Mend Assembly’s flagship space in Totnes has been delivering our two core services, weekly sewing Socials and a mending and alterations service since opening its doors four years ago.
Hosted by an in house team, their signature socials are open to everyone and are designed as informal
skill sharing sessions not structured lessons. People bring the projects they’re working on to mend, knit, crochet, hand sew, or up-cycle along with materials and garments to use, donate or swap.
It’s a space to learn, share, try new techniques and expand individual and collective ‘know-how’.
In this way the Mend Assembly studio opens as a space for social engagement centred around the
principles of slow fashion making.
The Social Membership program supports people of all ages, skills and demographics to access this
regular activity. The mending and alterations service is positioned to support people to extend the life of their garments and to invest in repair rather than more. The demand for this service is evident and comes from a broad spectrum of individuals as well as businesses in the community.
With the arrival of the funding from the Naturesave Trust, the Mend Assembly combined these two core offerings by providing a series of immersive Mindful Mending and Making Socials. Social Members, and others who join, were guided by in house mending and alterations practitioner Tullulah Toone, who is also trained as a yoga and wellbeing practitioner.
Participants immersed themselves in the practice of mindful mending and making while exploring and sharing what the acts of repair and clothing care means for them. These sessions also responded to the demand from the community for more access and ways to engage with Mend Assembly, facilitating access for a larger number of Social Members.
These workshops also increased technical confidence, connection to community and empower
members and others to establish more sustainable clothing practices.
Tullulah Toone says ‘Practising creativity in community is a beautiful gift you can give to yourself. These sewing sessions aim to bring the community together to sit and create, just like our ancestors did. When creating we do not think of the past or the future, we are there in the present. All nervous systems co-regulate in wonder while we explore different textures and visions. Making the invisible visible.’
Mend Assembly is a local clothing practice, a unique blend of grassroots maker space, local production, and sustainability expertise. You can learn more about their work here.
