SOCKS: Imaginative mending

Celia Pym is an artist darner. Focusing on the concept of sustainability in fashion and our lives more broadly, the book celebrates the everyday act of mending through darning.

Central to the book is a vibrant, colourful library of 488 socks, each stitched and darned by the Surrey Square Primary School community in Southwark using industry ‘warehouse’ waste socks. Children, staff and families of the school, learnt and practised their darning and stitching skills on socks, during a series of 26 workshops facilitated by Pym in early 2024.

The progression of the work from junior school upwards, beautifully demonstrates the dexterity and creativity of the children and how that changes over time., highlighting the importance of practical education for cognitive development. 

SOCKS also includes Pym’s own work for friends and family. Celia is a ‘big name’ in the art textiles world and her London workshops sell out within minutes. Her previous book On Mending: Stories of damage and repair is a best seller. 

This book also coincides with the publication by Quickthorn of Darning Socks, the new book by Japanese darning guru Hikaru Noguchi. Noguchi lives in Tokyo, but visits the UK regularly. Mending is increasingly popular as we learn to respect our limited resources and abstain from fast fashion.

Celia Pym has a BA in Visual and Environmental Studies, specialising in sculpture, from Harvard University, US and an MA in Constructed Textiles from the Royal College of Art, London. She is also a trained nurse. Her work has been exhibited at Firstsite, Essex; Somerset House, London; Design Museum, London; Wellcome Collection, London; Trading Museum, CDG, Paris; V&A Dundee; V&A London and Textilmuseum, St Gallen. In 2017 she was shortlisted for the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize and the inaugural Loewe Craft Prize. She is an Associate Lecturer in Textiles at the Royal College of Art in London.