🫂 Sharing Spaces: Community, Creativity & Connection

This summer, we transformed Clarence Hall, (home to our weekly) Food Bank, into a vibrant community hub through the Sharing Spaces initiative, developed by Think & Do Camden. Designed to bring people together to exchange ideas, skills, and resources, the initiative fosters a circular economy while building stronger, more connected communities.

For 12 weeks, we invited the local community to join us in sharing skills, learning new ones, and engaging in climate and social action. From upcycling workshops to making wildflower seed paper, our sessions focused on sustainable living, sparking creativity, and strengthening community bonds.

We launched Sharing Spaces on Saturday, 8th June, coinciding with The Great Big Green Week. Since then, we’ve welcomed 286 participants to our hands-on sessions and events! The launch featured activities for all ages, including mosaic-making and clothes mending, and gave us a chance to gather valuable feedback from the community on what they’d like to see in future sessions, which helped shape the activities.

One highlight of the summer was our free screening of Six Inches of Soil in collaboration with Transition Kentish Town. This inspirational film features British farmers advocating for regenerative farming. Over 100 attendees from Camden and beyond enjoyed the screening, followed by a thought-provoking discussion. The event sparked engaging conversations about environmental issues, and the positive feedback has inspired us to plan more fim screenings.

Throughout the summer, our Sharing Spaces sessions took place every Tuesday, offering a mix of one-off activities and recurring workshops led by talented volunteers. From scrapbooking and basic sewing to weekly core activities like embroidery and banner-making, there was something for everyone. Many attendees chose to work on longer-term projects, developing their skills over multiple sessions.

One of our regular attendees, Zena, is a talented tapestry maker and skilled sewer. After downsizing to a smaller home, she found herself with less space for crafting, but Sharing Spaces gave her the opportunity to continue her creative work and share her expertise.

During July, Zena created beautiful tapestries based on each week’s session, calling the experience “therapeutic and rewarding.” The sessions also allowed her to form meaningful connections with others.

Cathy, our Environmental Manager who led the sessions, reflected on the project saying,

”It’s been a really enjoyable project, and we’ve found that people have loved returning each week to continue their projects. One of the most rewarding aspects has been the social gatherings – talking, chatting, and forming friendships. It’s wonderful to see all ages sharing skills with each other, with young people teaching older participants and vice versa, creating a truly intergenerational experience.

If you have a skill to share, want to try something new, or just fancy meeting some new people, keep an eye out for more Sharing Spaces sessions, we’re hoping to host more soon!