NYC Artist Mends Clothes (and Society) - But Don't Worry, He's Not a Pro!

Brooklyn Artist Mends Clothes and Society One Stitch at a Time

Brandon Woolf, a Brooklyn artist and NYU professor, is on a mission to mend the fabric of society, one stitch at a time. He's doing this by setting up a vintage sewing machine outside the Brooklyn Public Library and offering free mending services to anyone who walks by.

Woolf's project, titled “The Mend”, is a metaphor for repairing the divisions and rifts that are tearing America apart. He believes that even small acts of repair, like fixing a torn piece of clothing, can symbolize a larger effort to heal the social fabric.

More Than Just a Sewing Project

Woolf is upfront about his lack of sewing experience. He's only been using the vintage 1924 Singer sewing machine, affectionately nicknamed Josephine, for a month. But this lack of expertise is part of the project's point.

“We live in a moment where people purport to have answers to things, so I was interested in starting from a place of not knowing,” he explains. “What if we come together and be really honest about the fact that we don’t know how to fix the thing? What emerges from that?”

Community Collaboration

Despite his limited sewing skills, Woolf has managed to mend dozens of items for strangers, from doll clothes to a tattered pillow. He attributes his newfound expertise to the many neighbors who stopped by to share their mending tips and tricks.

More Than Just a Fix

Woolf sees “The Mend” as more than just a sewing project. It's a chance for people from all walks of life to come together, share their skills, and build connections in a time of great division.

“What’s been so exciting is people from all these different neighborhoods sort of converging and being interested in sharing different forms of knowledge,” he says. “The social fabric seems pretty unraveled in the moment. In the face of its unraveling, what kind of collaborative repair might be possible if people come together?”

Woolf's project is a reminder that even small gestures of kindness and collaboration can make a difference in mending our society and bringing us closer together.