the skills of mending and sewing in a safe space, to offer some peer support whilst we taught new skills and offer a space to learn, connect and also be ourselves.