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For the last 3 years, Stitch-O-Mat had called The Old School Te Kura Tawhito home, but it was finally time for us to move to new premises in the heart of New Brighton. We are now located in the Surfside Mall, 68 Hawke Street, tucked in between Bin Inn and the bike shop, opposite the second-hand clothing shop (handy, if you're into upcycling projects!) We opened our new doors for the first time on 12 April, ready to welcome our usual patrons as well as the many newcomers that this prime spot will bring us.  Our staff, members of the board and many volunteers worked tirelessly to set up the new space, ready for people to use and enjoy. While the space may look smaller, it is packed full with all the things that make Stitch-O-Mat great: machines, tools and haberdashery and all the material needed for your personal or community projects.  Why not pop in to check out our new location? Our hours have mostly stayed the same: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10am - 2pm Tuesday: 7pm - 9pm Sunday: 1pm - 4pm  We can't wait to see you at our new spot!
Added bonus of our new location: there are plenty of nice coffee shops around us to get your caffeine fix while you sew (and maybe a nice sweet treat or two)! Reminder: don't forget to scan our QR code when you visit us.
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 Thanks to some hard mahi and some committed folk, our beautiful Matariki Community Quilt has found its new home at New Brighton Library. You can find the display on the first floor of the library, up the stairs and to the left. All our thanks goes to Ron (Maungarongo) Te Kawa, our Stitch-O-Mat Community of creative quilt makers and of course to our sponsors Creative Community and Te puni kōkiri.  Stitch-O-Mat’s Conscious Clothing Market was established in 2019 as part of our month long 'Nothing New November' event, encouraging people to think about how their consumption contributed to climate change, pollution and the ethical issues associated with fast fashion. The market focuses on the sale of second hand, upcycled and handmade fashion and anything textile related. The market is is held once a month at Te Kura Tewhito, the old Central New Brighton School site and home to the New Brighton Stitch-O-Mat, although we are looking forward to moving to an inside venue which will mean the market is no longer weather dependent. Anyone can host a stall and stall fees are minimal to keep the project accessible to all. If you are interested in having a stall please contact us either via Facebook or phone.  Our beautiful community quilt has found a wonderful display space at Tūranga City Library. Thanks to the staff at Tūranga, the exhibition looks amazing. There's a video with Ron Tekawa and his korero about whakapapa quilts and a couch for you to relax and take in the quilt for all its glory. The exhibit also includes paper hearts for people to share their thoughts and wool string lines to attach them to. There are still some details still to add to the exhibit so watch this space. Like Ron's work it is a developing space. AROHA REVOLUTION.
  To celebrate Matariki 2020, Stitch-o-Mat New Brighton, Christchurch’s community sewing project, is honoured to host renowned textile artist Maungarongo (Ron) Te Kawa as Artist in Residence during July. Ron Te Kawa (Ngāti Porou) is an artist, storyteller, quilter and fashion designer. During his time at Stitch-o-Mat, Ron will work on a Community Matariki Quilt. Anyone is welcome to watch and/or participate in this project. He will also deliver workshops to groups of people. These have limited numbers, bookings are essential. The workshops will focus on the development of practical sewing skills and bringing people together. Māori culture will be expressed through the decolonisation of sewing. For more information and bookings, please email: In 2019, Ron delivered Whakapapa Quilt workshops at Stitch-o-Mat. This was a great success and received extremely positive feedback. By hosting him as Artist in Residence, more people will be able to access his art and workshops as many members of the community missed out in 2019. This way, more members of our community will be able to attend his workshops and interact with him while he works on the Community Quilt. The Matariki Community Sewing Project has all been made possible with support from Te Puni Kōkiri and Christchurch's Creative Communities Scheme.
Hello Stitch-O-Mat followers.
Due to the current Level 4 Lockdown, we have needed to close Stitch-O-Mat until further notice. We hope you all stay well and safe during this time and we look forward to getting back into the swing of things once we return to a Level by which we can do this safely. In the meantime, we thought we would update our website while we are away from the physical site, and also move our content to be 100% online. To do this we have started a YOUTUBE channel. You can find us here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB2gcF5ZQWMft_VxL6SRNBA but we will also be uploading these onto our Facebook page. So keep an eye out for our video tutorials. We all here at Stitch-O-Mat look forward to seeing you all again soon. Stitch-O-Mat Team Every year in Christchurch we send almost 13,000 tonnes of textile waste to landfill, it makes up a whooping 6.2% of our total waste. The fashion industry is the worlds second largest greenhouse gas emitter. Millions of people work in conditions that equate to modern day slavery to feed our fast fashion addiction. It's time to make a change. Join our panel of resident experts to see how they and you can be part of a global movement to revolutionise the fashion industry. Follow this up with a Clothing Swap, an in house repair café and a few local up-cyclers sharing their wares. 6.30-10.30pm Wednesday 30th October Level 1, Craft Beer and Coffee Bar 1/217 Marine Pde, New Brighton CLOTHING SWAP Get into those drawers and get out your best but no longer worn quality fashion items. Shoes, belts, bags and hats welcome in the mix. *IMPORTANT! items must be in good condition (No rips, tears, no stains, piling etc) Pass your items on clean and well folded so they look great once hung and on display at the swap market. *You will get tickets of the total number of items you have dropped off. Bring these on the Swap Market night so you can exchange your tickets for the same amount of items. (One ticket per item to exchange on the night for a swap item). Drop off prior to the night - 1/217 Marine Parade LEVEL ONE Craft Beer and Coffee Bar. * Get ready to relax mingle and shop - it's also Open Mic night, the Bar and Cafe are open until late! Nothing New November Itinerary See below for Stitch-O-Mats month of madness. We are excited to see you all throughout the month on November for these fantastic workshops and sewing sessions.  |
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