Founder of Ealing Repair Cafe Mary Horesh Making A Difference
Repairer and crafter nominated for special environmental award
Mary (left) with volunteers Lone and Yvonne
A local woman who is striving to create a more sustainable planet, and help people save money in these difficult times, has been nominated for a special BBC award.
Northfields resident, Mary Horesh, set up the Ealing repair cafe in 2019 part of the Ealing Transition initiative, in a bid to cut down on waste, encourage people to value clothing, stop throwing away and learn to repair or alter instead.
The Acton Market Community Circular Economy Manager who is building a reduce/recycle hub there, describes herself as a ''crafter, repairer, recycler, environmentalist and mum" and says:
''I like to help and encourage people to make positive steps to help the planet and the environment. I enjoy sewing and patch and darn to get the most out of my clothes. I also buy second hand and learning how to alter clothes for my family I crochet using sustainable and/or recycled yarn, like t-shirt yarn and British wool. I also dabble in craftivism, the art of gentle protest, which involves embroidering inspiring messages and have put them up around my area.''
Along with a number of other volunteers, Mary, at the Repair Cafe, hosts monthly meetups and pop up events which take place throughout the borough. The aim is to teach others how to patch and darn clothes and textiles, to move away from fast disposable fashion and create a more circular economy.
The friendly and relaxed gatherings have been recommended by many attendees who have benefitted both practically and in a social fashion, one stating, ''The Creative mending and thoughtful help with any stitching problem – stopped me throwing things away and also makes boring school uniform repairs more than tolerable if with a lovely chatty bunch!''
The next meetup will be held at the Ealing Project on Monday 12 September.
The Patch, Darn and Natter will take place from 7.30pm until 9pm, help and advice will be provided, using both hand sewing and sewing machine for alterations and seams.
The cafes take place at other venues including Dickens Yard, Happy Coffee on Northfield Avenue, (opposite Lammas park gates), and Trash and Treasure market.
A small donation of £3 is requested for the session to cover costs of equipment and expenses. All are welcome from absolute beginners to those more competent at hand sewing and basic materials which are reused, recycled and repurposed are provided.
Details about future sessions can be found here.
Mary says: '' At the gatherings, we chat while mending, suggest how to mend items, have examples of repairs done by our community to inspire others, have a selection of mending books and have fabric and sewing equipment to borrow during the sessions. We will also have one sewing machine available to try out at some sessions.
''Sadly we have no funding, so we are limited in what we can do and how many sessions we run. However, we also want to get more people mending and valuing their clothes. If you are interested in getting involved or setting up your own session, we would love you to get in touch, please contact Ealing Repair cafe.''
Ealing repair cafe will also be involved in the Ealing Sustainable fashion show and clothes swap at Gunnersbury Museum on Saturday 8 October.
Mary has been nominated for her work in BBC Radio London’s ''Make A Difference Awards'' in the Environmental category.
The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday 28 September at Ronnie Scott’s in Soho.
Annemarie Flanagan
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September 1, 2022