Immortal Jellyfish

18/10/2023

Textile Meet and Mend today at tHe Spring Shopping Mall, Kuching with textile teaching artist Grace Sinclair.

Drop in till 4pm to mend your clothing and textiles, learn hand sewing techniques and chat about environmental sustainability in the textile industry.

Located on level 1 next to Switch store.

About Kuching

05/10/2023

Travel can be rough on equipment. Our backpacks are starting to show their age and my sister's finally burst a seam for this adventure.

I was hoping it would hold out to be a demonstration mend for my festival drop-in sessions with About Kuching, but the hole was getting too big. I used a double thread and ladder-stitch to mend the hole and although it's not perfect (I didn't want to push a needle through the clip binding as I'd already broken one on the tough fabric) it is now usable again. Functionality is my main concern when mending and this now has a strong seam and is a backpack that can withstand being well stuffed again - that's a win!

This is a good example of mending as an eco-action. As the backpack was necessary for our trip, the options here were: mend it or buy a whole new backpack. With a few minutes, a needle (OK, two needles because I snapped one 🙈) and a small amount of thread, I've reduced the need for one more backpack in the world.

I'll be teaching the ladder-stitch I used here, and other useful stitches, at the Meet, Mend & Textile Sustainability Drop-In Sessions, 10am - 4pm, 18th & 19th Oct, Kuching Borneo.

22/09/2023

I am very excited to announce that I will be taking part in this year's What About Kuching Festival in Sarawak, Borneo with About Kuching.

I'll be running Meet, Mend & Textile Sustainability drop-in sessions on the 18th & 19th October 2023.

I can't wait to connect internationally over the topic of sustainability within the textile sector and enjoy sharing core mending techniques for keeping textiles useable.

I've used my mending skills more than I would have thought by only week 3 of our trip, but I won't complain as I don't normally have such a lovely view while working!

26/02/2023

I think Spot would like to join tomorrow's knitwear mending workshop 😻 I'd like to say he's been a great helper while I prep but... the evidence speaks for itself 😆

17/02/2023

One of the aims of Immortal Jellyfish is to empower as many people as possible with the skills they need to repair items in their wardrobes. As committing to a block of workshops doesn't work for everyone, I'm running a taster session evening with Linlithgow Community Development Trust so people can learn a couple of key skills and begin their mending journey.

If you would like to join I'll be at the EH49 Hub, Linlithgow on Monday 20th Feb 7-9pm. Tickets are £14 and available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beginner-textile-mending-taster-session-tickets-527471339977

Share with anyone you think might be interested and lets get textile mending mainstream 😃

13/02/2023

Spaces still available for my beginner textile mending taster session, Mon 20th Feb 7 - 9pm, EH49 Hub Linlithgow. Visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beginner-textile-mending-taster-session-tickets-527471339977 for more details and booking 😀

04/02/2023

February news! I've lined up a new class and a new location for a Beginner Textile Mending Taster Session on Monday 20th Feb 7pm - 9pm. The 2 hour session is £14pp and tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beginner-textile-mending-taster-session-tickets-527471339977 😀

This time, I'm off to Linlithgow to work with the Linlithgow Community Development Trust to introduce people to sewing and empower them to mend their clothes.

I attended the Circular Communities Scotland conference at the end of last year and first met the lovely folk from LCDT. It's been great to explore that connection and work together towards our shared circular goals.

25/01/2023

🧥Favourite jacket that is starting to show its age - let's mend it.
👖Your pair of jeans that fit like a glove but are going in the crotch - let's mend them.
👗That special dress you wear to feel like you can change the world but now the hem is falling down - let's mend it.

Come along to my beginner textile mending classes starting next week The Fraser Centre and learn the skills you need to do just that. To book: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beginner-textile-mending-workshop-series-tickets-499428232287

18/01/2023

I had a fab time running the first Immortal Jellyfish Beginner Textile Mending workshop last Thursday and am now busy getting everything together for this week's.

Here is one of my wee sewing bees finishing attaching a button - excellent work! While sewing, it was great to connect with participants and hear what had led them to join the course.

The next block of classes is at The Fraser Centre, Tranent, Mondays 10.30am - 12pm, if you'd like to join these sessions you can book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beginner-textile-mending-workshop-series-tickets-499428232287 🙂

14/01/2023

I had a great experience this week taking part in a round table discussion about returning to work after a break, working with purpose, and finding a work-life balance with the Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work Richard Lochhead MSP, Making Work Work, and their partners. As an alumna of the Making Work Work for Women Returners programme, these are topics close to my heart and to be invited along as an example of someone successfully achieving these goals as a social entrepreneur felt pretty good 😃

I can put a lot of credit for the existence of Immortal Jellyfish on the Making Work Work programme as without their and the other alumni's support, I would never have had the confidence to leap from idea to reality and I'll never be able to thank the team enough for that. It was lovely to be able to support them with this meeting with the Minister, hear about other work being done to make work in Scotland work for everyone, tell my story, and listen to those of other women.

If you are a woman looking to return to work after a break, I'd highly recommend checking out the course and getting in touch with Lynn and the team: https://www.makingworkwork.scot/home

I am so excited to have started my social enterprise journey as a woman doing work that aligns with my values and if you'd like to join me to learn to mend your clothes and reduce clothing waste, there are still spaces for the Tranent Textile Mending classes: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beginner-textile-mending-workshop-series-tickets-499428232287

Yesterday we hosted the Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work, Richard Lochhead MSP, at our Montgomery Street Lane office.

He took part in a round table discussion with some of our Making Work Work alumni and partners (SCVO, Firstport & Chartered Management Institute) to learn how our programme has helped them find flexible work and return to the workplace.

The Minister heard of the incredible journeys that the alumni had undertaken and the impact the programme has had on their careers and work-life balance. He was particularly interested in the stories of women who had returned to work and set up businesses following a period out of the workplace, finding work that is both flexible and rewarding - most of them in the third sector.

Programme leader, Lynn Houmdi, shared some statistics demonstrating the positive impact of our Making Work Work programme. We look forward to continuing to work with the Minister and The Scottish Government to ensure that we are able to continue making work work for people around the country.

The Challenges Group

11/01/2023

There's still a few spaces left for the Musselburgh Beginner Textile Mending Classes which start tomorrow evening, 7pm 12th Jan The Fisherrow Centre. Learn the basic hand-sewing skills you need to mend well-loved clothes over a cuppa in a relaxed, supportive setting.
Book your space here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beginner-textile-mending-workshop-series-tickets-483742666337

Looking forward to seeing you there.

09/01/2023

Busy getting ready for the first Beginner Textile Mending class on Thursday and came across all these classic bits and bobs. A grandmother's sewing box is the ideal place to find whatever you might need for a mend: a jar of buttons ✅ a stash of pins ✅ fabric offcuts ✅ every size of needle ✅ and a retro, yet so chic sewing basket to carry it all in courtesy of mum ❤️ Can't wait for classes to begin. There are still some places left that can be booked here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/beginner-textile-mending-workshops-in-east-lothian-1509109