Free ‘thrifty skills workshops’ at Festival of Thrift

Visitors to next month’s Tees Valley Festival of Thrift – this year being held in Billingham – can pick up a wide range of thrifty creative skills for free.

The annual celebration of sustainable living will support a free programme of workshops for festival-goers throughout the event which takes place on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of September. 

North-East housing group, Thirteen, is sponsoring the free programme of workshops which will offer lots of hands-on tips and techniques for slow fashion, mending and repairing, growing and ecology, food and zero waste, natural household and beauty products, arts and crafts, and sustainable living techniques. 

People can try their hand at Japanese-inspired visible mending techniques for clothing, make their own laundry power using kitchen cupboard ingredients, learn how to start their own seed library, make hanging plant pots from recycled materials or even have a go at using mycelium ‘mushroom plastic’ to make fungal moulds and sculptures.

There will also be the chance to get creative juices flowing with some exciting artist-led workshops from botanical drawing, den-building and making radical protest banners. 

Members of the Thirteen team will also be at the festival to showcase what the organisation is doing to reduce its negative impact on the environment, including a unique upcycling project that is helping its most vulnerable customers as well as reducing, reusing and recycling waste. 

Thirteen’s head of environmental sustainability Samantha Granger said that the group was proud to be supporting Festival of Thrift especially as its new Billingham location makes it more accessible to the communities it supports. 

“We’re excited to form a new partnership that will see us working together to benefit our customers,” she said.  

“Our furniture upcycling scheme has brought two key benefits – to not only help customers facing severe financial challenges with the ongoing cost of living rises to furnish their homes with clean, restored and attractive furniture, but also preventing hundreds of tonnes of unwanted furniture going to landfill.  

Festival executive director, Emma Whitenstall, said: “Festival of Thrift’s workshops offer lots of great thrifty hacks to save our resources and save us all money and this year, thanks to our new partnership with Thirteen, they are all free! 

“Whether people drop-in or sign up in advance to learn a new skill or catch a demo, we are aiming to inspire community action to help save our planet whilst having lots of fun at the same time.”  

Emma added: “Our relationship with Thirteen goes beyond this year’s festival; however, we will be working together over the next three years to connect Thirteen residents to Thrift activity year-round to raise awareness of the climate emergency and the action everyone can take in their everyday lives to minimise their impact on the planet.” 

Now in its 11th year, the Festival of Thrift is a free event that features a host of performances, demonstrations, talks, exhibitions, stalls and food and drink all designed to encourage sustainable living.  

To find out more about Festival of Thrift or volunteer, go to www.festivalofthrift.co.uk or follow the festival’s social media feeds @festivalofthrift on Facebook and Instagram and @FestoThrift on Twitter.