As we celebrate our first birthday, we’re asking you to help us spread the love by giving a present to someone in need. Aidbox Community will be collecting donations for refugees in Bristol, so bring along clothes, toiletries, or other essentials to make someone’s day brighter.

Simply pop into Sparks anytime on our birthday weekend (Sat 11 & Sun 12 May) and drop off a present at our donation point near the cafe and we will make sure it gets to someone who needs it! Our charity partner, Aidbox Community, will distribute your gifts to refugees and asylum seekers in Bristol.

Check out the lists below for some ideas of what to donate!

• Beauty items (new & unopened) – shampoo, shaving products, body wash
• Clothes – men’s sportswear, joggers and shorts (size S & M), women’s clothes (all sizes), trainers (men & women’s, all sizes), underwear (adult & kids, all sizes, must be new), backpacks (adult & kids)
• Household items – duvet covers (double and single), pillow cases, bedsheets, towels (like new condition), rugs, saucepans, electricals like toasters and kettles, crockery, utensils

In partnership with Aidbox Community, a charity providing support, supplies and sanctuary to refugees in Bristol: www.aidboxcommunity.co.uk

To celebrate all members of Sparks, we have invited our studio holders, desk space holders and even staff members to exhibit their art work. Visit us in the Department of Imagination, located on the first floor to explore, meet and support our wonderful residents. The featured artists are: Douglas Karson, Heather Savage, Jenny Brock, Kim Reed, Rhyannan Hall, Sayam Mukherjee and Sherien Elsheikh.

Open Saturday 11th May 11-6pm and Sunday 12th May 11-5pm.

Meet the maker and buy their products on Sparks first anniversary birthday weekend!

Usually found in the amazingly wonderful community of markers and shop that is sparks own The Ethical Gift Shop, Dirtpigeon is highly saturated queer art brought to you in the form of stickers, prints and more.

https://dirtpigeon.com

Meet the maker and buy their products on Sparks first anniversary birthday weekend!

Handmade items including crochet, polymer clay, punch needle and more. Bright, little objects that aim to bring a smile to you and yours! (Not actually made by a narcoleptic marsupial, I promise!)

https://www.instagram.com/the.sleepy.possum?igsh=aW8ydHR3d2h3a3Vx

Join us on Sparks first Anniversary for a workshop to learn how to make your own Birthday Badge!

The whole Sparks team will be wearing fantastically crafted, fancy birthday badges on our anniversary weekend to celebrate this milestone! Celebrate with us and get crafty making your very own birthday badge. Suitable for everyone from age 5.

No booking needed, just drop by at the Sustainable Fashion Workshop and get crafty with the lovely Dawn and Meret. They’ve got all the reclaimed materials needed for fabulous badges! 

Meet the maker and buy their products on Sparks first anniversary birthday weekend!

Honey Coast Studio is an ethically and sustainability minded jewellery business.
Pieces are inspired by the the countryside and coastline of Cornwall.

Sustainability is plays a large role in my business as I want to look after the places I take my inspiration from. This includes using recycled Sterling Silver, repurposing sea glass, ethically sourced gemstone and using recyclable packaging.  

Www.honeycoaststudio.com

Join us at our Sparks Repair Cafe in the Department of Reuse & Resources to mend your things!

Every Sunday, we’ll be holding two drop in sessions:

• 11.30am – 1.30pm- Repair Cafe

• 2.30pm – 4.30pm – Repair and Make Cafe

Both sessions will be focused on repair but with the afternoon offering a little more freedom and space for creativity.

If you have nothing that needs repair, we’ll have a lovely stash of items that can be reworked, dismantled and re-made, investigated, stripped for materials.

Make your own tropical terrarium with Sam!

A tropical terrarium is a mini-ecosystem in a glass container, filled with plants, soil and rocks. Once they are closed, they don’t usually need any watering because they will create their own atmosphere. You can think of a terrarium as a little greenhouse!

In this experience, you will be making your own tropical terrarium in a glass container. You will learn all about these fascinating little worlds as you are guided on creating one for yourself.

Click learn more to book now!

Every Thursday, Meret from Re_Thrindle is hosting a garment repair and alteration service in the sustainable fashion workshop space.

No need to book – just drop by the Fashion workshop space with your garms to get them fixed or transformed!

Price list:

• Mini repair (e.g. replace a button, fix a seam) – £5
• Small repair (e.g. mend a small tear or patch) – £7-10
• Medium repair (e.g. fixing a big tear, pocket mending or zipper replacement) – £10-15
• Max repair (e.g. coat zipper repair, broken lining) – from £15
• Visible mend by hand – from £12
• Mini alteration (e.g. change hemline, shorten sleeves) – from £12
• Medium alteration (e.g. take in/let out, shorten sleeves with cuff) – from £15
• Max alteration (e.g. reline garment) – from £30
• Rework (e.g. rework clothing into something new) – from £35

Please note these prices are just a guide – as every mend and alteration is different, all garments will be examined and quoted individually on the day.

SLEIGHT OF HAND is the new tactile installation by Jo Bannon, produced by MAYK, as part of the Mayfest 2024 programme, this sumptuous work invites you to participate in a series of touch encounters with unknown objects, materials and matter, subverting the format of a touch tour. 

Integrating audio description, tactile design, choreography and an immersive ASMR soundscape, SLEIGHT OF HAND explores what we can discover if we loosen our grip on the known visual world and let our senses wander. 

18th – 26th May, various times between 2 and 5pm. Pay what you can, £5 to £25.

Find out more: https://www.mayk.org.uk/whats-on/mayfest-2024 

Clothes Mending Workshop by Re_Thrindle.

Completely new to mending? In this workshop, you’ll learn everything you need to get started on repairing your clothes and keep them happy. Meret of Re_Thrindle will teach you basic mending techniques, including fixing seams and hems, re-attaching buttons, and simple patching.

Bring a piece of clothing to repair and all other materials are provided. Book through the learn more link below!

Clothes Mending Workshop by Re_Thrindle

In this mending workshop you’ll learn the traditional Japanese mending technique Sashiko – meaning ‘little stabs’. This method is all about embracing the art of repair and prolonging the life of clothing.

Come along and learn this beautiful method on one of your own garments! Bring a piece of clothing to repair and all other materials are provided.

Book through the learn more link below!

Being with Cows tells the heartbreaking, heartfelt, and ultimately, transformational story of how one man, shattered by the sudden death of his brother, was helped to a place of acceptance and quiet joy through the presence and gentle stillness of his cows. It was a healing so deep and complete, that he realised others would benefit from his experience and the idea for the ‘Being with Cows’ retreats was born; a retreat where everyone can benefit from ‘cowfulness’ and the quiet journey to a simpler way of being.  This event if free, book your place in advance.

Join esteemed Drag Queens Mariana Trench and DIS for an interactive workshop on the History of Drag!

Mariana Trench and DIS are delighted to invite you to their interactive workshop, ‘A Brief History of Drag’

Join Mariana Trench and DIS as they guide you along a playful and interactive journey through the hxstory of Drag! Discover key figures in art and activism that transgressed the gender binaries to create the global sensation drag performance commands today!