Why ‘Overstory Mending’

With my work being rooted in the protection of our environment, it only felt right to look to nature for inspiration for a new name. Trees in particular have held a special place in my heart since childhood - growing up south of the Lake District in Cumbria, my parents would take us for walks in the woodlands there as often as they could.

An overstory, more commonly referred to as a canopy, is the upper layer of forest or woodland foliage formed by mature trees. It is part of an ecosystem: it doesn’t exist alone, but alongside and in service to what grows beneath it. Mending feels the same for me - one necessary part of a much wider sustainability effort, not a solution in and of itself. An overstory also shelters: it offers cover from the elements so other layers can endure, and that feels true of repair work too - creating conditions and small interventions where things can last longer and continue to thrive. Repairs, like an overstory, are not concrete - they have to be responsive, adaptive and acknowledge inevitable change. They’re likely to need revisiting as they continue to be used, worn and lived-in. 

I love that this name holds the complicated layers of work and meaning of mending in one beautiful word. A word, that even just on face value, reminds me of the stories we collect in the objects around us and if we let them, those stories and objects can evolve along with us, over and over again.