Photo : Virginie Carrayol
Workshop: Repair as an Act of Resistance
What if repairing became a form of disobedience against obsolescence and disposability?
MAIF Social Club (Paris 3rd)
About
We are made of mends and stitched-together pieces. That is our strength.
Faced with a sense of collective powerlessness, this project proposes a simple and concrete action: repair. Inspired by the Japanese boro, a popular technique for textile repair and reuse, the collective work is created from worn-out clothes, scraps, and recovered fabrics.
You will learn useful skills: darning, applying a patch, embroidering a word, reinforcing a fabric. Modest gestures, reproducible in everyday life, that extend the lifespan of clothing and question our relationship with consumption. Through thread and needle, each person inscribes an intention, a word, or a symbol into the very material of the work. The boro here becomes a metaphor for activism.
During this workshop led by Virginie Carrayol of Atelier Kanine, you will discover a visible repair technique using recycled textiles: sashiko, boro, darning, mending, embroidery. An invitation to turn every gesture into an act of creative resistance.
Our take on this event
Give your worn-out garments a second life by mastering the beautiful Japanese art of textile mending and decorative stitching. This creative workshop turns simple repair techniques into an empowering form of activism, proving that every thread you mend is a stand against disposable fashion.
The MAIF Social Club in the 3rd arrondissement hosts a collaborative workshop exploring textile repair as a form of resistance. Led by Virginie Carrayol from Atelier Kanine, attendees master techniques like boro, sashiko, and darning to breathe new life into discarded clothing. This initiative turns the act of sewing into a creative statement against consumerism, allowing participants to contribute to a collective art piece. The workshop is completely free of charge and open to adults aged 18 and over, providing a practical, hands-on experience in sustainable craftsmanship for anyone looking to learn meaningful, everyday repair skills.
Running from December 18, 2026, to June 19, 2027, the workshop titled The Repair as an Act of Resistance invites you to the MAIF Social Club. Under the guidance of professional artist Virginie Carrayol, you will explore various repair methods such as boro, sashiko, and visible mending.
Participants are encouraged to use scraps and worn-out garments to practice techniques like patching and embroidery. These sessions are designed to be both educational and activist in nature, using the needle and thread to challenge modern consumption habits while building a large-scale collective work of art.
Attendance is free for all adults aged 18 and up. Whether you are looking to learn a new craft or participate in a thoughtful, community-driven project, these sessions offer a unique environment to develop manual skills that prolong the life of your textiles.
