Small Fry Saturdays

Single session drop-off program using real sewing machines on select Saturday mornings from 10-11:30 am. Learn to Sew! No prior sewing experience is required. location: CAF maker space Instructors: Avery Cullen (She/her/hers) In our studio we embrace child-led and play-based learning. In our Small-Fry Sewing Society that means children are given a foundational knowledge of how to use their tools and then are given the freedom to experiment and explore with support from their fearless and passionate Society Leaders. Step-by-step projects have their place, but it is not here. Here we celebrate innovation, unique designs, and perfectly-imperfect hand-drawn patterns. Past Society Members have proudly designed and made their own home décor, clothing, stuffies and so much more.. *A note about ages: All ages (4+) are welcome in this program. Participants will be working independently and will be creating work appropriate to their skill level. We find that a mixed group of younger and older children offers the best learning environment for both ages. The curiosity of younger participants is peaked with older participants, while the older participants gain confidence by helping the younger participants learn new skills. If you have an 8 or 9 year old interested, please don’t hesitate to sign them up for this wonderful program. About the Instructor: Avery is a grade 10 student at GCVI and has been visiting the art factory with her family since the studio opened in 2011, making Avery the first art factory staff to go from playing at the art factory as a child to working at the art factory as a teenager. Avery has volunteered in our camps for 2 summers and was also a regular member of the small fry sewing society since its inception in 2018. Not only was Avery taught to sew by the sewing society's founder Joy Zambri (She/Her/Hers) she volunteered as a program assistant to our founder's successor, Annie Boivin -McCarthy (She/her/hers). Avery was so enthused and inspired by the program that she got her own sewing machine and never looked back. FUN FACT: Avery was one of the first participants to make an entire outfit herself and proudly wore it home on her bike...making her the perfect instructor to lead our small fries.