Textile Repair @ Ilkley Thingery:
Saturday Mornings 10.15am - 12 Noon.
Hello, thanks for dropping in to find out about our repair sessions at Ilkley Thingery.
Repair @ Ilkley Thingery launched on International Repair Day 2023 (Saturday, 21 October). To begin, we are offering textile repairs. In the very near future we'll be offering repairs for electrical items, and possibly small pieces of furniture too.
Why Repair?
Claire Carlisle published a good read in the Ethical Consumer magazine in April this year: Upcycling, repairing & second-hand clothing | Ethical Consumer. By using our clothes longer, through repair or recycling, we can make environmental savings - if we buy fewer new Things too.
There are many reasons to repair textiles and other Things - some practical, some related to enjoyment, some to taking care of our planet and Things. I grew up in a house in which my parents repaired our Things - textiles, washing machines, toasters, furniture, fences, ornaments, cutlery, teddy bears, jugs... Repair was ordinary, it's what we did. If we could, we mended damaged or broken Things rather than throwing them away and buying bright new shiny Things. Many people share similar experiences. Perhaps partly because of my repair memories, I love mending things, darned Things, handmade Things and learning how to mend more Things. Repairs can be visible or invisible - there are many ways to mend Things.
Our First Textile Repairs @ Ilkley Thingery.
Our first Textile Repair session at Ilkley Thingery was a great success - it was a real pleasure to see the repairs that were brought in (a visible patch on a much-loved pair of jeans, repairs to the seams of a bed sheet, metal poppers on a rain coat, and a favourite pair of silk pyjamas, bought at a local charity shop).
Bring Your Textiles for Repair, or Email: Repair@ilkleythingery.org.
If you have textiles (e.g., clothes, bags, bedding) that are in need of repair, bring them to Ilkley Thingery on a Saturday morning between 10.15 and 12 noon. If you can't get here at that time, email us at repair@ilkleythingery.org, let us know what you'd like us to repair, and how you'd like us to do that (e.g., visibly, invisibly, with bright colours, or subdued).
How Much Do Repairs @ Ilkley Thingery Cost?
Our repairers are donating their time to repair your Things. We'd be very grateful for donations in return for repairs to help support Ilkley Thingery. Suggested donations are £2 - 3 per half hour, plus any materials that we need to buy to complete the repair. Do feel free to pay more if you want to support us in that way.
Textile Donations.
If you have pieces of material, wool, threads, or sewing things that you don't want or need, we'd be very grateful for them. We can probably make use of them to complete repairs. If you have anything to donate, contact Erika at repair@ilkleythingery.org, or call in to the Thingery during opening hours (Wednesdays 2 - 7pm, Saturdays 10am - 2pm).
More Information, News and Links - Coming Soon!
I'll be adding more details and links to this page over the coming days, and weeks - do come back to find out more about repair, and our repair sessions @ Ilkley Thingery.
Thanks for dropping in - hope to see you in our repair sessions soon!
Erika (Project Manager. Ilkley Thingery).