Viva Lewes Issue #140 May 2018

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Directory Spotlight:
Nina Murden, Seamstress
Chartered Building Surveyors
• Building Surveys • Defect Analysis
• Project Management • Dilapidaaons
• Historic Building Specialists • Party Wall
Contact us for friendly professional advice
01273 840608 | www.gradientconsultants.com
I work from a workshop in my garden
which edges onto the Downs. Sometimes my
fabulously skilful part-time colleague Kerri is
here, sometimes it’s just me… and the sheep
walking past. It’s very calming.
Two thirds of what I do involves making
interior furnishings - Roman blinds, cushions,
curtains etc; the rest is doing repairs and
alterations to clothes.
There’s not much equipment, really. A
Brother sewing machine, which is big and
sturdy, and does the simple things well, a
sharp pair of scissors, a tape measure, and a
set square. It pays to be extremely precise in
this job. I enjoy that – I’m not like that in the
rest of my life!
I like to use natural fibres for curtains and
blinds, like Ian Mankin’s cloth. I’m sad to
see how much pollution ends up in the water
– and eventually into the food chain – when
you wash plastic-based clothes.
It makes me happy that some people like
to have their old clothes repaired instead
of just buying new ones. People used to only
have two or three sets of outer garments:
if clothes are good quality and mended
every now and again there’s no reason they
shouldn’t last a lifetime.
Is my job dangerous? Hardly. Though I do
prick my finger about twice a week. And yes,
I use a thimble.
I’m amazed at how many people ask me
‘can you make this top bigger? It’s got too
small for me.’ I’ve been doing this for years
and have acquired a lot of skills, but I’m not a
magician! As told to Alex Leith
thelewesseamstress.co.uk
07784053679
tom@tbacc.co.uk
thebuildingandcarpentryco.co.uk