Some words from a few graduates of The Social Studio
Meselech Kelelew 
“I’m from Ethiopia. I enjoyed meeting different people in the shop, and students sharing what we do, learning from each other - one might have an idea and share it… The whole Social Studio is really nice. My favourite piece was a skirt and top with a long tail, in a red colour, cherry red, really bright. I kept it, because that was my first job, it took me two weeks. It was delicate, so I kept it! My first finished job. Now I’m going to study for the Certificate III here at the Social Studio.”
Nicole Kuol 
“I started at the Studio in November last year. I’ve enjoyed being with other people, interacting, and it’s very important for me because I like to be around people and talk. And learning – learning to sew. It’s given me more ideas, because I’m using my brain. I’ve enjoyed learning from everyone that is in the Social Studio. I did some different Remix Design pieces, I’m expressing how I wanted to, how I envision it. Remix Design is when you take a piece someone else has made, and I try to choose colours that can look nice, and try to make a design that’s not just plain, something that you create. So that people look at it and think ‘Oh, she was creating something’, not just ‘It happened by accident’.”
Ayat Jama 
“I’ve been in Australia for ten years, I was born in Somalia. I started at the Studio in September last year. The best part of studying here is the people, and the shows. We’re working on the Winter collection now, making dresses. When I finish, I’m going to do Certificate III in Clothing Production. There’s been a lot of pieces that I’ve made that I like. My favourite is probably a gold, short strapless dress. I don’t mind doing any style. I like bright stuff, silky fabrics.”
Joyce Heath
“I’ve been at the Studio since September last year. The highlight of studying has been
working with everyone from different
backgrounds. It’s been really good. I’ve been here in Australia for twenty years, my background is Ugandan. My favourite piece was my design, the first dress that I made here, it was a combination of African fabric and modern fabric that we use in the shop. I designed it from scratch. Now I’m going to go into Certificate III and learn more.”
The Social Studio run Saturday sewing workshops, check the website for details.
www.socialstudio.org
