M'dam Craft

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M'dam Craft

re-cycling and re-styling clothing and soft furnishings to support the whole community Thank you for taking the time to support us.

When you bring in your items for up-dating and re-styling, you will be welcomed by members of the disability sector and their mentors, where you will be shown our range of clothing and soft furnishings, and offered advice on what we can do for you. If you leave us some items you will receive loyalty points toward a £5 voucher after you gain 10 points. You may want to purchase items we have already up-dated, or something we have that is waiting to be re-styled. Our volunteers will be able to gain qualifications through working in the shop and have a much better chance of gaining productive and useful work in the future. You as the customer, will gain by paying less for your purchases and leave with individualised clothing and furnishings without breaking the bank. your loyalty will ensure that our shop can grow and offer more places and more chances in the future, for those with a disability or having a disadvantaged life.

06/06/2018

Here is an old table that I have recently re-vamped and the old fashioned chairs are now painted and waiting for the seats. I rubbed it down and waxed it with Danish oil. A lovely piece of oak transformed.

01/06/2018

M'DAM has moved to Evanton just for now. The up-cycling of clothing and home furnishings didn't appear to appeal in a sessional delivery, so I have turned my hand to re-purposing small items of furniture and some junk items that can be re-made into something currently trendy.

My aim has not changed and I do intend in the near future, to get back into third sector support, utilising the skills of volunteers and those of the people who access the mental health services.

Now, more than ever we need to move into self-reliance and motivate each other to find new ways to create support. We are moving into a difficult time for mental health issues and lack of self-esteem. I see it in my other business of hypnotherapy and personal development.

Will keep posting and keeping this going for now until my magic wand is fixed and I can find the perfect place to work from.

Cheers for now.
Alex

18/09/2017

Well, I think I will go back to my original plan. I am inviting those of you who would like to come out to play on a Monday evening, between 6.30 and 8pm for now, to come and have a go at inventing, upcycling and designing at my home. I can take up to about 6 people here, and it will be warm and welcoming on long autumn and winter evenings. Tea, coffee and juice and of course biscuits to keep you going, and some good company whilst you find your inner artist and creator. I will need names and numbers so I can plan this, and it will only be £1 this time to cover drinks and heating/electricity etc. also the money goes into a pot for anything else we may need for our upcycling like a glue gun, or some other kinds of materials etc.

Bring a friend or meet a new one and if we get too big for ourselves, we can then always find a comfy bigger space somewhere else.

I WILL get this going and you will be so glad you joined. Remember this is going towards a social enterprise out in the high street in the future, and work or voluntary work for some, and a place for those who are isolated, to come and meet with others and maybe learn to make something.

Thanks for your time folks, and please pass this on wherever you can.

Bye for now
Alex

12/09/2017

Sorry that there was a quiet start to this new course or community group event. As I had no takers, I am postponing next week and looking at planning how to get people to come and join in. I have a lot of material, zips, buttons, thread, sewing machine, paper and pens for design and a warm clean room to enjoy meeting with others of like mind for up-cycling and looking at just how inspired you can be. I am setting this up for those who want to join others and please don't feel you have to be able to sew or design, that will come when we all get going on projects. We can help each other. This is the idea behind M'dam - that people can meet and have a go at something they either do a little, or even not at all at the moment. This is not a set so many week course, it will be ongoing so you can join in any time and have some fun. Eventually the ethos of M'dam will be about rolling it out onto the high street and engaging everyone in up-cycling, mending, designing and making as well as selling to the public as a social enterprise. You will be part of a new venture that creates a place for anyone to get involved.

Please get in touch if you are interested and I can then be certain of participants. I have to pay for the room and all I ask is £1.50 to include drinks and biscuits, which will help pay for the space. Imagine having somewhere warm and friendly to meet on a monday evening in winter as a change from sitting in on your own perhaps. And if you can't make it, perhaps you can pass this page to others who may enjoy this.

I really look forward to getting this off the ground so remember no group next monday until I can get this information out and about and get some happy participants to come and join in.

😀👠💁‍♀️🧥👗👢👒📿🧤

08/09/2017

Hello Inverness - M'dam classes begin this coming monday, don't forget. Bring your ideas and some 'stuff' to work on if you have it. If not, we have plenty to kick this all off. If you can't make the first week that's fine, because it's a drop in anytime kind of class. £1.50 to include a drink and a biscuit. Let your friends know too. See you Monday 6.30pm until 8pm 😀

20/08/2017

Hello....it's me again. Please remember to check out the ethos of M'dam. The 'About' page gives you some ideas, but just to remind everyone, this whole venture is leading towards a place - perhaps a shop or a series of small stalls within a contemporary market place, where everyone in the community can bring their skills together and support each other with up-cycling and being creative. When I began this journey back in Lancashire, my vision was to begin a project that encapsulated the value of providing a place to learn and teach, especially to support those with difficulties finding work in the mental health sector and the learning disability sector. A place to gain NVQ's (and up in Scotland SVQ's) and I won an award to do some test trading. We worked on items and in the pictures on the page you will see there are many ages and genders who were part of our little group, and who were able to be a part of the shows we put on to showcase what we had achieved in a short space of time.

Then I moved to Inverness because this is where I wanted to be, and I am hopeful that M'dam can continue to support others, such as the isolated and lonely, those finding difficulty in offering their own inspired ideas, and providing a place for anyone to come and join in as volunteers as we build on the ethos.

I value the environment and eliminating waste, and also linking up with the charity shops by purchasing items from there to up-cycle and re-use.

At present my business is registered as a Ltd company, but with everyone's help, I can turn this into a Social Enterprise run and supported by its members. Selling goods that have been re-vamped and recreated. Also showcasing items up-cycled or invented by others in the community for their opportunity to get on the sales ladder. This will hopefully become an emporium and a 'go-to' place on your trip around the city. But for now, we begin in a church hall with lots of ideas, and some basic community spirit. We look forward to greeting you on the 11th September. Thank you.

19/08/2017

The new classes for Make Do And Mend will begin on Monday 11th September at 6.30pm until 8.00pm at the Old High Church Halls, Academy Street, Inverness. Please come along with your ideas and creative thoughts. Welcome all ages and abilities. £1.50 per week to include tea/coffee/juice and biscuits. Make new friends as you learn and teach each other your own skills.
A community coming together to brighten up your own clothes, amend some for fun, refresh your old curtains, re-style your hats and just enjoy. Please contact M'dam for more information, or call me (Alex) on 01463 234791 or 07946301061. Or just come along on the first evening and we can make it up from there. Looking forward to meeting you all.

06/08/2017

Hello everyone who enjoys MakeDoAndMend in their life. Just a quick note for now to let you know there will be a class beginning in Autumn, around the end of September time, At the High Church on Academy Street (down the alley and into the side door of the church) for Make Do And Mend sessions on a regular basis. Evenings of getting together with a sewing machine and some bits and bobs, and creating things that will inspire you and surprise you at the same time.
Bring along some material/an item or two of clothing you want to change/some thread and a needle etc/buttons/zips etc. anything you can find. I have a machine and may be able to get another one as well, so that everyone can have a go at sewing on a machine, or just by hand.
The idea of this is to avoid isolation, make new friends, show off your skills, teach others some of those skills, learn from others and have tea, coffee and biscuits with lots of chatter.
M'DAM (MakeDoAndMend) Ltd is making a new start here in Inverness and we are hoping to attract those who are interested in salvaging old stuff and creating from it. The beginning of this will be with clothes, curtains, bedding or anything to do with creating from old. Later on we can move onto other items in the home that would benefit from upcycling.

Although the class is in the church hall, we do have to pay for the hire, so the more people come - the cheaper per head it will be. I would be grateful for around £2 per head to start if we can get at least 5 or 6 people. When we reach around 12 people we can reduce that to £1 per head. Then we can look at a wee fashion show (see the page for earlier shows) and a clothes swap evening.

The main aim of M'DAM is to encourage all members of the community to find new ways to use their skills, and draw in people who have difficulty finding work through a learning disability or a chronic mental health diagnosis. There is work out there for everyone, and with some encouragement and community spirit, we can all grow on our strengths.

So watch out for the dates to be announced soon, and let your friends know that this is coming. We can all be a part of the community and even those who are shy and need a little encouragement to join in will find they have a lot to offer that we all want to know.

I am also a Hypnotherapist and Personal Development Consultant, so I work with many people who need that extra little boost, whatever the need is; and I have been doing that for many years - also with groups - to build a resilience and self reliance that helps them recover quickly, and go on to lead great lives.

Thank you for reading this essay :-) As you might see, I am very passionate about people and how we interact. I look forward to meeting you all then.

Dates will be announced very soon.

Alex

15/11/2016

Just want to keep you all in the loop. We are getting it all together and looking forward to our first show and launch. Might be taking a while, but we want it to be a launch you will remember for a long time, and keep you interested in what we are aiming to do for the community. Please bear with us a little longer. Pictures to tempt you will be on here very soon, showing some of the new ideas we have for our venture. Thanks for staying with it and as always, if you fancy getting your name down for volunteering at all, or if you can sew and can help us kick start the business, we would love to hear from you.

Cheerio for now.

from all at M'dam (MakeDoAndMend)

19/10/2016

M'dam is coming to Inverness. A launch with a fashion show and clothes swap evening for ladies will be announced for November, very soon. Please look out for some amazing pictures of a few of our up-cycled items ready for the show. We are also looking for quality items to work on with our fantastically creative team.
Also buttons, zips and cotton would be gratefully received.
We are looking forward to seeing you all at the launch, so keep coming back for the date which will be announced in the next 10 days.

Please contact me if you are interested in volunteering to support our community venture, and whether you can sew or love up-cycling, we would welcome your input.

If you just want to know more about M'dam Inverness, I would be very happy to explain our aims and objectives to you, and more about the people in the community that are going to benefit from this enterprise.

I look forward to meeting you soon.

Alexandra

Address

Evanton
IV169XD

Website

http://www.mdamcraft.co.uk/, http://twitter.com/#!/mdamcraft

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