Embellish And Enliven: A craftHER Workshop
May 30, 2019 from 6 to 9 PM
at the #BBATX HQ
This workshop is part of a new series of creative courses for craftHER Market, #BBATX’s biannual showcase of women and nonbinary artists and makers. Learn more at crafthermarket.com.
— about this workshop —
Give your old clothes LIFE! On May 30 from 6 to 9 PM, join artists and collaborators Stephanie Page and Tina Sparkles for a workshop centered in fashion and friendship. The purpose of this workshop is to gain simple hand sewing skills, recall the stories our favorite clothes hold and give those well-loved clothes new life. Participants of this workshop will bring well-loved garments in need of mending or refreshing and leave the workshop with essential hand sewing knowledge and inspiration to revamp and repair their wardrobe.
All skill levels welcome.
— meet the workshop’s hosts —
Stephanie Page has over 22 years of fashion experience. After diving in head-first as an international fashion model at the age of 15, she pivoted to a career of retail buying, then revolted from an industry filled to the neckline with consumerism, capitalism and waste by turning to sewing as an art practice and form of self expression. Co-host and artist Tina Sparkles is the founder of IMMEDIATE Fashion School and has over 10 years of experience in fashion education & leadership. Tina's MFA thesis was threaded with the idea of garments as “friends,” a concept that helped to shape this workshop. Page and Sparkles maintain a modern-day sewing circle of two where friendship blossoms, garments are re-birthed and seeds of activism are sewn.
A note from Page about this workshop's inspiration: "The fashion industry is one of the largest waste producers and water users (we don’t have to dive into statistics to know that is true). As a fashion lover and environmentally aware artist, I’ve found joy in making old new again and honoring the life I share with my clothes. Garments are not just items to use and toss—clothing enriches our existence, signals like-mindedness to our peers and can transform us into a new being for an evening or a lifetime. Our clothes hold stories and secrets that we relish as we wear them, and with each outing we add new chapters to our shared story. As we age together, I mend and embellish the garments—the very act of mending a meditation on where I’ve come from and where I am going, an opportunity to weave one’s own future. As appreciation grows from garments as function to garments as “friends," one may wonder how to return the favor of friendship. This workshop will provide some options. The sewing circle is a traditional concept where people, mostly women, would gather around to hand-sew, cultivate community and generate emotional nourishment in a world where patriarchy ruled. These circles sound wholesome and genteel, but they were also a perfect cover for activism and subversive anarchy. A secondary goal of this workshop is to foster community for women and non-binary folks, and provide a freshly tilled field where new seeds of activism may be sewn."
— get your tickets —
Registration for this workshop is $20 and includes all of the supplies needed to embellish and mend garments: needles, thread, fabric for patching, buttons to embellish, etc. Attendees must bring the garments and/or clothing they'd like to work on. :) Capacity is limited to 25 rad guests.
— meet the producers —
About #bossbabesATX and craftHER Market: #bbatx is a nonprofit organization that amplifies women and nonbinary creatives, entrepreneurs and community organizers. Our event series, showcases, strategic collaborations and professional development programs provide a platform of visibility, outreach and financial opportunity to 1000+ emerging women and nonbinary creatives, entrepreneurs and organizers per year. On top of that goodness, the public-at-large is invited to participate and learn more about how gender inequality affects their daily lives. More than 10,000+ community members annually attend our showcases, markets and dialogues (including craftHER Market). In the last three years, our programs have also generated an additional $1million for the Austin economy. Learn more at bossbabes.org.