
The Hands on Hearts project has been given a wonderful donation of beautiful vintage clogs, which we are busy renovating to sell as Christmas presents to fund our free creative workshops.
We have a limited amount of hand carved, solid wooden clogs.
These were once used on a film set and have since been gathering dust in a costume makers studio.
Now, our kindly volunteers are busily restoring them to bring them back to their former glory ready for Christmas.
The clogs come beautifully gift wrapped in sustainable packaging and make for a quirky and fun decorative present for the home or garden.
We will be selling these lovely gifts at our Christmas markets on 7th & 8th December (see below for details).
So if you're on the hunt for an unusual and sustainable Christmas present for a loved one that will last a lifetime then come and visit us.
Can't make those dates? Contact us to discuss availability and delivery options.
07939393067Â
You can buy an individual clog or a pair and prices range from £30 (for one) to £70 for a pair.
Christmas markets
We will be selling these clogs along with other lovely crafts items perfect for presents at two lovely festive Christmas Markets at art studios in London on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th December.
Come along and enjoy lovely food and drink and discover a huge array of work from artists, makers, designers (including will be jewellery, textiles, ceramics, homeware and more!).
Free entrance at both markets
Accessible venues are on the ground floor/accessible.
When & where
Saturday 6th, 11-4pm
Festive Open House
@ The London School of Mosaic
Mansfield Road
London
NW3 2HP
(Come and find us at Studio 26).
Transport: Belsize Park tube, Gospel Oak overground & No 24 & 46 bus
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Sunday 7th, 11-4pm
Bow Arts
183 Bow Rd,
London
E3 2SJ
Transport: Bow Road (District & Hammersmith & City line)
Can't make those dates?
You can also buy the clogs online - get in touch with us here to discuss availability and prices. We can arrange delivery by your preferred carrier.
And if you'd like to find out more about how they came our way and the local craftsmen who are restoring them, read on!
A Clogsmas tale...
A kindly costume maker has generously donated a collection of 17 pairs of handmade vintage wooden clogs, most recently used on a film set.
We are restoring and selling them to our project, which delivers free crafts workshops to bring people together to celebrate community strength (more on what we do here).
It's a lot of clogs! So we have formed a Clogs Club, made up of kindly project volunteers, who are busily restoring them to their former beauty ready for Christmas.
These were one of the first pairs off of the production line - we think they're stunning!

The clogs are a truly environmentally friendly, low carbon impact gift with provenance which will be a beautiful addition to your home or garden.
Clogs with a purpose
If you're wondering what your loved one would do with them then we have lots of ideas...
They would make for a wonderful decorative item - perhaps an unusual wall hanging, arranged on a mantlepiece or placed on a kitchen shelf...
You could put a plant - or even hang them on your kitchen wall and put utensils in them.
The possibilities are if not endless then certainly plentiful!

Project Co-ordinator Helen with one of the first pair of clogs off of the production line...
The history of the clogs
The clogs were used on a film set, but the costume maker who generously donated them to us (Mariane from Camden Costumes) can't tell us which one - it's a trade secret!.
Mariane is committed to ensuring costumes used on theatre and film sets don't end up in landfill, so she buys lots from sets to give them a new life.
Here's how they looked when we were given them...

They were clearly in need of some restoration, but we felt their potential shined through...
So we enlisted some volunteer restorers, who are generously donating their time to support our project delivering free crafts workshops.
We currently have five volunteers (enough we felt to form a Clogs Club!).
Clogs Club currently comprises of a musician, a frame restorer, a carpenter, and two artists.
We're trying to get them all restored by Christmas and it's quite a long process, so the Clogs Club has its work cut out...
The first pair we have on sale were restored by Toby, a local musician who took a pair home with him and spent hours sanding down and waxing them.
When Toby brought them to the community hub in Camden where we are developing our project, one impressed participant described them as 'magnificent'.
We are inclined to agree!

Toby with his clogs
We feel Toby's hard work has not only brought out the beauty of the wood. It also showcases the skill that has clearly gone into carving and creating them.
Another kindly helper, Simone Scafiti, a frame restorer who is also a very talented painter, brought his pair to his studio in Deptford in south London to work on between jobs.
Simone carefully sanded them down and then used wood stain to give them this beautiful, deep warm hue, reminiscent of mahogany.

Simone has done an incredible job of retaining the clogs' provenance by restoring them whilst keeping the markings made by the chisel its maker originally used, helping us to connect with their past.
Simone's pair has already been brought, but if you like the style get in touch and we can make a custom design in the same style.
How to buy
Come to our Christmas markets and if you can't make it then you can buy online.
Get in touch with us at
or WhatsApp or call on
07939393067Â
and we can send you pictures of the available clogs for you to choose and arrange payment (which is very easy to do via our crowdfunder).
Delivery
We can post them via Evri (or your preferred carrier).
What your gift will fund...
All our volunteers are very kindly giving their time for free.
So all proceeds* will go towards funding more free workshops which we will be delivering for our partner charities and a local school in the New Year.
Remaining proceeds will also towards funding for an exhibition of all of the work which we plan to hold in Camden in May.
More about what Hands on Hands does...
The project is grassroots, run entirely by volunteers and not currently in receipt of grants.
We deliver free workshops to help people of any age or ability make bunting chains to hang in their community spaces.
Volunteers help people create individual flags of hands and hearts, which are then gathered to create giant bunting chains.
The workshops bring people joy and the beautiful chains people create celebrate community spirit and strength.
In order to bring Hands on Hearts to more areas in 2025, we are running a crowdfunder.
We are currently working on a housing estate in the Gospel Oak area of Camden, an area with sharp economic disparity.
Over the past year have been working with a warm spaces initiative, Tenants Residents Association, a community centre and a parents wellbeing project in a local school.
Most of our work is where we are based in Camden, but further afield, we have run workshops in Lambeth, Islington, Margate and even further afield - we even held one in Japan!
So far, almost 300 flags have been created.
In 2025, we want to create a total of 500 flags and hold an exhibition to display all of the work.
We have exciting plans for 2025 to hold workshops in Camden as well as further afield (a further eclectic mix - Southwark, Ayr in Scotland and Brazil!).
We plan to hold the exhibition in Camden in May 2025, and then hope to hold a small tour of the exhibition in some of the venues of some of the organisations we have been working with.
Our plans will require a lot of energy, camaradie, love - and rope! Along with other materials....(and space hire).
So we are planning on applying for grants to fund the project (including paying workshop facilitators, with a focus on creating paid opportunities for people who might come across barriers to getting this kind of work).
Our crowdfunder has a breakdown of how we will spend the proceeds to fund more workshops and bring the project to new areas...
If you would like to support the Hands on Hearts project by buying one of the first pairs of completed clogs to contribute towards our plans, please either come along to our Christmas markets or you can get in touch.
07939393067
Your purchase will help fund more workshops, creating beautiful flags, giant bunting chains and happy hearts!
So by buying these for your loved one you will not just be buying a pair of beautiful clogs - a handmade, sustainable Christmas gift which will last you a lifetime - you will also be helping to bring bunting to the masses!

A happy bunting maker at one of our Camden workshops
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