birds of a feather


Whilst I haven’t been able to run workshops during the pandemic, I have been using the little time I have between homeschooling and work to experiment with pattern making and all things creative. It keeps me afloat!

One of the challenges of production in participatory design workshops is creating a visually coherent outcome. Bringing all the visual elements together in a cohesive way in co-designing a fabric involves many small decisions, iterations and plenty of visual intuition.

 

 

 

Sometimes the block print patterns we produce in the workshops sit well together and are enough. Sometimes, adding a framework (meta-narrative) to unite the patterns brings it all together.

Inspired by flocks of birds flying away for winter, I have been doing some drawings that I think would look great as a fabric and could act as ‘carriers’ for the block print patterns.

 

The birds are storks, hand drawn, outlined and painted with gouache. Here below they are form a framework for the block print patterns:

 

 

 

 

the fabric of loneliness – material test

goodmakes workshops are designed to be adaptable in order to work with diverse groups, from children to the elderly.

Here I am preparing for a workshop with the elderly in partnership with MHA Care and the local council, helping participants   to fight off loneliness by sharing their feelings and memories, coming together to create the ‘fabric of loneliness’ which will help them to form new friendships!

I tested new block-printing techniques using clay to be inclusive of elderly people with dexterity, hand coordination and strength challenges. Clay is a soft material so is easier to carve and make marks on with blunt tools.

 

The meant carving the clay at just the right time when the texture still soft but resistant.

When the clay dries, its porous surface remains absorbent so I was able to ink it up and print patterns as I would with linocut.

 

goodmakes baby shower workshop in Copenhagen

“You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees or the stars; you have a right to be here. Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.” (Max Erhmann, 1927)

This quote is from a favorite poem of mine, that I included in the goodmakes “ baby-shower” workshop I ran in Copenhagen a few weeks ago.
Today I am designing a fabric from the linocut prints we made, inspired by our own memories of childhood and the experiences and values of this world we would like to share with these two new beautiful beings.

I designed the goodmakes workshop format to be adaptable so that I could work with diverse groups of people, sharing their stories to inspire the fabric design. So far I have worked with children, migrants, at-risk teenagers, the elderly but this was the first time designing a fabric in celebration of new life.

 

Watch this space for the new fabric design!

 

sharing goodmakes workshop feedback :)

This week we received feedback from participants who joined our goodmakes workshops at the Baytree Centre in Brixton.

This feedback highlights the positive impact of sharing experiences and working together creatively to design fabrics in helping to form new friendships, create a sense of community and improve mental health.

The mothers who participated in the goodmakes workshops expressed that they learned much more than they expected and overall the experience was very positive. 

Some of the comments were: 

‘’ I thought I would like this workshop but I had a really good and fun time. I was delighted to reflect of the love I have to for my children”

‘’ It help me as a person to share my experiences and draw (express) them in a pleasant way ‘’

 ‘’ It was really fun and I had a good time like I was a little girl’’ 

‘’This workshop was very interesting for me, I wasn’t expecting it. The facilitators explain and give guidance very well and had a lot of patience. ‘’

‘’This workshop helped me to work in a group’’

‘’I would like to work with more materials’’

‘’I like to come to Baytree and share my experiences – that makes me happy Baytree gives me the opportunities to learn new things’’

‘’I felt a lot of emotion expressing my inside feelings for been a mother in a very creative way’’

‘’I would like them to come more times with more activities’’

‘’I liked the workshop – everything was new to me’’

‘’I had a relaxed time and I would like to this activity with my daughter’’

‘’I wanted more material to create more things’’

‘’I had a relaxed time and enjoyed a lot. It helped me to change the way I was feeling. I made friends and want to do this activity more times’’ 

‘’I learned from this workshop that we can show our emotions through creative ways ‘’

‘’This session helped me to share with others. Nothing needs to improve everything is well organized’’

‘’This workshop is about moments of sharing happiness with other people and feeling good’’.

goodmakes designs “back to school” fabric with teenage migrant girls

Here are some photos from the wonderfully positive and uplifting session with teenage migrant girls as part of the Back To School programme at the Baytree Centre in Brixton.

We started the session with a walking greeting and sharing the girls experiences of coming to London on post-its. A discussion about their hopes, anxieties and dreams for life in London and starting their new schools bought up many issues the girls had in common, inspiring the block print designs for the fabric.

We are grateful to have had the chance to meet this amazing, courageous and insightful girls and help them to integrate their stories into something tangible and positive through the fabric design.

The fabrics will be made into shoulder bags for the girls to carry their school books in.

We wish them the best of luck with starting their new schools!

Goodmakes x Baytree Workshop in Photos

We had a great session at the Baytree Centre in Brixton with women from South America, Yemen, Sudan and Syria, designing stamps to be included in a fabric inspired by the shared stories of  motherhood during migration and their experiences of adjusting to life in London.

*Christmas wishes to you and your families from goodmakes!*

If you travel through the Valais region of Switzerland near where I grew up, you might notice some of the chalets have heart shaped windows carved in the front wooden wall.

In traditional Swiss architecture these hearts were included in the walls to represent the number of daughters in a family, so there is one heart that represents me in the wall of our chalet. For the Swiss (and for me), home is truly where the heart is!

This, for me, is really what the spirit of Christmas is all about  – spending time with those you love, celebrating and being grateful for the significant relationships that sustain us in our transient world.

Family is at the centre of everything we do at Goodmakes – supporting mothers to share their (sometimes difficult) stories of motherhood, learn new skills, make new friends and providing a nurturing environment for them to become independent so they can better support their families.

So Merry Christmas to you and yours  and thank you for all of your support this year!

love, from

Goodmakes x

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goodmakes makers guide – learn how to make goodmakes playpants in 10 mins!

Ok folks, by popular request, here (finally!) is the goodmakes makers guide to pattern cutting and sewing the goodmakes playpants.

Take a look to follow my step by step guide here! Thanks for watching x

goodmakes makers guide – learn how to make goodmakes kids play…

Hi folks, for those of you who wanted to know how to sew the goodmakes trousers, here is a short 10 min guide to pattern cutting and sewing … follow along to learn how to make pair of goodmakes playpants!I'm looking forward to organising a sewing workshop in the New Year…

Posted by Goodmakes on Wednesday, 13 December 2017