SKILL EXCHANGE WORKSHOPS
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Natural Dyeing Workshops
We have teamed up the Community Garden to source sustainable dyes for our workshops. Experiment with an array of colour by utilise food scraps, or brighten up your life by foraging for the most beautiful dyes within nature.
Visible Mending
Learn to embrace and celebrate impurities by adding your personalisation and value to clothing. Give your garments a new lease of life and make them last longer with our Visible Mending workshops.
Learn How To Sew
Our sewing workshops are available for all abilities. Learn how to use a sewing machine with us and to create your very own wardrobe. We’ll teach you how to make cushions, bags and clothes through repurposing.
Upcycle
Help us minimise our clothing waste and repurpose it into something beautiful. Any clothing that doesn’t get passed our quality control gets donated to these workshops, to help supply others with materials and create something of new value. Leave nothing to waste.
Embroidery
Learn the art of embroidery and personalise your clothing one stitch at a time. Our embroidery workshops are a great time to relax and catch up with people of the community.
Repairs & Alterations
Learn to repair holes in trousers, darn your jumpers and fix faulty zips with us. Leave these workshops being able to wear your clothing again.
Sign up to one of our many workshops and get involved in the creative community.
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"I attend the embroidery and visible mending workshops every week. I feel an overwhelming sensation of peace when mending my clothes. It’s my way of celebrating the impurities in my life. Personalising the clothing allows me to prolong the life of them whilst building a deeper connection with each piece.
I always head into a deep meditative state, I unwind further with every stitch. I always allow myself to fully immerse into my projects and let the calmness engulf me.”
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SHARED STUDIO SPACE
Not interested in a workshop?
Visit our Sewing Space in the Shared Studio instead.
We are very fortunate to have a neighbourly community, that when the Hertfordshire Collective formed, everyone came together and shared their resources. Some people had sewing machines hidden away in their attics whilst others couldn’t afford to buy a decent pair of fabric scissors. By bringing the equipment here, we’ve made crafting accessible to anyone and everyone. Shared spaces also allow you to work alongside like-minded people, which we’ve noticed has helped individuals to bond with one another, where they can share guidance and advise with one another. Most of us were once hidden away in our homes, sewing in our own spaces but having a shared space has allowed people to reconnect each other through the love of creativity.
The Sewing Space provides all the sewing equipment you could ever of dreamed of.
Or if you have equipment and tools you’d like to share with the community, get in touch!
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“The shared studio space feels like a safe space to me. It’s a second home where I feel somewhat connected the others who also go there. I would never have met them if it wasn’t for this place. I never would have had the time before the Hertfordshire Basic Income took place. Working a day less than before has allowed me to reclaim my time for myself and enjoy life’s experiences and learn new skills whilst meeting new people.”