We are here to encourage you to express yourselves using your clothing and body as a space for political/spiritual expression (rather than a space for capitalist advertising). Everyday is a day to demonstrate OR show your positivity and desire for a better world!
We try to be Pro-Pro and Anti-Anti, only making positive statements, of course you can do what you want (within reason).
Every new piece of clothing has an environmental impact, so we reuse and re-purpose. When you remake a piece of clothing you truly inhabit it, far more empowering and important than a purchase of a generic commodity. With each embellishment and repair garments become improved and more loved.
The jackets that we work on ourselves, you can see some here, evolve over the months, as ideas expand and branch.
Both of us are passionate about politics and the environment, we talk and study, this drives and informs this project.
Currently we are both working on EXTINCTION REBELLION so this workshop is focussed on that urgent project, but we want you to get the bigger picture that spawned our work on that project.
It is our belief that the transformation of society necessary for us to survive gives us the opportunity to transform the world to one of equality for all, a decolonised future based on climate justice for all, not only humans, all life needs space and resources to survive and thrive.
The Intersection of Species Extinction, Institutional Racism, Class Division, Unequal Distribution of Wealth, Rampant Consumerism, Climate Breakdown, Broken Democracy, Neo Liberalism, The War Machine, we have to fix the whole fucking shit show now, to have a chance.
We are also both very interested in the revolutionary ideas being put into practise in Rojava, with the liberation of women at the fore front of everything. They are developing new forms of participatory democracy.
As well as clothing we have made many flags and banners, since it seems we shall be demonstrating for some time to come . . . . some are on show here to inspire you.
We would love you to write or draw something new and personal.
1. PAINTING AND DRAWING is the fastest most direct means of expression, some of these paints are good to go , others need a medium mixed in so check with us for deets, all types need to be heat treated to be washproof !!! , we have stencils if you require, I have used stencils a lot in painting jackets, its a great way to get it right first.
2. CLOTH TAPE We have cloth tape which is super bright and clear looking, but needs machine sewing around all the edges to make it permanent, this is a really time consuming job !!!!! we have machines for experienced users. Clothing with cloth tape can be washed cold ?? we believe.
3. PATCHES We have patches that are designed and printed by us, you can each have one !! ,
and after it is sewn if you want another it has to be by donation because they take a huge amount of time and materials to make, and we do not have time to make many more,
And we are here to encourage you to do this stuff, each statement and image get thought and wrestled over . . .
Patches can be held by pins or masking tape while hand sewing, Clare loves to stick them down with cloth tape, but that means lots of sewing later !!!!
4. APPLIQUE As well as some clothing that you can have we also have scrap fabric for applique or other more radical uses, we would love to help you make something crazy.
5. HAND SEWING Here are hand sewing kits, its so good because the tension of the thread is really organics and perfect. We do have a sewing machine for experienced users, but we do not have time to train you /maintain the machine, its a great skill to learn, sewing machines revolutionised the world, get the skills !!!!
6. RELIEF PRINTING Recently we have been relief printing to make patches and text, this is something you can do easily and I can tell you how !!!! using letter Press letters or making lino-wood cuts
7. FLAGS AND VAGINAS we have made a bunch of flags designed to be Universal so that we can use them at any demonstration, we will make more and can guide and advise
8. PRINT AN ARTICLE I love reading on paper then I can show/lend to friends and discuss about it, I bind them using this Japanese stab binding technique.
9. MAKE A ZINE / PAMPHLETS The time of the English civil war pamphlets where the means of communication, many political, the zine is the contemporary equivalent. Like the above, phones away, look at this !!!