The Remakery: Making South East London sustainable
Wooden pallets, a surplus of clothing hangers, plastic bags and some old t-shirts; All of which we may second as household junk, were used by locals for their latest community project.
Nestled in a residential street between Brixton and Camberwell is The Remakery. Founded in 2012, from what was once an abandoned car garage, it has since been transformed into a hub for locals to hone their creativity in innovative ways and the latest of these was the ‘Sustainable Fashion Show’.
This project, partly funded by Lambeth Council, involved providing sewing lessons, dressmaking workshops and the option to curate the event itself, which attracted close to 100 attendees. But this is just one of the many opportunities that The Remakery has provided in the decade since it was founded by Mark and Sophie after the success of when the same initiative was first birthed in Edinburgh.
Sophie previously worked in environmental journalism but felt that “It was finally time to start finding solutions to these issues, but I wanted communities to be a part of it.”
But the real catalyst was a year abroad in Nepal. “After a year, we were surprised to find that five or six of us threw away less than a bin bag full of rubbish in that whole year since we had become so accustomed to the expectation that anything that was broken would be repaired and remade.”
“Anything that was broken would be repaired or remade”
“When we first launched all those years ago, we had £60 and were relying on donations, but since then have been able to employ ten freelancers across the enterprises and currently work with six other sponsors.”
Since then, through workshops, talks and classes, The Remakery has grown its community across South East London.
Gordon is one of those who made the most of this space. “I originally found out about The Remakery about five years ago when they were holding a workshop on how to repair and care for a guitar as that is what I was interested in at the time.”
Since learning to care for his guitar, Gordon has become a regular, going on to volunteer and help out with press and events for The Remakery, whilst also using the co-working space for his day job as part of the Lambeth Council communications team.
“In exchange, I get the chance to work with other local creatives and it really is a great community we have here.” From artists, to writers, to carpenters, The Remakery now is home to a variety of creatives who all contribute to the overall social enterprise and their mission, whether that be on a paid, volunteer or casual basis and the aim is to give priority to those that live locally. With those that live on the road that houses this creative hub being given free access to a variety of events.
“It really is a great community we have here”
The Remakery is a part of a much greater shift in perspective, as 2022 statistics show that, culturally, we are shifting to be more mindful when it comes to our consumption and what impacts we have.
Sophie hopes these figures will continue to work in the favour of sustainability, whilst she too looks at ways to expand The Remakery, both nationally and globally. “I’m receiving applications by the week for new openings, some even in the USA and South East Asia, so it’s all very exciting that we are able to keep growing!
In whatever directions this creative enterprise may grow, its mark on South East London is long lasting and the opportunities for community and innovation that Sophie and her team have inspired is greatly valued by locals.
Feature image courtesy of The Remakery.
Slay
lovely piece