A showcase and demonstration of various garment grooming methods and practices, utilizing historic and contemporary tools.

In presentation form, this may be offered to a single group or to a rotating passerby in a museum setting.

As a workshop, Reed will guide attendees in hands-on participation.

In a roundtable group format, participants are encouraged to bring an item from their closet that they want to learn how to better care for and engage in a dialogue regarding their personal experiences with clothing care.

Incorporating a hands-on, show-and-tell of historic garments from Reed’s personal collection, participants will explore how the value placed on our clothing and its care has declined over time while considering how we may regain the skills necessary to help us better care for the clothes of today.

A hands-on workshop and informative session demonstrating methods of knitwear care and repair and visible mending fun. Participants will learn how to properly wash and store their favorite sweaters and discover how to manage pills with their own DIY sweater comb, as well as experience the magic of needle felting for colorful hole repair and embellishment.

Woolens and cashmere work best, however, it may be possible to explore these methods on other natural and synthetic fibers.

Well suited to those that create with fine materials or love to wear them, and who may have wondered: How is it possible this incredible product of nature came to be in their hands, let alone the hands of humans for thousands of years?

In this presentation, participants will learn about the origin and characteristics of three ancient textiles: linen, cashmere, and silk, and have the opportunity handle and examine each fiber in its raw and processed form.