Photo credit: Gabriela Silveira

I came to repair work through my MFA in Textiles at Edinburgh College of Art, and learning about the devastating impact that large-scale textile and garment production has on human lives and ecosystems globally. My goal then was to design clothing to challenge and oppose the industry standard of speed, scale and waste. I focussed on exploring and learning slow traditional crafts such as natural dyeing/printing, patchwork, and hand quilting and created a small collection of bespoke garments. I considered the whole lifecycle of these garments so inevitably I discovered the world of mending. However I didn’t get much time to practice it myself until an opportunity at clothing and homeware brand TOAST came around…

Now I’m over 5 years into working as a repair specialist for TOAST, mending their customers' garments, revamping damaged stock for their ‘Renewed’ collections and occasionally running workshops online and in person. Here I’ve deepened my repair skills and knowledge, especially with knitwear, workwear, linen and jersey garments, mostly mending by hand, sometimes machine. Alongside this, I slowly began working freelance, taking on repair commissions on a case by case basis, allowing me to work more closely with each customer and take on more cherished heirloom pieces.

Now with Overstory Mending my aim is to provide a repair service that is a collaborative and special experience for each customer. My work is always carefully considered, practical, sensitive to your wants and needs, and as creative as you wish. I love that each mend is an opportunity to play with patterns and colour to create something exciting and unique, however the main goal is to get you using your much-loved item again in a way that works best for you.

If you have something waiting for a new lease of life, have a peek at the full details of the mending service here.