London Recycles Repair Week is a celebration of repair across London, where you can pick up new skills, fall back in love with your stuff, and save money while helping the planet.
From hands-on workshops to repair hacks, Repair Week is all about giving you the confidence to fix, mend, and make things last.
Helping to fix and make things last here at Muswell Hill Creatives are North London based Rob Jones and Steph Rubbo.
Here we tell you more about the ways in which they can help you breathe new life in to much-loved textile and leather using experienced craftsmanship.
From hands-on workshops to repair hacks, Repair Week is all about giving you the confidence to fix, mend, and make things last.
Helping to fix and make things last here at Muswell Hill Creatives are North London based Rob Jones and Steph Rubbo.
Here we tell you more about the ways in which they can help you breathe new life in to much-loved textile and leather using experienced craftsmanship.
Meet Rob Jones
Rob of Romor Designs is a teacher of Japanese textile techniques. He regularly visits Japan to travel, refresh his skills and source authentic vintage Japanese textiles to show in his classes. Samples of his Boro work were featured on the semi-final of the Great British Sewing Bee in 2022.
Japanese Boro (more accurately ‘Boro boro’), meaning ‘rags or tatters’, is the art of repairing fabric using scraps and stitching. Boro follows the British wartime tradition of ‘make do and mend’ but was used out of necessity in Japan to prolong the life of clothes and bedding due to extreme poverty and the scarcity of textiles.
Rob of Romor Designs is a teacher of Japanese textile techniques. He regularly visits Japan to travel, refresh his skills and source authentic vintage Japanese textiles to show in his classes. Samples of his Boro work were featured on the semi-final of the Great British Sewing Bee in 2022.
Japanese Boro (more accurately ‘Boro boro’), meaning ‘rags or tatters’, is the art of repairing fabric using scraps and stitching. Boro follows the British wartime tradition of ‘make do and mend’ but was used out of necessity in Japan to prolong the life of clothes and bedding due to extreme poverty and the scarcity of textiles.
Learn Boro Mending with Rob
Rob is running special classes for London Repair Week at Fabrications in Hackney and his studio in Muswell Hill.
He also runs them regularly throughout the year.
Subscribe to Rob's mailing list for new class dates and more via his contact page here
At the Pecha Kucha Mending Party at Fabrications on Thursday 5 March, Rob will demonstrate a "Nami Nui" running stitch on a raw edge reverse applique fabric patch. Nami Nui is the simplest, most functional and decorative stitching technique used in Japanese mending. Book a place here
Rob's studio classes include:
Book Sunday 8 and Saturday 14 March classes here
Rob is running special classes for London Repair Week at Fabrications in Hackney and his studio in Muswell Hill.
He also runs them regularly throughout the year.
Subscribe to Rob's mailing list for new class dates and more via his contact page here
At the Pecha Kucha Mending Party at Fabrications on Thursday 5 March, Rob will demonstrate a "Nami Nui" running stitch on a raw edge reverse applique fabric patch. Nami Nui is the simplest, most functional and decorative stitching technique used in Japanese mending. Book a place here
Rob's studio classes include:
- The history and origins of Boro. Examples of vintage Boro and other Japanese textiles collected by the tutor in Japan will be shown
- How to repair a garment using scraps, both modern and vintage
- How to use sashiko stitching to enhance your work
- Practice using visible repair to enhance and strengthen textiles
- Applique and reverse applique and a number of decorative stitching techniques will be shown
- A variety of types of Japanese stitches and their application will be presented, with examples on vintage Boro and the tutor’s own work.
The class is for Beginners/those looking for an introduction to Japanese mending in the Boro style
Book Sunday 8 and Saturday 14 March classes here
Meet Steph Rubbo
Saddlery & Leather Work
Steph's most satisfying work is giving leather a second chance; preserving its character while restoring its function. When looked after, well-made leather goods are extremely durable, but they will eventually need repair or restoration. Steph can reverse the effects of wear and tear, mistreatment or environmental damage in many leather goods, bringing them back into use or preserving precious memories.
Because Steph stitches by hand, she can work on fragile or inaccessible items impossible to mend on a machine, from bags to chairs and even building accessories! Each repair is carefully planned, sourcing the right materials and identifying appropriate techniques.
www.stephrubbosaddlery.co.uk/repairs
Saddlery & Leather Work
Steph's most satisfying work is giving leather a second chance; preserving its character while restoring its function. When looked after, well-made leather goods are extremely durable, but they will eventually need repair or restoration. Steph can reverse the effects of wear and tear, mistreatment or environmental damage in many leather goods, bringing them back into use or preserving precious memories.
Because Steph stitches by hand, she can work on fragile or inaccessible items impossible to mend on a machine, from bags to chairs and even building accessories! Each repair is carefully planned, sourcing the right materials and identifying appropriate techniques.
www.stephrubbosaddlery.co.uk/repairs
Leather Furniture Repairs
Here, Steph talks about leather furniture repairs she has undertaken at her Wood Green studio.
Kaare Klint Safari Chair
"With all repairs I do, I like to have an understanding of the item I am working on - firstly, pure interest and secondly to ensure that what I’m doing is going to be sympathetic to the original, and won’t detract from what may be a design classic.
My client walked into my studio with a shopping bag full of pieces of wood and canvas and some leather straps. It was a Kaare Klint safari chair and the straps had dried out, cracked and some were broken. The chair had been his father’s, and he wanted to bring the chair back into use.
When looking at any repairs it’s necessary to consider the balance between preservation, restoration or repair. In this case the main request was to ensure that the chair could be used, and then for the work to be sympathetic to how the client remembered it.
So, while a straight out repair would have seen me make the arm straps quite taut, the client requested that the straps were made a little longer to replicate the amount of stretch that had occurred in the originals. We went through the leather I had in stock, and between us decided that the best one to use would be a bubble finish veg tan leather in mid brown.
I would also have to source some of the hardware, as one of the original buckles had been mislaid over time. For the buckles, I couldn’t find an exact match, but I could find a slightly more modern version which looked identical when they were in place (thanks Abbey England). The rest of the fittings were able to be reused.
There was a small amount of fraying in the canvas on one corner, but as it wasn’t affecting the use of the chair, it was decided to not to meddle with it at this stage. It will be monitored, and patched if it starts to get worse.
End result, the client gets back a chair that is fully functional, and still looks like the chair he remembered."
"With all repairs I do, I like to have an understanding of the item I am working on - firstly, pure interest and secondly to ensure that what I’m doing is going to be sympathetic to the original, and won’t detract from what may be a design classic.
My client walked into my studio with a shopping bag full of pieces of wood and canvas and some leather straps. It was a Kaare Klint safari chair and the straps had dried out, cracked and some were broken. The chair had been his father’s, and he wanted to bring the chair back into use.
When looking at any repairs it’s necessary to consider the balance between preservation, restoration or repair. In this case the main request was to ensure that the chair could be used, and then for the work to be sympathetic to how the client remembered it.
So, while a straight out repair would have seen me make the arm straps quite taut, the client requested that the straps were made a little longer to replicate the amount of stretch that had occurred in the originals. We went through the leather I had in stock, and between us decided that the best one to use would be a bubble finish veg tan leather in mid brown.
I would also have to source some of the hardware, as one of the original buckles had been mislaid over time. For the buckles, I couldn’t find an exact match, but I could find a slightly more modern version which looked identical when they were in place (thanks Abbey England). The rest of the fittings were able to be reused.
There was a small amount of fraying in the canvas on one corner, but as it wasn’t affecting the use of the chair, it was decided to not to meddle with it at this stage. It will be monitored, and patched if it starts to get worse.
End result, the client gets back a chair that is fully functional, and still looks like the chair he remembered."
Rudolf Szedlecsky Chair
"When I received this chair, the leather had dried out, was stained, and had torn in places. I was asked to replace all the leather with new leather, keeping it as close as possible to the original. I supplied the customer with samples of some suitable leather, which they assessed for colour at home.
Leather selected and ordered, I took a pattern from the original seat and then had to work out how the lacing was constructed. I unpicked the old lacing strand by strand, taking note of the order of strands as I went. Then after a practice run I was able to recreate it using lace I had made myself.
The rest of the panels were made up and fitted to the frame. The complicated part being getting the tension correct so that the frame sat evenly once it was reassembled. The end result was stunning."
"When I received this chair, the leather had dried out, was stained, and had torn in places. I was asked to replace all the leather with new leather, keeping it as close as possible to the original. I supplied the customer with samples of some suitable leather, which they assessed for colour at home.
Leather selected and ordered, I took a pattern from the original seat and then had to work out how the lacing was constructed. I unpicked the old lacing strand by strand, taking note of the order of strands as I went. Then after a practice run I was able to recreate it using lace I had made myself.
The rest of the panels were made up and fitted to the frame. The complicated part being getting the tension correct so that the frame sat evenly once it was reassembled. The end result was stunning."
Other Leather Repairs
Steph has repaired all sorts of different leather items from a camera case to cycle shoes. Here's some great examples of repairs she has undertaken.
Camera Case
Customer testimonial:
“Steph did the most incredible job restoring my old camera case which was literally falling apart at the seams.
She also replaced the leather on the original strap with an even better one with a shoulder grip with hand stitched burgundy suede lining to match the velvet inside the case.
Her craftsmanship is world class. A true artisan with a fast turnaround and reasonably priced too!"
Customer testimonial:
“Steph did the most incredible job restoring my old camera case which was literally falling apart at the seams.
She also replaced the leather on the original strap with an even better one with a shoulder grip with hand stitched burgundy suede lining to match the velvet inside the case.
Her craftsmanship is world class. A true artisan with a fast turnaround and reasonably priced too!"
Dog Lead
“Good quality leather goods are expensive, and while leather goods that are properly cared for will last a long time, they aren’t invincible. They will eventually show signs of wear. Dog leads in particular.
Quality leather is best put to use, and only requires minimal care. A wipe down with a damp cloth if it gets wet and muddy, before allowing it to dry at room temperature. An occasional check of the stitching now and again and a treatment of leather conditioner if the leather becomes stiff is all that is necessary for a lead in continual use.
The most common failures on dog leads are the clip breaking, or stitching becoming worn. Both of these are easy fixes that will extend the life of the lead significantly.
There is a great amount of satisfaction in being asked to replace the clip on a quality lead that has been well used and cared for.
I have one customer who has purchased several top quality leads from another maker. All were well made with solid fittings. The leads had clearly had a lot of use, and the leather was still in great shape. But, as sometimes happens, the clips failed. The way clips are constructed to allow them to swivel, does sometimes mean that with a lot of use the clip metal can wear and the clip comes apart.
The good condition of the leather meant that it was better to replace the clip than buy a new lead.
A replacement clip is easily sourced, and it is a simple task to unpick the stitching and then stitch the new fitting into place.”
“Good quality leather goods are expensive, and while leather goods that are properly cared for will last a long time, they aren’t invincible. They will eventually show signs of wear. Dog leads in particular.
Quality leather is best put to use, and only requires minimal care. A wipe down with a damp cloth if it gets wet and muddy, before allowing it to dry at room temperature. An occasional check of the stitching now and again and a treatment of leather conditioner if the leather becomes stiff is all that is necessary for a lead in continual use.
The most common failures on dog leads are the clip breaking, or stitching becoming worn. Both of these are easy fixes that will extend the life of the lead significantly.
There is a great amount of satisfaction in being asked to replace the clip on a quality lead that has been well used and cared for.
I have one customer who has purchased several top quality leads from another maker. All were well made with solid fittings. The leads had clearly had a lot of use, and the leather was still in great shape. But, as sometimes happens, the clips failed. The way clips are constructed to allow them to swivel, does sometimes mean that with a lot of use the clip metal can wear and the clip comes apart.
The good condition of the leather meant that it was better to replace the clip than buy a new lead.
A replacement clip is easily sourced, and it is a simple task to unpick the stitching and then stitch the new fitting into place.”
Cycling Shoe
“This job was a little different to some of my others.
BOA cycle shoe fittings are made of plastic which sometimes comes under great pressure and can break. The tightening mechanism on this cycling shoe had broken, so the customer sourced a replacement and asked me to remove the broken one and stitch the replacement into place.
Cue a YouTube lesson in how to set up the fitting!”
Feedback from the customer: “A guy in my spin class tossed a pair of shoes for the same reason you fixed mine. He looked gutted when I said I had mine repaired!”
Take a look at some more Before and After repairs here
“This job was a little different to some of my others.
BOA cycle shoe fittings are made of plastic which sometimes comes under great pressure and can break. The tightening mechanism on this cycling shoe had broken, so the customer sourced a replacement and asked me to remove the broken one and stitch the replacement into place.
Cue a YouTube lesson in how to set up the fitting!”
Feedback from the customer: “A guy in my spin class tossed a pair of shoes for the same reason you fixed mine. He looked gutted when I said I had mine repaired!”
Take a look at some more Before and After repairs here
Follow Rob @theromordesigns and @stephrubbosaddlery on Instagram for updates. Rob is heading off to Japan very soon so he'll have great images and stories to share.
Follow @londonrecyclesuk for all the latest news and events as part of London Repair Week.
Follow @londonrecyclesuk for all the latest news and events as part of London Repair Week.
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