What’s On In June – Sustainably Influenced

What's On In June

In Partnership With In Good Company

This June, the social calendar is brimming with a variety of sustainable activities. Whether you wanted to learn a new skill for the summer with Lydia Bolton’s scrunchie workshops, or hunt for some bargains at the Walthamstow Flea Market, there’s a thrifty event for everyone.

Learn Some New Sustainable Skills

If you’re looking to pick up some new sustainable skills then we’ve got you covered. First up, slow fashion designer Lydia Bolton is running more of her sell-out scrunchie workshops where over two hours you’ll learn how to transform unwanted fabric into a custom scrunchie of your colour, style and size of choice, all materials provided. Taking place at her studio in Hackney Wick, there are still a few spots left at £35 a ticket but hurry because we can guarantee they won’t be there for long!

Sticking with the upcycling theme, up-and-coming young designer Gaby, founder of Grandpa’s Shirts, is also hosting two workshops this June at Islington Square. Doing exactly what it says on the tin, Gaby upcycles vintage and preloved shirts (like the ones your grandad used to wear) into beautiful new shirts with a feminine twist. In her two-hour workshop, you’ll learn the basics in embroidery and applique and transform your pre-loved shirting into unique one of a kind blouses. Tickets are £25 with sessions at 6pm on the 12th and 13th of June.

Get Creative In Nature

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You might have heard us rave about one of our favourite food and watering spots Barge East, in Hackney Wick, but did you know that they also run a regular series of events to make the most of their canalside gardens? On Saturday 8th June they are hosting Garden Portraits, an introduction to watercolour and hand embroidery on fabric. Professional textile designer and illustrator Caroline Anguilo will be guiding you through creating your own botanical embroidered illustration inspired by the lush and vibrant greenery at the Barge East gardens. And on the 17th, first generation Abstract Expressionist Clyfford Still will be talking about his artistic journey before sketching and photographing in the evening light and creating your own Still-inspired colour field paintings.

Rummage For Bargains At Walthamstow Flea Market

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The UK’s biggest beer hall – and Living Wage Employer – Big Benny Social, is having another Walthamstow Flea Market on Sunday 9th June. Hunt for personal treasures, rummage for bargains, and refresh your living space with over 60 hand-picked flea and vintage traders taking part. Open from 11am, with a £2 entry fee, and of course, plenty of refreshing beers on tap for afterwards – because everyone knows that secondhand shopping is thirsty work!

📍 Big Penny Social, 1 Priestley Way E17 6AL

🗓️ Sunday 9 June

⏰ 11am – 5pm

Shop Guilt Free For Charity

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If your spring/summer wardrobe needs a bit of attention, then make sure you go secondhand first. These are our top two places to pick up an item or two, guilt-free, in June

First up, award-winning social enterprise Give your Best, which allows refugee and other women and children in need to ‘shop’ clothes for free, is popping up with Round Retail, a charitable reseller which focuses on quality pre-loved fashion items, from mid-luxury brands, in Islington Square. Not only can you thrift their curated collection, you can also donate your best pre-loved clothes in store which will then be shopped for free by the Give Your Best community.

📍 Round Retail x Give Your Best, Islington Square, N1 1QP

🗓️ June 3rd – 30th 2024

⏰ Mon-Sat – 10am – 6pm | Sun 11am – 5pm

And secondly, Charity Super.Mkt, the UK’s first ‘pre-loved’ clothing charity supermarket which brings together a multitude of different charities in prime retail locations, is returning to its first home of Brent Cross this June. This time they’re launching two new concepts, The Edit, featuring top-tier pieces from Traid, Havens Hospices, Shelter and North London Hospice, and Presents, a weekly rotation of things like themed stock and a fresh take of the jumble sale

📍 Brent Cross Shopping Centre, NW4

🗓️ till Sunday, June 30 2024

⏰ Mon-Sat – 10am – 8 pm | Sun 12 – 6 pm

March for Nature with Restore Nature Now

With a general election on the 4th July, leading environmental groups like the RSPB, Friends of the Earth and the National Trust, are teaming up for the Restore Nature Now march on 22 June. A legal, peaceful, inclusive and family-friendly demonstration which aims to be the biggest gathering of people for nature and climate that the UK has ever seen. It is both a celebration of British nature and a protest calling for urgent political action on the nature and climate emergencies. Starting at Park Lane, it will end up in Parliament Square for a central rally at around 2.30pm.

📍Park Lane, Central London

🗓️ Saturday, June 22 2024

⏰ 12:00pm – 4:30pm

Park Lane, Central London

Take in a Sustainable Fashion Exhibition at Fabrica X

Sustainable fashion innovation gallery and concept store, Fabrica X has launched a new free exhibition, Planet Saving Innovations. From vibrant dyes developed by harnessing nature’s processes and performance materials made from plants and minerals, to low-impact leather-like materials and silk textiles crafted from proteins, you’ll discover some of the leading sustainability innovations in fashion and textiles. Alongside the exhibition, there’s also a selection of sustainable brands to shop including Blackmarket, Parley for the Oceans and nibs etc.

📍The Mills Fabrica, 36-40 York Way, N1 9AB

🗓️ Throughout June (ends Sept 30)

⏰Mon-Fri 9am – 6pm

Go Full Susty Style with the Slow Style Weekender

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The Slow Style Weekender kicks off at 1pm on Friday 7 June in Stoke Newington and runs throughout the weekend. Hosted by pre-loved fashion brands The Hackney Wardrobe and Spin, you’ll find a selection of slow and sustainable pre-loved and vintage fashion, jewellery, homewares and kids items, as well as embroidery workshops, affordable wellness classes and a panel talk on Friday evening all about the women pioneering the slow style revolution (tickets required). It’s taking place at the Stokey Pop-Up.

📍Stokey Pop-Up, 147 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 0NY

🗓️ Friday 7 June – Sunday 9 June

⏰Fri 1pm – 9pm, Sat 10am – 5.30pm, Sun 10.30am – 4.30pm

Celebrate Refugee Week with Cuisine and Culture From Around The World

Refugee Week is back from 17 – 23 June and this year’s theme is Our Home, celebrating what home means to us, from the places we gather to share meals to our collective home, planet earth. As the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating refugees, there’s a packed schedule of events to choose from.

You can also mark the occasion by sampling some of the incredible multicultural cuisine in London, all whilst celebrating and supporting refugees. We highly recommend Migrateful’s cookery classes, where refugee and immigrant chefs share their heritage and dishes from home, and Imad’s Syrian Kitchen, where owner and former refugee Imad serves up some of the best middle eastern dishes in London alongside traditional Syrian hospitality.

Or if laughter is more your vibe, then grab a ticket to Laff-Uccino with Nish Kumar, Rosie Jones and other talented up and coming comedians from refugee and migration backgrounds. Its taking place as part of Refugee Week on Wednesday 19 June at Union Chapel in Islington

Grab a Pint To Watch The Euros And Toast That You're Doing Some Good At The Same Time!

Even if you’re not a year round football fan, we bet the excitement about England making the Euros is enough to tempt you to watch a match or two. Thankfully, a number of good pubs and breweries around London are screening the matches so you can grab a pint and cheer along with the crowds, all whilst knowing that you’re doing some good at the same time. Head to Big Penny Social in Walthamstow, Pretty Decent Beer on Blackhorse Lane, 40ft Brewery in Dalston, Barge East in Hackney Wick or the Long Arm Pub in Shoreditch. Check if you need to grab a ticket for the big England games.

Big Green Week and Climate Action Week

There’s not one but two climate and environmental celebrations this month. First up is the Great Big Green Week from 10 – 18 June which is heavily focused on the power of swapping! You’ll also find a whole range of community events, from Eco Markets, Bee Hotel making Workshops, Repair Cafes and open urban farm events. Check out what’s happening near you here.

Then running from 22 – 30 June is London Climate Action Week, the largest city-wide climate festival in Europe, attracting over 45,000 people every year. Whilst its definitely more focused on climate professionals and community organisers, there are some events for the general public which look super interesting, like an immersive audio-visual installation “We are plants, we are grass, we are Hackney Marshes” on Friday 28 June, a screening of Be the Light: a film about climate action in Afghanistan on Monday 24 June, and the ‘40 degree stories’ photography exhibition, sharing personal stories from Islington residents of the heatwave in summer 2022, from 25 – 27 June.

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