On April 29th, during Fashion Revolution Week, you are invited to join us between 2-10PM for Sunday Service, to mend and upcycle your clothes (and drink wine, obvs)
See inside a small London atelier where clothes, leather couture, Hollywood costumes, and wearables are made. Peep the tools involved and learn about the time and skills required. Clothing manufacture isn't automated – every machine is controlled by a human, often much more than you are led to believe. We want to promote longevity, fixing things and reducing the amount we consume by extending the life of clothes we already own. Learning to do it yourself illustrates how much goes into the making of a garment and better appreciate the ones we have!
You will have access to:
industrial straight stitch Singer, ideal for lingerie to leather
industrial Rimoldi 4 thread overlocker
domestic Janome 4 thread overlocker (usually set to babylock)
domestic Pfaff Select 4.2 IDT (walking foot)
vintage UK10 full-body K+L hanging mannequin, male 40" tailoring torso, store mannequins, rogue limbs
sewing tools, leather tools, haberdashery and lots of offcuts
In return for this marvelous day of like minded people, wine, and lots of fun, we ask that you add your voice to the Fashion Revolution campaign. There will be lots of pictures taken. We will have posters saying 'I made my clothes' and these can be hashtagged alongside #whomademyclothes to amplify Fashion Revolution’s day of awareness and transparency.
Fashion Revolution is a global movement calling for a fairer, safer, cleaner, more transparent fashion industry. Between the 22nd and 29th of April 2018, let's hold brands accountable and ask, #whomademyclothes? If you aren't interested in sewing, why not get involved by photographing yourself with your favourite garment and directly asking the brand, or creator, via social media? Find out how here (info pack), or click the logo on the right to go to the FR website.
Fashion Revolution Week happens each year around the 24th of April, the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, where 1,138 people were killed and many more injured. This year marks the 5th year anniversary of the collapse. Let's use this week to encourage millions of people to ask brands ‘Who made my clothes’ and demand greater transparency in the fashion supply chain.
how does it work?
FREE TO ALL. EVERYONE IS WELCOME, from absolute beginners to professionals.
To join us, drop an email titled SUNDAY SERVICE via the contact page, introducing you and your project.
You'll be offered a timeslot, as space is limited. You are free to haggle and offer bribes of communal snacks, wine and/or skills to share in return for extra time, or special requests. Be inventive. Choose something you can do in a few hours. Fix something specific, or test a technique which you can take away for another project. Learn decorative visible mending or use the leather tools to fix your favourite belt. Maybe you want to buy a sewing machine, but have never used one before – ask for a half hour sewing lesson, and we'll get you up to speed. It can be something as simple as sewing on those buttons you've been procrastinating about for three years.
what is Sunday Service?
The idea of the open studio is to focus on the neglected – both our things and our selves. Workaholics need structured downtime, creatives need space to create for themselves. It is a time when no 'work' is allowed; instead we make time for the enjoyable things usually superseded by deadlines and London nonsense. So far in 2018, Sunday Service has facilitated pattern cutting for beginners, visible mending, traditional leatherwork, life drawing for AMCs 360 animated sessions, photogrammetry, repairing and upcycling clothing, shoe repair, a bit of Battle Jacket Sewing Club, shellac manicures, the proper way to drink Absinthe, and the consumption of many, many Bloody Marys.
Quality time with like minds, enjoying the process, and learning. We also do skill swaps in in things like electronics and etextiles, and offer access to a small in-house electronics lab, a full compliment of power tools, hand tools, and art materials. Images from previous Sundays below.
