the mending project
London
After leaving California I missed the community engagement that my San Francisco mending projects brought to my art practice. As a result in October 2022 I started The Mending Project in my London neighborhood. In collaboration with the Response Community Project in Earl’s Court, I offer free mending services to local residents on Monday mornings. People drop in and have their garments repaired, learn to recycle or repair a worn item and have a chat over a cup of tea.
san francisco
tenderloin mending
Once a crack alley, the Tenderloin National Forest in
San Francisco now provides a safe place to gather. Free mending is offered to the community within a challenging and vibrant neighbourhood on a monthly basis.
members
Progressive, inspiring and spiritual, the members of The Mending Society are an incredible group of people to work with both on sunny and rainy days. Always offering words of wisdom with a heavy dose of humor,
many of The Mending Society members, including founder Michael Swaine, inspired me to make repair work a permanent part of my social practice.
california college of the arts
At CCA's Arts and Diversity Studies Department Exhibition
The Tenderloin Mending Society met with students to discuss community building while repairing students' garments.
mask making
During the pandemic my energy turned toward crowd sourcing makers and materials to collectively sew nearly 2000 handmade masks for San Francisco's Lava Mae personal hygiene kits
and other local communities.
pop-ups
Installed next to Lava Mae’s Free Clothing booth
The Mending Society members set up shop and made sure donated clothes fit their unhoused owners.