» Artists & Makers

ARTISTS & MAKERS OF FROME

Skye Pennant from Slow Stitch Club

What is your artistic background? I studied Fashion Design Enterprise at UCA Epsom, where I specialised in menswear, but I’ve always been a creative magpie especially with anything craft based. Textiles was my favourite subject at school by far! I love exploring different crafts and always want to try something new; I’ve always had creative side projects on the go alongside work.

What made you follow this path? Funnily enough, it was my degree that pushed me away from the fashion industry as, even back then, I felt uneasy about the overproduction of clothing and its impact on the planet, as well as the mistreatment of garment workers, which is still a huge issue. Slow Stitch Club is all about repairing clothing by using simple sewing techniques such as darning to visibly mend in a beautiful and intentional way. This keeps our favourite pieces in our wardrobes for longer, and out of landfill. It grew really organically through lockdown for me as I started sharing the clothing I was repairing and the tools I used to make it easier. I started an Instagram account and was amazed at how much people connected to what I was sharing. I was working as a textiles technician in a high school at the time and loved the idea of using the teaching skills I had gained to share mending tips with other people.

What is your physical creative process? What materials and techniques do you use? If I’m mending for myself, the creative process is normally based on practising a new mending technique or just starting out with a simple stitch and seeing where it takes me. If I’m working on a commission then I love chatting with the customer about what they want the repair on their clothing to say. I’m normally sent clothing that has sentimental value, so it’s really important to me that the repair respects that and gives it a new lease of life.

Materials-wise, I try to use what I already have to hand as much as possible and love working with natural fibres such as linen. I most enjoy repairing with darning techniques, and they’re my favourite to teach at workshops, but I also love learning about Sashiko and think that it’s a great method of repair for denim especially.

What inspires your work? On a larger scale I’m constantly driven forward by the change I can make from each repair - even if it’s only for a pair of socks. It’s an expression I end up repeating a lot - “it’s not about the socks!” - as it can be really frustrating when people don’t see the point in what I’m doing, but if I can help to keep even just one piece of clothing out of landfill for longer then it’s worth it. More personally, I love teaching and seeing others learn and experiment with their clothing. It’s so cool to see someone pick up a needle and thread for the first time and a few hours later have expressed their creativity and learnt a new skill to mend a favourite piece of clothing.

How did lockdown affect the way you work and create? I held my first workshop the week before the first lockdown happened, so I had to transition to virtual

workshops really quickly. That was a huge learning curve but it allowed me to connect with people all over the world, which was amazing and something that I want to keep doing in the future.

Obviously the lack of physical connection at workshops was really hard, especially when starting a new business, but there’s an amazing meditative and restorative feeling that comes from mending which in itself really helped during lockdown. I also had the time to work on and launch a kit and stitching templates during that time, which I was so grateful for.

Where do you work from? Tell us about your studio. I work from my spare room which is an explosion of sewing machines, fabric and kits and tools that I sell on Etsy and for the Frome Independent. My desk changes daily, depending on whether I’m working on commissions, designing a new kit or packing orders.

What is your favourite place to be for artistic inspiration? I’m from the Isle of Wight originally and always feel so inspired when I go back there to visit family. It’s a cliché I know but the sea always helps me to feel more creative. The great thing about repairing clothing is that there is always inspiration to be found from the damage itself. A moth-eaten jumper gives you a foundation for this random pattern of darns that can add colour and texture in a really beautiful way.

What artists inspire you, and why? Fashion activists such as Orsola de Castro, who co-founded Fashion Revolution Week, always inspire me to keep learning and to keep going with clothing repair. There is a huge mending community of talented repairers to be found online and on Instagram especially; I’ve learnt so much about different repair techniques from others on there as well, learning about the cultural significance of techniques like Sashiko - @sashikostory run by Atsushi Futatsuya is a great account to check out if you’re new to the practice.

If you hadn’t become an artist, what would you have done? I’d probably have become a teacher, although I hate public speaking! It was in the back of my mind for years before I found a way to combine teaching with my textile work. How do you find the Frome area, in terms of creativity and artistic community? So inspiring! I moved to Frome a little over a year ago and am in awe of all the incredible makers and creatives here. I’ve been lucky enough to work with a few different makers already, and absolutely love how supportive the community seems to be.

Are there any artistic processes/disciplines which you haven’t worked in/with, but would like to? I’ve just finished designing a set of wooden darning mushrooms with Harvey of Elkco Furniture, which has been so much fun - I’d love to try using a lathe and woodturning for myself at some point in the future.

How can people see and buy your work? You can find my kits, tools and PDF guides on Etsy. I run monthly workshops at Marston Park and oneoffs around Somerset, so check out my website for upcoming dates. To see examples of my work, you can find me on Instagram @slowstitchclub, and I’m always open for commissions so send me an email if you have a favourite piece of clothing that you’d like to get repaired: skye@slowstitch.club

Etsy: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/slowstitchclub @slowstitchclub Website: www.slowstitch.club