The Free Mending Library
One the fifteenth of each month, Michael Swaine runs a free mending library out of his custom built sewing cart in San Francisco.
The free mending library started out with a sewing machine and a cardboard sign. It evolved into a pushcart complete with umbrella and other goodies. He’s currently works the Tenderloin neighbourhood of San Francisco, where he offers free clothes mending from his portable sewing station.
60% of the work involves things like hemming; the rest of it tends to be patching or mending tears. Swaine saves the extra fabric from alterations and uses it for patches. In exchange for his services, Swaine gets to meet people and hear their stories, get a glimpse of their lives. His work also promotes the possibilities of mending in the face of throwaway consumer culture.
This project has a lot in common with The Burning Library. It’s free, involves a pedestrian-friendly cart, and it started out with just a cardboard sign. Plus, it’s pretty amazingly fantastic. The Mending Library centres as much on human exchange as it does on library services.
For more details, check out Cast On’s podcast interview with Michael Swaine or the Twisted Thread video on his work in San Francisco and London.
The Burning Library 