Make Kim your choice
18 April 2018
Nottingham Trent University alumna, Kim Errington (BA Hons Fashion Design, 2006; MA Fashion and Textiles, 2009) is the creative force behind Make to Make, a Nottingham-based Social Enterprise that provides social, creative, inclusive spaces. Make to Make provides free Craft Cafes and workshops, delivering for free, to all abilities, with an aim of bringing happiness and wellbeing to communities, and helping people find their hidden talents and skills.
In April 2018, Kim is appealing for votes to see Make to Make named a winner in The People’s Projects, which could secure significant funding from the National Lottery to support further community projects, through The Big Lottery Fund. The funding is allocated by public vote and Make to Make is campaigning hard, running a series of pop up workshops across the city.
Ties in Notts, a project from Make to Make, which runs free Lego Club and Craft Cafe activities in the city is bidding for the lottery funding. It is one of five groups in the Central East region in the running for a share of the funding. 95 projects have been shortlisted across the country, and the three with the most votes in each region will secure the funding.
If Make to Make is successful, the grant will see the Ties in Notts project continue and expand, with more Lego Clubs and Craft Cafes, as well as celebration events and get-togethers for participants.
Kim says “Everything we do is about bringing people together… Lego Club is a place for everyone but especially somewhere dads can feel comfortable to come and engage with their kids in a social environment. The Craft Cafe, again, is for everyone but is especially important to the local women who come, who may not have many friends, family or support networks locally, we enable those connections to happen while also teaching practical skills.”
After she graduated, Kim found that the fast-paced and sometimes cut-throat fashion industry was not suitable for the life she wanted, or her personal values. She took her Masters, then moved into work as a support workers, and working in Women’s Services. It was in these roles that she first started to deliver creative activities and saw the benefits and positive effects this had on people’s well-being, pride, and desire to achieve more. Make to Make was founded in 2014 with start-up support from The Prince’s Trust and two sewing machines.
Kim hopes that Make to Make will secure the People’s Project funding from The Big Lottery Fund and be able to run more workshops, and engage more people, across Nottingham. The vote closes at midday on 30th April. To vote for Kim and the Make to Make project, visit the Peoples Projects website.
For more information about Make to Make, visit their website.