BY TEAM SPRING AND REPUBLIC
Litla Saumastofan: twelve years of making better use of clothes
We talked to Svava, co-founder of a repair and alteration workshop in Akureyri, about what happens after people decide not to throw a piece of clothing away.
" This is about extending the lifespan of clothes, and lessening the overconsumption we’re drowning in. "
— Svava, co-founder, Litla Saumastofan
The workshop.
Litla Saumastofan is a repair and alteration workshop in Akureyri, Iceland. Watch the film above for how it started.
" I enjoyed this so much, that's the real reason I was good at it. "
She learned this before she called it a job.
Svava first learned to sew at a boarding school, where students could choose sewing, knitting, handicraft, and art. She learned a lot there, at an early age, as a teenage girl. She found she was good at it simply because she enjoyed it so much.
" We're seeing more young people. "
Thinking differently about what they own.
She says they're starting to think more about how they use their clothes. Some even bring in thrifted pieces, wanting them altered to their liking.
" I'll quit the day I stop enjoying it. "
It isn't always easy.
There are hurdles, she says. But the work goes well, and people are almost always glad to come to us. That's what's kept her at it this long.
" I hope this still exists here in ten years. "
Because not many people do this work.
Many people who sew do not take on jobs like repair work, changing and tailoring clothes.
