Interested in discovering ways of mending your clothes and expressing creativity through stitching? Join Parsons Healthy Materials Lab in a back-to-school event, where students, faculty and staff across the university join together to mend and repair textiles.

Repair is a means of extending the life of our favorite things. Through repair, we can contribute to the circular economy by keeping items in use for longer and consuming less. By repairing, versus disposing and purchasing new, we reduce global climate risk by reducing carbon emissions that come from the manufacture of products.

Repair, instead of replacing things, requires a change in mindset. Typical design and architecture processes are structured to purchase new goods. Changing processes and mindsets are necessary to transition to a repair or circular economy.

Repairing is an actionable alternative to the chronic overconsumption, overproduction, and proliferation of carbon emissions that define our time.

The workshop is based on the ancient art of “Boro,” a Japanese repair technique using Sashiko stitching.

For The New School community joining us in person in the Starr Foundation (UC L102): you can pick up a repair kit prior to the workshop at the Donghia healthier Materials Library at 25 East 13th Street, 304, on September 5th and 6th from 12-4pm.

Anyone else who is interested is welcome to join online via Zoom from 6-8pm. All you need is a needle, thread and some fabric but feel free to work on something that needs a patch. No previous experience is necessary.

This hands-on workshop will be led by Catherine Murphy and assisted by Jess Thies. They are both researchers at HML with a background in textiles.