A Story for #Mendmarch
by Audrey Danser
My first payment for a mending job was a loaf of home-made sourdough bread. It was February 2021 when sourdough was at its peak, and still many months before I started my mending business, or even had the idea for Salvage Studio.
While scrolling instagram one night, I came across a local initiative, Barter Bread, where a home-baker was taking payment for loaves in the form of barters rather than cash. As a dedicated buy-nothing-groupie, this barter exchange intrigued me, and I started to brainstorm what I could offer as an equitable exchange. Other folks bartered for lemons or produce grown from their gardens, home-made sauces, artwork, a lesson in collecting and preparing mussels, even a donation to the baker’s local non-profit of choice. The baker had a modest list of -suggestions on his website, but none fit what I could offer.
Then it hit me. One of my pandemic projects had been tackling my growing mending pile, so I submitted my barter request—to mend a piece or two from his closet. He accepted my proposal for next week’s bread batch.
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, I drove to the bartering point in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco and rang the doorbell. The baker presented two pieces from his wardrobe—a shiny olive green silk top he’d worn at Burning Man, and a pair of jeans with the knees blown out. Had I ever repaired a pair of jeans at this point? No. But this was my opportunity to experiment for the sake of the experience! In exchange, he gave me a delicious loaf of olive sourdough up front.
Over the next week I carefully darned the silk top to perfectly blend the green hues, and tried my hand at a boro style patching at the jean’s knees. I spent about 3 hours repairing the pieces, but I took at least 2 sourdough toast breaks in between! I returned the goods the next week, and as luck would have it, he had a leftover loaf from that week’s batch and sent me home with another.
In retrospect, the time it took for me to pick up, mend and deliver the garments may not have been the most equitable trade of my time, but I gained my first data point to value my time in my eventual business. And I’ll be honest, bread you barter for (and home-made at that!) tastes much better!
Barter Bread is no longer, but I hope the spirit of bartering continues to pop up in the community in new ways. I for one, could possibly entertain a barter exchange for the right opportunity!
(Audrey Danser is the Owner of Salvage Studio SF)
Upcoming Reuse Events
March 23 : Rohnert Park - Cotati Reuse + Repair Fair
Our next Reuse + Repair Fair is this Saturday March 23rd from 10am-1pm and will include a clothing swap! More details and pre-registration at the link below.
April 13 : West County Fixit Fair
We will be helping out at the West County Fixit Fair on Saturday April 13th from 10am to 2pm at El Molino High School in Forestville. This event is hosted by the Russian River Rotary Club.
April 22 : Earth Day
April 22nd is Earth Day and this year’s theme is Planet v. Plastic. There will be lots of events happening. We will be at the Climatefest in Healdsburg on 4/21, and the Sonoma State University Earth Day on 4/23.
May 2 : 2024 Zero Waste Symposium
The 2024 Zero Waste North Bay Symposium is Thursday, May 2nd, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, with a cocktail hour to follow. This all-day event features exciting speakers in many different areas of waste prevention, recycling, reuse (including our Executive Director), and organics. Check out the lineup of speakers at www.zerowastenorthbay.org and register at the link below.
Reuse in the News
In case you missed it, Oregon passed the most recent Right to Repair Bill and it’s a good one.
The Last Repair Shop won an Oscar for best documentary short. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it here. It beautifully conveys all the co-benefits of reuse.
CA CSU has a lot to learn from CO CSU when it comes to fighting fast fashion.
Reuse to Amuse
Old Flame Mending is another great mail-in mending service out of Pittsburgh, PA. Do you know of others? Let us know by replying to this email!
Some super-fun ways to repurpose old clothes from Articles of Interest.
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