Visible Mending: The Beauty of Broken Things at The Stradling Collection
See event details

A event on Thursday 12th March. The event starts at 17:30.


In Japanese culture, Kintsugi is the ancient art of repairing broken pottery, transforming fractures into golden seams that symbolize strength, beauty, and fragility. This practice is part of the Wabi-Sabi aesthetic—embracing imperfection, impermanence, and the passage of time.

Visible Mending is the textile equivalent of Kintsugi—a technique that highlights rather than hides wear and damage, turning repair into an act of care and creativity. Instead of discarding broken items, mending brings new life and value to the things we love.

What to Bring:
Bring any damaged textiles you'd like to mend.
If you have thread or yarn, feel free to bring them!
We’ll provide needles, thread, fabric scraps, and materials to inspire your mending journey.
No prior experience is needed—everyone is welcome!
Come along, stitch with intention, and give your textiles a new story to tell.

About the Facilitator:
Alongside being BTQ studio manager, Saffron Darby is a clothes designer by trade, with over 18 years’ experience and senior designer at Toast for ten. She also co-owns Brown in Town, a Tailor & Atelier in Bristol.

Saffron aspires to a slower, more thoughtful way of life, her design ethos having been to create simple, modern, and functional pieces intended to last for years to come. Inspired by a sustainable approach to textiles and the resurgence of visible mending, Saffron initiated BTQ’s Meet Make Mend program—a slow stitch mending collective.

In hosting MMM, Saffron is expert in holding space for participants to sit, stitch, and mend whilst connecting with others and information sharing, in what participants over and again say is a very welcoming, safe, and therapeutic experience.

About the venue:
The Stradling Collection is a unique charity that emerged from the world of post-war craft and design retail, shaped by Ken Stradling MBE’s visionary 60-year career at the Bristol Guild. Housed at 48 Park Row, Bristol, the collection showcases pioneering ceramics, glass, furniture, and decorative objects, inspiring and educating current and future makers.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thestradlingcollection/2065205

Accessibility:
Please note that the workshop space is accessed via stairs. Seating will be provided for the session. For any access queries, please contact [email protected].

Entry requirements: 18+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio

Entry requirements: 16+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio

Tickets for similar Bristol events.

Lyra Festival Pass 2026 at All Festival Venues
— All Festival Venues
workshops & classes spoken word poetry festival
Normal Grief Festival at Cafe Kino
— Cafe Kino
open mic workshops & classes talks film festival
OURGASM FESTIVAL at Lakota
— Lakota
lgbtq+ workshops & classes talks festival food & drink
Bristol Transformed Festival 2026 at The Trinity Centre
— The Trinity Centre
workshops & classes talks festival