Renee Williams from That Perfect Hour is hosting mending workshops in collaboration with Fashion Revolution Week New Zealand. Image by Hannah Webb.
Fashion Revolution Week New Zealand and That Perfect Hour are collaborating on a series of mending workshops in Auckland with the aim of encouraging people to mend their clothes rather than discarding them. They want to spread the word that we can impact the longevity of our clothing with a few simple techniques and a little of our time. Mending is a worthwhile use of our time, as not only are we learning to change the way we look at our clothes, mending also gives back to us in mindfulness and self-reliance.
As we hear more and more stories of the environmental toll of fast fashion and see images of discarded clothes being burned or sent to the developing world, there has never been a greater need to highlight these issues and discuss practical solutions. The interest in mending has increased rapidly in recent times, however many people do not feel confident to get started on their own. This collaboration aims to give people the confidence to tackle small mending tasks and help keep their clothes looking fabulous for as long as possible.
The workshops will be led by Renee Williams who is a clothing repair advocate and mending devotee who teaches mending skills both in person and online. She started her business That Perfect Hour in 2019 to share her love of mending. Renee advocates for greater understanding of the impact of fast fashion on our environment and hence why mending can be so powerful. She does this through creating mending tutorials and content for not-for-profit organisations and eco-conscious enterprises.
Since becoming a mending devotee, she has learned how this practice can help us connect with our belongings and to appreciate the resources, time and energy that go into creating our clothes. It is this understanding that can help put the importance of mending into perspective. This is her mission. Mending inspiration and tips can be found on Renee’s Instagram account @thatperfecthour.
“Rose and I are big fans of Renee’s work with The Perfect Hour,” says Amy Conlon, Country Coordinator for Fashion Revolution Week New Zealand. “Fashion Revolution regularly raise the discussion of how by extending the life of clothing by just nine months of active use can reduces carbon, water and waste footprint and we thought what better way to encourage action around this than to reach out to Renee to see if she would be interested in teaching mending skills in a series of workshops to encourage #lovedclotheslast. We are excited to co-host this workshop series and are thankful to Renee for collaborating with Fashion Revolution New Zealand on this.”
The workshop series includes:
Workshop 1: Mending Basics
July 26th 2-4pm
We’ll start together at the beginning and introduce hand sewing techniques including basic stitches, buttons and patches.
Workshop 2: All Things Pants & Jeans
August 16th 2-4pm
Learn visible mending techniques suitable for pants and jeans. We will also cover hem repair and the most requested upper thigh mend.
Workshop 3: You Can Darn It!
September 13th 2-4pm
Master simple darning techniques that can save your most comfortable socks and jumpers. There will also be time for some freestyle mending, so bring your pieces along for advice and support.
All workshops will be held at Time Out Bookstore, 432 Mt Eden Rd, Mt Eden Village. This workshop series is made possible through the generous support of Time Out Bookstore.
Tickets can be booked individually ($35 each) or for the series ($90). With a percentage going to support the amazing work of Fashion Revolution New Zealand in raising awareness of the environmental and the social impacts of the global fashion industry.
No previous experience or special skills are required and tickets are available online now.
Images by Hannah Webb and supplied.