Meet our Residents : Robin Hook, ASBL textile
"Meet our Residents" is a series of articles designed to showcase the super projects of the super residents of the Grand Hospice temporary occupation. All the projects are divided into four themes: Sustainable Development, Community, Art & Culture, and Education & Health.
Aurore is the founder and manager of ASBL Robin Hook. She is also project manager for Cyclup, a social and circular economy project. Cyclup's objective? To recycle clothing, accessories and wood destined for landfill with a view to sustainable development.
Robin Hook is a textile non-profit organization based at the Grand Hospice. Robin Hook raises awareness and creates textiles. It is estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions, more than all international flights and shipping combined. According to the European Environment Agency, textile purchases in the EU generated CO2 emissions equivalent to 654 kg per year.
The textile industry is considered the fifth biggest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet. And Robin Hook's aim is to propose solutions at various levels to reduce the textile industry's environmental impact!
What activities does the ASBL offer?
So we're organizing workshops for children to raise their awareness of the issues surrounding the textile industry. We're going to tackle the subject by trying to get children to think about and consume fashion in a more local and reasoned way. We think it's important for them to analyze and question what's at stake. Eglantine, volunteer secretary of the ASBL, is in charge of the theoretical part of the workshops at Robin Hook.
During the rest of the week, we work on the theme in a more practical way: we can do vegetable dyeing if the theme is linked to the damage caused by chemical dyes thrown into rivers, for example. We also run weekly "Les Jours Mailleurs" workshops. Apart from this, we produce a show called BABYSSES with immersive crochet sets. BABYSSES is an immersive, sensory dance show set in a sound and textile installation, with hand-crocheted materials evoking, suggesting, this underwater atmosphere.
And the values you advocate?
Ecology, respect for nature and respect for people at work. We also want to give you the keys to becoming a more responsible fashion consumer and knowing how to position yourself when faced with a fashion image, for example, knowing what's behind an advertising and marketing photo.
Why invest in a textile project?
In fact, I've always loved giving workshops, even as a student! I've given workshops at the Wolubilis cultural center, at the Maison des Coutures and also at Paloke. What I really want to do is pass on sewing knowledge and skills, and I love teaching children. In a way, I'm doing the kind of courses I would have dreamed of doing when I was a little girl!
What resources do you have at your disposal as an ASBL?
It all depends on the project. We have fixed-price courses and weekly crochet activities at a free price. Sometimes we're funded by institutions like the City of Brussels. For BABYSSES, we were financed by the alderman in charge of children's activities, and in exchange, we performed the show in day-care centers. For this show, we are also paid by the cultural centers and festivals that hire us to perform the show. Sometimes, when there are calls for projects that correspond to the status and values of the ASBL, I respond to them, and so last year I received a future for culture from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. So we don't have any annual funding, since the ASBL is still very young. It's a real investment to want to develop cultural activities, but I think it's really important, even if it's not an income-generating activity.
How did you come up with the idea of creating the ASBL?
I'm a knitwear stylist and designer, and I've co-developed a social and circular economy project called Cyclup. It's also a social integration project. As a result, I've found that it's quite difficult to tackle these kinds of issues with adults. It's more complex to change our habits, and there's also money involved, but above all our mentalities. How many times have I heard: "Second-hand is for the poor!
I thought that if we started raising children's awareness and showing them that a different way of consuming fashion was possible, that would be the best way to help the fashion industry evolve. Beyond that, I wanted to offer children a range of techniques such as sewing, crochet, knitting, drawing, pattern-making and painting. The idea is to approach things in a simple way so that they can reproduce them at home if they like, and thus pass on their techniques. We also supervise children from underprivileged families, who have a completely different consumer logic, and that's also very enriching.
Have you partnered with other Grand Hospice projects?
The last ASBL we worked with was Chicago Back, and it was a real blast! Chicago Back is a community center located in Grand Hospice. They wanted to offer workshops on reducing textile, plastic and food waste. Robin Hook took care of the textile waste part, and we organized a game about the journey of a garment: from the moment it's designed by a stylist to the moment it arrives in your wardrobe. We also visited a textile recycling center. The third activity was much more creative and artistic, with collage and pattern exercises. In the field, we noticed that this type of workshop develops children's self-confidence. It's also a way of creating a bond through textile techniques, as the children help each other!
If you love crochet or want to try out new things, we highly recommend Aurore's workshops! The next children's workshop will take place at Easter, the week of May 2 to 4, 2023.
The theme? Hatching, a reference to spring! On the program: make your own kimono and discover Japanese motifs.
You can also take part in Robin Hook's weekly activity every Thursday at his premises, from 2 to 4 pm or 6.30 to 8.30 pm, at a free price.
Want to follow the project? Click here !
And to find out more about the Grand Hospice's resident projects, go to here !