Do you like to get creative? Whether that’s making cartoons, furniture, pottery, prints, fabrics, or clothes? Then we have the group for you!
‘The Crafty Corner’ is a space where you get to explore, experiment, and express your creative side. In every workshop we explore a story from the museum’s collection about a trade or craft and create an artistic response to its themes, craft process or medium.
Join us for our next Crafty Corner, hosted by Dr Hinda Mandell! Let’s turn to paper and thread for a two-in-one workshop that spotlights different ways to engage in creative expression as a tool for connection. This workshop includes learning to hand stitch a “HELLO My Name is” patch as well as an introduction to zine-making.
Your name tells a story. It holds your history and heritage. Instead of using a disposable sticker, why not create something lasting? In this workshop, you’ll hand-stitch your very own “HELLO My Name Is” patch—perfect for wearing at community events, meetings, or anywhere you’d like to initiate a conversation and offer a friendly introduction.
During this workshop you’ll learn the basics of running and back stitches. No sewing experience is neccessary, just come along! If you’re an experienced stitcher, you’ll still enjoy the process and creative possibilities.
You’ll also get a chance to apply your new stitching skills to paper, designing personalised zines – mini DIY booklets made from a single sheet of paper or collage. Zines are a fun and creative way to express yourself, tell stories, and share with friends. Whether you’re stitching fabric or paper, this workshop is all about making connections, both through craft and conversation.
This group is open to anyone over the age of 18, and to all identities, backgrounds, and cultures. Don’t worry if this is your first-time making crafts, we welcome beginners and seasoned pros – and believe in the power of supporting one another in getting creative!
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Dr. Hinda Mandell is professor in the School of Communication at RIT in New York, where she was the director of the university’s journalism program from 2020-2024. An avid DIY’er who loves to unleash creativity in others, Mandell is the co-founder of her university’s annual Zine Fest as well as ongoing exhibition project, “(Co-) Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism,” which has had three separate iterations at seven different venues in the U.S. since 2019. Her scholarly inquiries into collaborative handcraft as change-agents have been published in Craft Research, the Journal of Urban Cultural Studies, and forthcoming in the Journal of Feminist Scholarship. She is on the international advisory board of the Journal of Craft & Communities and on the editorial board the International Journal of Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, and her research has been funded by the Centre for Craft and Fiber Art Now. In 2020 she was a guest artist with Visual Studies Workshop, whose residency funded the production of her artist book, “The Yarn Must Live: A Polemic on a Pandemic and Public Art,” which was acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 2021.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The workshop is 1 hour and 30 minutes long and there will be refreshments provided.
All materials are included as part of the workshop but do feel free to bring any creations you are working on to share with the group! We’d love to see!
If you have any additional needs, please contact Elly elly@manchesterjewishmuseum.com so we can best support.
ACCESS
Our new building includes step free access to the entrance via a ramp, a lift to the first floor, level access throughout the ground floor and accessible gender neutral toilets. Click HERE for more access information. If you have any additional needs please email elly@manchesterjewishmuseum.com in advance so we can best support.
GETTING HERE
We are just a 15 minute walk from Victoria Station and Manchester’s Green Quarter. Both the 41 and 135 buses stop on Cheetham Hill Road within 100m from the museum’s entrance at the Elizabeth Street and Derby Street stops. Click HERE for more information on getting here.
