Mission Statement
The wastage incurred from ‘fast fashion’ is of paramount conern to us all. My intention is to help in a small way by re-using cloth and haberdashery that might otherwise have been heading towards landfill.
The Process of Re-Purposing
I collect unwanted clothing and fabrics and meticulously take each item apart. I salvage everything that I can eg. zips, hooks, buttons, piping, decoration as well as the fabric itself. I then thoroughly wash everything in pure soap adding drops of eucalyptus essential oil and then hang outside to dry. This has on occasion resulted in interesting outcomes when labels have indicated “dry clean only” or “not suitable for machine wash” but that just adds to the creative process.
uP Range
With the best will in the world, humans like to buy or collect “new things”. However, “new” is subjective and I am hoping to give people that joyous feeling of owning something new with minimal cost to the environment.
I also help to prolong the life of garments by giving them a makeover! Items are washed and examined thoroughly before the transformations starts. Inspiration will come from many sources, perhaps the cut of the cloth or the latest look on the runway, or a film I have seen or simply the pieces of haberdashery that I pull out of the box that day.
It takes a long time to upcycle a garment because great care has to be taken when unpicking stitching so that it will go back together again.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the following people that who helped and supported Purple Threads to become a reality.
Callum Keys and the band members from The Purple Felts
http://www.thepurplefelts.com/
Rupert Jackman at Inverurie website design
https://inverurie-website.design/
Ros & Ellie at Repair what you wear
https://repairwhatyouwear.com/
Stephen Hall at Aberdeen Sewing Machines
https://aberdeensewing.com/
Pat at Rainbow Needlecraft Centre Oldmeldrum
Alison at Butterfly fabrics, Inverurie
The brilliant models - Callum, Dani & Noah.
Contact
Purple Threads
Playgreen Croft, St Katherines
Inverurie
Aberdeenshire AB518TR