Sue Ryder Altrincham shop: Aida and Mavis

I come from an artistic family. We were always making and creating. It was part of our everyday. I joined the Sue Ryder team as the shop supervisor before becoming shop manager. I would go through the donations and realised there was a lot of potential for unsalable items. I wanted to give the used goods a second chance instead of it going to rag. I wanted to do something quirky.

It all started organically when some of our skilled volunteers repaired damaged knitwear that would normally have been recycled. Seeing their creative solutions inspired us to think bigger - why stop at repairs when we could transform items into something completely new? Since then, it's grown into a wonderful weekly workshop every Wednesday where our creative volunteers breathe new life into pre-loved items.

During our sorting process, we set aside items that aren't suitable for direct sale but have good-quality materials. Our volunteer team has a keen eye for spotting pieces with potential - whether it's a jumper with a beautiful pattern that could be incorporated into something new, or quality fabric that could become accessories. We assess each piece's materials and condition before deciding its new purpose.

Our most successful projects have been our seasonal collections. We transform damaged sweaters by adding crocheted flowers and decorative elements, create unique scrunchies from fabric remnants, and craft charming Christmas ornaments from various materials. One of our volunteers even developed a technique for designing artistic and stylish canvas shopping bags!

Our volunteers are truly the heart and soul of this initiative. Each brings unique skills - from knitting and crocheting to sewing and crafting. They share techniques and experiment with new ideas, and their enthusiasm has created a wonderful creative community within the shop. Their Wednesday workshops have become a highlight of our week.

Initially, our biggest challenge was the workspace and storage for materials and tools. We solved this by creating a dedicated crafting area and implementing an organised storage system. We also had to ensure consistent quality across items, which we achieved through skill-sharing sessions among volunteers.

The response has been incredible! Customers love the unique, handcrafted nature of our upcycled pieces, especially knowing they're giving pre-loved items a second life. We've attracted a younger demographic who are particularly interested in sustainable fashion and unique vintage pieces. The vintage section naturally complements our upcycled items.

Looking ahead, we're planning to expand our workshop schedule but to do this, we really need more skilled people to join our team as we have so many people wanting to learn but we don't have enough experienced seamstresses. We'd like to offer basic repair workshops to share sustainable fashion skills with our community. We'd love to be developing new product lines based on customer feedback and seasonal trends.

Mavis Dawson, is 78 years old and lives in Hale, Manchester. She has been part of the volunteer upcycling team at the Sue Ryder Altrincham shop for the last eight months. The group repairs, remodels, and remakes items of clothing and other accessories out of pre-loved items and high-quality materials which are donated to the shop.

Although Mavis has been sewing and quilting since childhood, when her aunt taught her on a treadle machine, she joined the upcycling team to develop her sustainable skills and pursue her dream of appearing on The Great British Sewing Bee.

I was looking for a volunteering opportunity and I went online and saw the Altrincham Sue Ryder shop was looking for people to sew. I thought that was just perfect for me as I love to sew.

I first applied for series two of The Great British Sewing Bee and was shortlisted, but my husband fell ill. He was keen I still did it, but I knew I needed to take care of him. So, in my husband’s memory, I thought I would apply just once more. If successful it will be the twelfth series, and I hope that the skills I have put into practice at the Sue Ryder shop will help me to demonstrate my upcycling skills.

I go to the shop every Wednesday morning for a couple of hours (there’s a team of four of us) but I also take materials home to make various things. There’s nothing better than your own sewing machine. Anything that isn’t selling or can’t be sold but is of good quality material, Aida will pop in a basket for us to sort through. I work out what I am going to make while I am there, take it home and bring it back finished and ready to sell.

It’s been brilliant working at the shop. I love every minute of it. I once managed to get six little girls' dresses out of one super-sized duvet cover.

We have a lot of jeans donated to us and I will cut them into squares which I then use to make little bags. People donate furnishing fabric, and I make cushion covers out of those. I am also a quilter, so at Christmas, I made stuffed festive tree decorations. Sometimes they go out on the shop floor one week and when I return the following Wednesday, they are all gone. It’s very satisfying.

I think one of the things I enjoyed most was we were given some beautiful French material. It was stunning. Out of that, I managed to make two kimono-style dressing gowns. They sold for £12 each which is fantastic. It feels lovely to be supporting the charity in this way.

We get donations of patterns, too, so some of my inspiration for what to make comes from that, but I also get a lot of ideas from Facebook reels. Because I have watched so many now, they keep popping up. I made egg-shaped table mats from Easter-themed material, and that idea came from the reels. Just today I have been donated 60 men’s ties – what do you do with those we all thought? But I saw a reel making memory cushions with seven ties in a flower shape with a button in the middle, so we are all having a go at that!