'Textile Fixary and Stuffy Triage' rescues your beloved teddy bear or cosy old coat
Credit to Author: Nick Eagland| Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2019 21:53:23 +0000
The holidays can be a stressful time for a tattered teddy bear or worn-out winter coat, replaced by a nice gift and condemned to the landfill.
The Vancouver Learnary Society wants people to know there’s no need to part with their oldest, softest and most beloved things. On the first Sunday of each month, the society welcomes the public into its space at 2643 East Hastings St. to learn how to repair them at its “Textile Fixary & Stuffy Triage.”
Some people bring a favourite coat that could use a new button or some mending. Some bring an old stuffed animal deserving of tender care at the “Stuffy Triage Centre,” where it might find a new eye or handful fresh stuffing.
Whatever they bring, they’ll get to use the society’s sewing machines and some mending equipment, and borrow some knowledge from staff and volunteers. There’s also a shop in the space which sells mending and art supplies, books and games.
“When we spend time fixing something, mending something, getting to know how it works and how it’s made, we are so much less likely to throw it out, so much less likely to need the next thing,” said Surya Govender, co-executive director at the society.
“I think it is fostering a culture of simplicity.”
Surya Govender sews and mends a stuffed animal while at The Vancouver Learnary Society in Vancouver.
Govender said the society’s mission is to support intergenerational learning and build curiosity and community. Kids learn from adults and seniors but also get to teach them a thing or two.
The fixary and triage attracts people of all ages, like the mom who visited earlier this month with her 10-year-old daughter, and the trio of early twentysomethings who just needed to use a sewing machine, Govender said.
“The idea is that people come in with things that need mending and we support them to learn those skills,” she said.
“People have come in with jeans that are ripped or a shirt that’s got a stain, so they want to embroider something over top of it. We talk about the difference between visible and invisible mending.”
Susan Ouyang, Surya Govender and Sarah MacKinnon sew and mend stuffed animals while at The Vancouver Learnary Society.
Govender said the focus of the Sunday fixary and triage is textile repair but they are eager to expand on that.
“If we could find someone who knew how to fix umbrellas, we’d do a whole session on that,” she said with a laugh.
The Learnary also runs all-ages workshops such as “open curiosity tables” where people can learn to draw, use a microscope or play board games.
There’s the popular jigsaw puzzle exchange, a “stitchery” where people learn to stitch while drinking tea, and a weaving drop-in where people use portable looms.
Most workshops are free or by donation.
Govender said visitors will also benefit from moments of exchange and connection that she believes are especially important in the world right now.
“They’re missing from so many people’s lives,” she said.
“That’s what we offer in this space, the chance to do simple things together and reconnect.”
The next Textile Fixary & Stuffy Triage will be held on Jan. 5, 2020.