Chic & craft newsletter 1 - english

Welcome to our first newsletter!

And welcome to the upcycling world!

Upcycling means reuse and recycle things we have around us to create new products and this is precisely the philosophy of Chic & Craft. We want to use second-hand clothes and waste materials to create new clothes and accessories, to give a second opportunity to things but also to people, as these creations are going to be made by people with mental illness that have been put aside from our society. We are developing a training course for people with severe and prolonged mental illness about reused and recycled fashion using an online learning platform, thus reducing also the digital divide of the target group.

Moreover, we want to involve them in the training and some of them will help the trainers to teach the course as peer supporters. This will be an empowerment activity that needs to be trained and it will be done thanks to a methodology that we are specially developing right now. But, let’s go step by step and see what we have been doing in the last year and some creative ideas that will help you to get an idea about the final products we would like to create.

Enjoy the reading!

The Chic & Craft team

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

1

A short overview of our work so far On 17-18th February, the Chic & Craft team met in CJD’s headquarters in Frechen (Germany). This meeting has been crucial to organize the training of the trainers that is going to be held this year and also the pilot experiences that will start by autumn in each of the participating countries.

We are already working in the development of the teaching units about upcycled fashion design. Also, we are preparing the exercises that will be included in the methodological guideline based in peer support. To do this guide, we prepared a questionnaire to detect the real needs that the people with mental illness have related to the concrete topic of the project (fashion designing), those related to a work environment, self-esteem and interpersonal relationships. 105 people with mental problems in Europe answered this questionnaire. Moreover, 23 trainers answered a similar questionnaire to get a more objective point of view. As a result of all this work, we finally agreed in the aim and vision of the training and these conclusions are the starting point for the manual to be developed. It brings interesting results, as for instance the lack of team work abilities and self-confidence that need to be reinforced and difficulties of the target group when trying to express their thoughts. We firmly believe in the potential that the people with mental illness have and we hope that this guideline will help the trainers to get the best of each person.

Both manuals (the technical one with contents about upcycled fashion and the one describing the peer support methodology) will be available for free in the Chic & Craft learning platform http://chicandcraft. intras.es/, which also includes information about the project.

Come on, take a look!

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

2

Take a look into some creative ideas

INTRAS started working with recycled clothes thanks to the small national initiative ARROPADOS and we realized that this is an amazing world full of possibilities. We collected and transformed old clothes to get new garments and we realized that it is an excellent way to reach people that have nothing to be with the mental health field. Fashion is something that many people like, thus is a good anti-stigma tool, an easy way to approach the abilities and capacities of the people with mental illness to the general society.

Anyway, we know that there are a lot of things that can be made and that willing to work more in the topic was the origin of the Chic & Craft initiative.

Here you have some of our creations: a wallet made of old jeans and fabrics and original brooches made of used coffee capsules and old pieces of fabrics.

From the very beginning, our company OZARA includes also a sewing workshop where we offer sewing services to various customers. Even before the project, we had encouraged persons with disability within our Social Inclusion Programme to become more active and to become part of society through their work.

We began by sewing of different small products from various waste materials. With the presentation of Chic & Craft intended for our users we managed to expand our programme of sewing into a kind of modern fashion design. Before that, the list of our products consisted of various decorative accessories, pendants, toys etc. However, after a brainstorming session held at the beginning of the Chic & Craft project within our organisation, as well as detailed consultation with our partners, we decided that we wanted to experiment with some fashion clothing design and accessories even before the development of learning contents.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

3

In order to contribute to the technical curriculum of Chic & Craft, as well as to present and to prepare the participants for the implementation, the CJD trainer met with her participants and presented the project itself, the aims, the foreseen results and the goals. Being involved for the first time in an international project, the interest and tension was given by the youngsters, looking forward what is going to happen and how they can contribute to it.

Eventually, we agreed to begin with the ‘renovation’ of used shirts and with the production of handbags. Thus, we started collecting used clothes and textile remains.

When a sufficient quantity of shirts, pants and skirts was finally gathered together, we began with our creative enterprise.

For example, we took a shirt that was not totally outworn, sewed on it a motive made from textile scraps and presented it as a birthday gift for our colleague. The other product was a handbag made mostly from textile remains and bamboo sticks. Now, after we have gained a fresh and more thorough insight into our project, we can look forward to expand our list and quality of fashion products made from recycled materials.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

4

So starting with the brainstorming several ideas were collected and shared with the international partners, below you can see two of them. As we are currently in German winter time facing cold temperatures, the first one is a loop, made out of recycled textile as old shirts and linen. Having chosen the colors, the textile was measured, cut, sewed and used or given as a present to somebody else. The second item is a handbag, the textile was chosen (old linen, shirt, or comparable), prepared and sewed. Having presented now two of our brainstorming ideas we are now looking forward to go on with the project!

Cyclical use of materials has always been a key aspect of the occupational therapy implemented in the boarding houses of IASIS. The experienced staff of IASIS uses sewing, stitching, cutting and knitting techniques for the creation of many objects. Using material that used to be part of other objects serves a double purpose for our beneficiaries. Not only do they learn the value of recycling, but also they remain or grow mentally active through transforming old objects into new useful ones. Those activities are part of the mental health users’ rehabilitation and training in social skills. IASIS has invested a lot of time in the training of mental health users in order to help them reintegrate in society. Designing jewelry and other accessories is a crucial part of this training. In the context of the Chic & Craft project, IASIS will expand the activities of their beneficiaries in order to help them develop not only manual but also digital and social skills.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

5

Here are some examples of our everyday practice in the IASIS boarding house. In the first photo, there is an old blouse which is cut into pieces which then become the starting material for jewelry. In the second photo, there are some examples of the jewelry created.

When it comes to recycling, small actions every organization or person take on an everyday basis can mean a world of difference for the environment. This is an important concept in a nature-loving country such as Lithuania. Recycling and nonwasting use of materials has, for years, been one of the main elements of sewing and leather-craft vocational training process at Valakupiai Rehabilitation Center. These programmes are just a small part of variety of vocational training programmes that are available for people with disabilities at VRC. available for people with disabilities at VRC. VRC team is happy to share their knowledge and gain new experiences, as well as to offer a new pilot programme for people with mental health issues to take part in the training on fashion design from recycled materials. The project’s participants will benefit not only from the insight and support of experienced trainers, but also from the possibility to develop their sewing and/or leather-working technique for future jobs or as a meaningful leisure.

Below you have some examples of a couple of products already developed in VRC, we have a cute hat made of old pieces of knitwear and a brooch made of old pieces of leather, beads and buttons.

For further information, please contact us via e-mail:

proyectos2@intras.es or enter in our website

http://chicandcraft.intras.es/

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

6