Not-for-profit award-winning social enterprise, Fashion Enter and funky clothing brand Prikli Pear have partnered together for a series of crochet workshops being taught in North London.
To kickstart the partnership, Prikli Pear will be hosting 2.5-hour beginner’s crochet workshops at the Fashion Enter shop in London throughout July. All materials including yarn, crochet hooks and the pattern will be supplied for the crochet students so they can continue practicing what they learnt in the lesson, at home. The first few workshops will be Summer-themed around creating cute daisy-shaped granny squares which will teach all the basic crochet skills needed to do other basic crochet patterns.
Not only will individuals learn a new skill but it’s an opportunity to meet like-minded creatives in the area and make connections. Jessica Purdie, Founder of Prikli Pear expressed, “London is a big place and often very lonely. I found it difficult to find mutual creative connections when I lived in London. I’m determined to give the city the same support that I experienced in my local area of Lincolnshire and I believe that we should all experience that community feeling no matter where we live.”
Gee Fletcher, development coordinator of Fashion Enter said, “We are excited to have partnered with Prikli Pear to host workshops where individuals feel like they can be themselves, express their creativity amongst like-minded people and learn new skills in the process.”
Jess had visited the Fashion Enter/Fashion Capital factory in North London when she was a student at Bath Spa University back in 2015 and it left her inspired. Fashion Enter is a not for profit social enterprise that holds leading status in the uk for ethical manufacturing. The work that Fashion Enter does is focused around upskilling individuals who have an interest in fashion but may not have the financial backing that would allow them to create their own collections. Fashion Enter has a Factory for large scale production and a Fashion Studio for grading, sampling and small production runs. Both units are Sedex approved and produced for leading retailers, etailers, designers and new business start ups.
Jess said, “Loneliness is real and community is essential for humans.” It was reported by the BBC after the pandemic that 700,000 people surveyed felt lonely “most”‘ or “all of the time”
Jess said, “I grew up in a very rural part of Highland Perthshire and there weren’t a lot of people around. We had to walk 3 miles to our local village shop or take the quad bike, it was that out in the sticks…I’ve always been the person to put on events to bring people together, it was in my PR career that I realised that this was my calling.”
In September 2021, Jess left her career in the PR industry in London and moved to the countryside of Lincolnshire and this is where she set-up Prikli Pear and went full-time with it. Jess set-up the business as she wanted to create a brand that was transparent in all its messaging, manufacturing and involved a community in shaping a fashion company that is driven by purpose and not consumerism.
Being community-focused means that Prikli Pear can facilitate meaningful projects within the fashion industry; supplying creative workshops to help individuals upskill and overcome social boundaries; re-use fabrics and restore garments where possible within their alterations service and create bespoke commissions that stand out from the crowd. Prikli Pear is determined to make the fashion industry feel inclusive and allow us to be authentically ourselves.
Gee, of Fashion Enter said, “I started at Fashion Capital as an apprentice nearly 6 years ago. I am very grateful to have learnt so much from working in the factory and the fashion studio. I believe that the work we do at Fashion Enter will change the fashion industry for the better and give individuals the skills they need to enter a career.”
Gee expressed, “It’s amazing the opportunities we have access to, we can learn at home through online classes, but I think it is important to create a classroom full of people that have come from all different types of backgrounds so that the knowledge is traded, and people can grow within the space.”
All creative workshops can be found via the link below:
Upcoming dates for your diary:
- 5th July, 10am-12:30pm
- 5th July, 1pm-3:30pm
- 19th July, 10am-12:30pm
- 19th July, 1pm-3:30pm
ABOUT FASHION ENTER
Fashion Enter is a not-for-profit social enterprise, offering apprenticeships and different levels of courses to everyone across all ages. It supports the local community by offering affordable workspaces, free business support and free courses.
Fashion Enter offer free L1 stitching and pattern cutting courses to people claiming certain benefits or that are earning under 23k a year. Fashion Enter believe in keeping people creative and having a reason to get up out of bed in the morning.
The Fashion Enter shop on Fonthill road is full of creations provided by local designers within the Islington council area. The space is also used for upcycling workshops, classes and pop-up events.
Fashion Capital are industry leaders in ethical fashion and a strong supporter of the ‘Made in Britain’ campaign and have received several awards for the work they have done in this field. Fashion Capital are an Ethical manufacturer based across North London, Leicester and Wales. From idea conception to completed collection – Fashion Capital guides you through every step of the garment process to create a brand that is ethical and competitively made in the UK.
WEB: www.fashion-enter.com | FB: @fashionenter | INSTA: @fashionenterltd
ABOUT PRIKLI PEAR
Prikli Pear create clothing with powerful messages. It set out to achieve one mission – to create a transparent ethical fashion brand with a personality – involving communities and solving real-life issues such as fabric waste and social/ethical issues. Prikli Pear set out to educate people about how clothing is made through creative textile/fashion workshops. It’s passionate about breaking the ice and helping to solve social issues such as loneliness through creative social group Stitch & B*tch.
As part of its sustainability pledge, Prikli Pear believes in reusing clothing where possible to cut down on fast fashion and provide an alterations service to its Lincolnshire community, repairing garments and altering occasional wear.