You work with textiles and “embark on narratives of empathy and memory”. Can you explore this sentiment further? Would you say your focus is on the emotional durability of objects / garments?

My artistic practice explores textiles and wearables as a representation of the layers of experience in an individual’s existence; the imprint of the world around us and its relation to our sense of personal identity and relatability to one another. At one point I was very interested in looking at what anonymity provides in terms of freedom of expression—what happens when we are liberated from accountability and fear of misrepresentation.

How can we encourage people to redefine their sense of value, look beyond an immediate price tag and consider longer term cost-per-wear?

I began hosting mending workshops as a way to share simple and practical skills for the everyday. What I like to highlight through my work is that the individuality of one’s effort, no matter its flaws or perfection, evokes a unique kind of beauty. The ability to transform something with your hands and a little patience yields a level of connection to the garment or an object that cannot be imitated. When we create this kind of value through sentiment, while also extending the lifecycle of a garment, we expand our personal relationship to our possessions. This widens our awareness toward their origins, environmental and social impact, and offers a potent trigger for change in the way we habitually choose to consume in the future.

Your workshops teach people practical mending skills; can you explain why extending the lifecycle of garments through mending is important to you?

Beyond its usefulness, what I have come to love most about mending, and sharing the ability to mend, is how much closer it brings us together as a community. We communicate constantly through images and text format, but there is less ‘real time’ in which to play and discover together, especially on such a simple, home front. In these shared moments, and even by the mended item simply existing, we are able to touch on nostalgia, storytelling, humour, and direct thought provocation. Nurturing this space improves our connectivity and insight towards each other in a very real way, ultimately encouraging greater empathy.

What are the ‘meditative qualities of the Slow movement’, and how do you apply the principles of this movement to your life?

Making things by hand, no matter the practice, cannot be rushed. With patience, we must thoroughly follow the steps to form and function. Whether it be with expert precision or because you are learning something new, making “slowly” opens a space of observation, which is a shared aspect of meditation. Through observation we discover a deeper awareness of our personal motivations, style, priorities and thus connect more closely to what we are doing and how it is done. When we begin to think “how”, we come to ask this of many more things, and the scope of our understanding becomes broader and continuously more curious. I use this curiosity to inform my responses to the challenges we are currently facing in terms of climate, excess, and social connection.