#NoNewClothes Rework: Upcycle What You Already Own with Taryn Hipwelll

Join us for our #NoNewClothes Rework Workshop, where you’ll learn how to transform your existing pieces into something new and fabulous! Whether it’s turning old jeans into a trendy bag or giving a tired T-shirt a stylish makeover, instructor Taryn Hipwell will guide you through the basics of machine stitching to help you rework and refresh your clothing.
Feel free to bring your own sewing machine, or use one of ours to get hands-on with the process. Let’s embrace creativity, sustainability, and the power of upcycling—because the best new outfits are the ones you already own!
We’ll provide basic materials (fabric, thread, buttons, pins), and we encourage you to bring your own clothing items. For first time sewers we recommend natural woven fibers (denim/twill, men’s shirting, woven cotton sundresses since polyester, knit, and stretch tends to slip more). Walk away with the confidence to fix and maintain your wardrobe, reduce waste, and make bold, meaningful changes in how you approach fashion!
There will also be a demos on how to use the Singer Heavy Duty sewing machine at the Mids Market Rework Space, which is available during Mids Market store hours!

Taryn Hipwell is a global speaker and passionate healthy fashion consultant who has taught upcycling for over 10 years. She specializes in aligning brands and future designers with best practices in transparency and circularity, and sourcing cleaner fabrics and raw materials. She is the author of How to Shop for Shi(f)t, an instructor at Istituto Marangoni Miami, a Remake co-Community Organizer for Florida, a Wear You Values breakout session speaker at LAFS, the winner of the Sustainable Expert award at the Mana Fashion Awards 2024, and the founder of Beyond the Label, which started as a partnership with TEDxLA to educate locals on the true health, social, and environmental costs of their fashion purchases. Hipwell has spoken about sustainability, transparency, circularity, diversity, and toxins in fabrics to over 10,000 students at 30 top fashion schools and universities around the world, including the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Parsons, NYU, UCLA, and YOUNGA, a first-of-its-kind global youth takeover of the United Nations.
The Things Lab is supported in part by Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

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