For arts and crafts volunteering over the festive season, I had designed an activity that involved both – decorating a sketchbook and drawing in it.
The paper and board were waste, from the Yodomo Circular Hub in Hackney. I like waste for workshops – it’s a good thing environmentally and it takes away the pressure to do something perfect.
When I could no longer volunteer in person, I rethought the activity as a self-contained kit that I could donate. The scrap from bookbinding became greeting card and gift tag blanks. I pre-cut some leaves, made some example decoration and put those materials in the bag too.
How is this relevant to my work as a whole? Well, it was a reason to join the Circular Hub – something I look forward to revisiting, and to learning from. In adapting the activity, I had to expand my thinking to consider the volunteers running arts and crafts activities as well as people taking part. And doing that exercised the ability to respond quickly and creatively to change – something that's becoming an increasingly-important part of my work with clients.
