TBBWI – September 2024 Meeting Minutes

Record of the main Meeting held at South Weald Parish Hall at 8pm on 18th September 2024

Upcycling with Jean Genie Denim

The President welcomed 65 members to the meeting and outlined the safety procedures. Liz
F was thanked for hosting another successful garden party in August and notices were given
about a forthcoming fabric and stash swap to be held at The Bardswell Social Club on 19th
October and of the next trip which is to Crossness Pumping Station.

Our president, Jane, then introduced Holly, aka the Jean Genie. Holly gave an excellent and thought-provokingpresentation about the clothes industry and explained how long modern-day fabrics take to
decompose. She showed us how, in parts of the world, the amount of water used in intense
cotton production has caused lakes to dry up. We also saw photos of the Atacama Desert in
Chile where parts are filled with waste or surplus clothes.

On a more positive note, Holly then spoke about her business and her passion for resourcing pre-loved clothes. She then showed us examples of her lovely denim creations. Holly takes pre-loved jackets and gives them a new lease of life by embroidering unique designs onto them. Members were able to
browse through a beautiful selection of work that Holly had brought along.

The Challenge Cup this evening was to visibly mend or repair an item or design a ‘patch’ to show how
embroidery can be used to upcycle. Holly judged and selected winners as follows:
1st Place – Chris L., 4 points; 2nd Place Rosa G. – 3 points; and joint 3rd Place – Gemma C. and Jane M. 2 points.

Members were given advance notice of next month’s meeting which is a talk about
Hitchcock and were advised that next month’s challenge is to write a two-sentence horror story.
The president thanked our guest speaker, and the meeting closed at 10pm.