a place where we help one another achieve
A place to revisit old skills and find new ones
a place of laughter and fun
a place where we help one another achieve
Welcome to the Orts Collective
The word orts is a word meaning leftover scraps, originally of food, but also now used to refer to the leftover scraps of fabric and threads in sewing.
‘Orts’ is a diverse sewing collective in the Hessle Road area of Hull, open to all women and seeking to be a safe space for the most vulnerable including asylum seekers, refugees, women who struggle with addictions and/or mental health and those involved in street prostitution. As women from different walks of life we explore how, even though we sometimes feel like scraps and leftovers (orts), together our lives have the potential to be beautiful.
The mix of women from all sorts of backgrounds makes the Orts collective a unique group, where people from different countries, very different life experiences and different socio-economic sectors of society can get to know each other on equal terms without awkwardness or judgement. ’Orts’ is a place of acceptance and mutual support, where women can share and learn skills; create community through telling our stories; gain self-worth and self-confidence; find self-expression through creativity; flourish and be transformed by love.
"Orts is where you come to make friends, to feel like you belong".
Together we have sew much potential....
We share skills and resources, using orts (scraps and leftovers) to learn, share, support, play, grow and create wonder out of waste.
We raise the money to rent the room from sales of our handmade products. Having recently bought a bike trailer we are in the process of applying for pedlars licenses to enable us to sell our products, exploring a natural model to sustain the work, and help create opportunities for the natural enterprising spirit of many of the women who make up Orts.
