Race for Life T-Shirt design pretty much sorted….

Love Passion4Fashion words….

Team Passion4Fashion Race for Life!

Good morning from a not-so sunny Leeds in the first week of the Easter holidays…I’m not finding it easy making the journey into Leeds every morning, leaving three very lucky and lazy teenagers tucked up in bed! Really looking forward to a chocolate-filled long weekend…three days and counting!

This year, Team Passion4Fashion are determined to make 2012 even more memorable than last year and one of the things we aim to do is to support Cancer Research UK. With such a large partnership of housing providers, public sector, voluntary, community and private sector (phew!) organisations it seems only right that we work together to raise funds for such a worthy cause!

Team Passion4Fashion will be entering the Race for Life 5k at Temple Newsham in Leeds on 1st July and we’d love you to join us! It’s ladies only for this one, but guys out there can support us by sponsoring us (hint hint) or transporting the exhausted home (…that’ll be me) after!

Team Captain and Leeds Fed’s Passion4Fashion 2012 co-ordinator Cath Adams has already set up an on-line group for our Race for Life team so if you would like to join our team just click http://bit.ly/HKOXOC to join us. If this link doesnt work for any reason, go to https://raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org/rfl/group_create_join.jsf and enter group ID CA21104. It’s £14.99 to Race for Life to join our team and we will make sure you have a lovely Passion4Fashion t-shirt to run or walk in on the day.

 

 To sponsor us and help us to exceed our fund-raising target of £2000 please visit http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/passion4fashionleeds to make your pledge. Team Passion4Fashion training sessions begin soon, so watch this space for pics of the exhausted and unfit as they develop into toned athletes just in time for the Olympics this summer! For more info about joining us in our Race for Life this year please call Cath Adams on 0113 3861085

Is there no end to Cath's enthusiasm?

Road Trip!

Guest Blogger and Passion4fashion 2011 participant Rebecca Bromley tells the tale of our exciting ‘road trip’ to the TPAS conference in Coventry last week…….

‘Nothing was going to stop us getting through the Passion4Fashion workshop!’

The 8^th March came round quickly as we prepared ourselves to deliver a workshop about Passion4Fashion at the TPAS Practitioners conference in Coventry.  We had been originally invited to spread the work of this fantastic project, how it’s a great new way of engaging with people through being creative about fashion and how to manage such a large and successful partnership.

We’d spent a lot of time preparing a fun and interactive workshop during the week before, we really wanted to make it really different and engaging….after all, we would love to see similar projects developing across the country!

We all met at Leeds Fed office at 8am and set off on the 2 hour drive to Coventry.  ‘Road Trip’ piped up Cath Gaunt, as we left…..and a road trip it certainly was!

Our journey there was full of mixed emotions as we mentally prepared ourselves for the presentation, an hour and 15 minutes  of films, a fancy ‘prezi’ presentation, mood boards and t-shirt customising….would they like it? Would the workers engage!

Cath pointed out all the breakdowns on the way down the motorway….who’d have known then what a bad omen that would have been!

As we approached the car park barriers at our destination, Coventry’s very own Holiday Inn, Sue’s car (or should we say ‘shed’) decided it didn’t like its clutch anymore and died, resulting in 3 of us pushing this clapped out old rover all around the car park until we could find a parking space! Not easy, when you’re laughing hysterically!  With no time to worry about the car, our flustered group arrived at the conference in good time and got our presentation preparations started. With only minutes to go, our laptop then failed us!

Saved with only minutes to spare by the lovely Nigel from TPAS….we were a calm and collected bunch (no…REALLY!)  as we welcomed delegates into the room for the Passion4Fashion experience!

A full room for the Passion4Fashion workshop!

The Workshop went extremely well and I was so proud to be a part of it.  Every one got stuck in and involved…. A bit of creativity in the ‘pre-lunchtime’ conference workshop slot definitely hit the spot! We showed the

Passion4Fashion film first of all, it brought back all the emotions I felt nearly a year ago now when I was a Passion4Fashion participant and it felt really good watching it with a new and excited audience. 

Me facilitating the workshop!

We then moved straight into a ‘mood board’ session. Developing your own mood board in a first Passion4Fashion workshop is a fantastic way of breaking the ice and getting to know the people around you as well as learning a lot about yourself!

Mood boards are created from magazine and fabric cuttings, presenting a very personal illustration of the styles and colour schemes you favour. I love this one….oh so vintage!

Mood board!

Sue then talked through the trials and tribulations of delivering such a complex partnership project……as one of last years participants it was very enlightening….it all seemed to run smoothly to me, little did I know about the near nervous breakdowns behind the scenes!

Me doing my speech... Cool as a cucumber!

It was my turn now and I talked about my experiences of being involved in the project, how my support worker at the time had recommended it and how I’ve now ended up doing work experience at Leeds Federated. I really couldn’t believe it when every one clapped at the end! A year ago I wouldn’t have been able to do anything like that but now look at me!

Every one had lots of questions and positive comments about the project, in fact so many that we ran over time!

We ran out of time before the delegates lunch to carry out our final exercise ‘the t-shirt customisation race’ but with one delegate declaring, ‘forget lunch, I’d rather do this!’ we were all in agreement to carry on!

Getting creative customising t shirts!

It was my job to judge the t-shirts after a 10 minute frenzy of creativity but I just couldn’t decide on an overall winner with such great efforts from each team! They were all winners in my eyes so it was crème eggs all round….

Our Cath Adams shyly modelling one of the creations!

It was great to see so much enthusiasm about Passion4Fashion and we’re really hoping to hear about new projects happening around the country.

So phew….workshop successfully completed and then we remembered the car and our long journey home!  We called the AA who arrived an hour later and two lovely young men arrived and very kindly explained the car wasnt going anywhere without the help of the ’4th emergency service’! A short tow to a nearby services and then a bit of a wait for a big lorry (with a grumpy driver) for the last leg of our journey.

Roadside depression poor sue and psychic Cath!

Finally back in Leeds at 7pm to missed meetings, extended childcare and Cath’s lovely fiancée ready to pick us up!

What a day! We couldn’t help smiling as we pulled up…. a long journey, but well worth it, to spread the word about our fantastic Passion4Fashion!

Venue and date sorted….well almost!

One of the many stars of our show!

Good news today, the venue for Passion4Fashion 2012 is nearing confirmation. Of course we are very chuffed, our fashion show will be hosted by the best venue in Leeds, but shush….it’s a secret till we’ve signed on the dotted line!!

 

Yes I know, I am being really rather secretive and annoying!

 

…. but it is looking good for a Friday Night affair on 21st September….get it pencilled in your diaries for now, confirmation is coming soon!

 

Busy preparing a Passion4Fashion workshop for a TPAS Practitioners Conference next week. We’re hoping to inspire workers from across the country to get involved and spread the love by putting on their own Passion4Fashion projects….afterall it’s infectious! Everyone loves fashion and saving money….what a winning combination!

Anyone looking for an exciting event management opportunity!

Cute cat ears and vintage chic!

Monday morning is upon us and final show nerves are all a-flutter today! Okay…so the show isnt till September AND we have already done it to such a fabulously professional standard in 2011, but in my capacity as excellent housing and community-type of person (that neared a break down last year!)…. I really think we need to hand over to the professionals this year. I’m not saying it was a complete fluke, but no one was more surprised than me when the show opened and it was such a staggering professional affair! A real credit to all involved last year.

 

So this year we really want to bring in some creative expertise to event manage the final fashion show for Passion4Fashion!

 

But ah there’s a catch….this is a fabulous opportunity to pull off a big fashion show in Leeds, with a guaranteed full capacity and a budget to manage, but we need some expertise and support that won’t cost us much…yep, we mean expenses only …. but, but, but….if you’re looking for a fantastic signature project to add to your professional resume, or raise the profile of your new business in the area, then this could be the perfect way for you to do it!

 

By getting involved and supporting Passion4Fashion 2012, you’ll not only play a significant part in improving the opportunities for 100 lovely social housing tenants in Leeds, but it could also be a big boost for you or your organisation too!

 

win, win situation eh!

 

…or do i mean, you scratch our backs…we’ll scratch yours?

 

Either way we need some help!

 

So please get in touch with us….maybe you’re an Event Management graduate, a group of students or a local enterprise that loves what we’re about and think you can help. Either way, we’d love to hear from you….

 

…soon!

 

Just call Sue Jennings at Leeds Federated on 0113 3861131 or 07977 469722 for more info.

 

 

 

 

 

Team Passion4Fashion 2012!

What a lovely bunch of housing workers!

 Staff from our housing partners…with the odd designer n that!

 

If you’re involved this year in delivering the project this year and want to keep up to date with developments and the rest of the team…join us on LinkedIn http://linkd.in/zVM0qe

 

 

And we have lift off!

Wow just back from a really great first meeting of team Passion4Fashion 2010….great to see people again from East North East Homes, Aire Valley Homes, Connect, Unity, West North West, Leeds Fed, Affinity Sutton, Groundwork, Leeds City Credit Union, Leeds City Council and the lovely Dawn from Fabrication and equally as lovely Viv from the Children’s University!

Phew, now there’s a list although nowhere near as long as the to-do list we have taken away today….only 2 weeks to sort out promotion, workshop location, funding argh…feeling stressed already!

The plan is to set up sewing hubs in communities across the city with the help of last years participants, these groups will start in April and the hope is some or even all of them will become sustainable enterprises long after our 2012 fashion show which we hope will be sometime in September….yeah we thought we’d give the Queen and the Olympics a break and not over-shadow their events!

Pretty sure every one loved their new tee-shirts….group shot to follow….Cath’s already customised hers with cuts and safety pins and it was amazing to see how other people naturally started to unpick, tie up, fold up theirs as we were grinning for our cheesy project launch shot!

Now here’s a challenge…we really want to keep reinventing our tee-shirts and logos throughout the project, so if you think you can do better than us…send us your design for a chance of it being used in our publicity this year.

Email designs…ideas…anything really to cath.adams@leedsfederated.co.uk

Bye for now….

Loving our new tee’s!

Introducing Cath modelling our lovely tee-shirt….

Project launch event tomorrow guys and happy (and very relieved!) that our freebie tee-shirts have arrived in time

now all we need to do is finish the presentation in the next 5 mins!

 

Had a really inspiring planning session today….lots of fantastic ideas about how we can make Passion4Fashion 2012 even more successful than the first.

 

If you’d like to get your hands on one of our lovely tee’s and show off to all your mates (yep….they’re pretty exclusive!) then just ‘like’ our new Facebook Page for a chance to win one now….just follow the link http://on.fb.me/xMdbEp

 

Right….I’m off to customise mine!

Hey… We’re Back! Passion4Fashion 2012 Here we come!

2012…Jubilee…Olympics and Passion4Fashion…Yay!

Goodness me! it’s gonna be a busy and exciting year in Leeds for 2012! Not only will we be partying for the old ladies 60th year in the chair and avidly watching those Olympians strut and stretch their stuff down in London BUT the wonderful Passion4Fashion will be back in Leeds this summer…bigger, better and a darn sight more exciting than 2011!

 

I know…I know…how can we possibly beat this  http://bit.ly/wsYASX!We absolutely loved getting creative last year with passion4fashion, it was such a brilliant experience getting together with such talented people from across Leeds neighbourhoods….from teenagers to more mature types (yes ok…like me!)…from acomplished stitchers to the completely useless (ok me again!)…. all working together to create amazing individual catwalk outfits from treasured second-hand finds and on a small budget.

So yeah…we’re back…madly planning and organising, getting ready for our project launch on Thursday.

If you want to get creative, learn how to stitch and design in good company, take control of your finances and find a job then you’re guaranteed to love this.

Whether you want to take part, volunteer, throw money at us or just come and watch, give Cath Adams a call on 0113 3861085 for more info, tweet us at P4FLeeds or find us on Facebook Passionforfashion Leeds