Haberdashemergency

HABERDASHEMERGENCY

Location: Hurdsfield Launderette, Macclesfield, SK10 2RD, UK
Open Monday – Saturday, 10-6pm. Closed Wednesdays.

Installation of an open access public sewing kit in a popular and friendly launderette in Macclesfield.

Everything happens somewhere. The fashion industry is often described as a global sector. Yet this overlooks the fact that the one fashion experience that we all have in common – the wearing and maintaining of clothes – takes places locally. The quality of the places in which we live is tightly bound to the quality of our lives. Improve one, and the other also develops.

  • Small repairs are simple to do, extend the life of clothing and reduce waste.
  • Making time and space to do repairs is challenging. By combining the activity with existing routines, like going to the launderette, it may increase the uptake of mending;
  • Launderettes are already established as places where we care for our clothes. Broadening the range of possible activities that take place in them to include small DIY repairs is a simple step;
  • Providing people with access to the tools and materials needed to mend clothing provides opportunities to practice skills and invest time and effort in garments. It may even encourage greater self-reliance.
  • Launderettes are frequently important social spaces in a community and their character reflects a place’s distinctiveness while sharing knowledge about clothing maintenance. Enhancing this with an open-access free-to-use sewing kit adds to their offer and support their business viability.