The Phoenix Project

Yesterday we headed for the shade having been at the workshop since 6am. Summer has arrived and someone turned the thermostat right up!
So we took the opportunity to visit one of our favourite places just above the old port -Taverna O'Batis.
Eleni, the owner, is not only a great cook but an accomplished artist in her own right.
On Skiathos it isn't always easy to spot your tribe. But here we are, trying to find a balance between doing what has to be done to make ends meet and doing what needs to be done to keep the soul happy. Skipping and juggling. Tourism and creativity.

The Phoenix Project is about sharing skills, having fun and being creative!
During our recent May workshop, Claire came with an open mind but with one basic request - she wanted to weave on a floor loom!
Little did she know, she would be joined by an 81-year-old rug weaver and have the opportunity to recreate traditional island motifs on our restored upright loom.
Part of our philosophy is about using transferable skills to weave the past into the future, to close the generation gap and to create sustainability in an all-but-lost tradition.

Putting value into Greek Wool (Skiathos Greece)

Putting value back into something that nature gives you isn't always simple, and as time erodes or replaces this with commercially made synthetic materials it requires a special kind of person.
Well that person is here - Textile Artist Jean Wildish.
Many people think of Skiathos of paradise, but it is mostly man-made and has nothing to do with nature. If the sun stopped shining tomorrow and air travel ceased, paradise would be lost, just like the use of the island's natural resources.
Skiathos was once famous for many things. Skills and practices are now mostly lost and only the subject of nostalgia and work tools are confined to museums. However, sheep still roam this island and still have a value as meat, milk, yogurt and cheese - so why not their fleece?

The plan!
If you are interested in wool, culture, creativity or just think lying on the beach is not for you, you can combine all these and more. At the same time you can help us put value where it is deserved - back into the rural, cultural and sustainable Skiathos.

Based on the success of our May programme we are looking to fill 4 unique, bespoke holiday places here on the island, immersed in textile stories and working with wool. We would love to hear from anyone who is able to join us in late September/early October for the next round.

For anyone wanting to join us in May and June next year, please also comment below and we will get back to you with plans for next year.

When there is no alternative and the temperature is rising, time is of the essence!
We salvaged freshly sheered fleece from the farmers' rubbish pile - now pre washed in the traditional way in the Aegean Sea, then picked and sorted by hand - removing all the VM and much, much worse!
Ready now for a final cold water rinse and leaving to dry in the warm Mediterranean sun before further processing.

Putting value into Greek Wool - Part 1.

After the airing of the fleece comes the airing of the yarn.

It's the weekend, and as it is the most special weekend in Greece, we have been engaged in alternative, home-based activities. Arthur is quietly tackling preparations for flat roof renovation and I broke out the iron for curtain sewing purposes. I also made some soft set lemon marmalade. For soft set, read slippery on toast but scrummy with Greek yogurt.

When beachcombing and collecting driftwood in the Winter is part of the business plan, I can't help feeling like I might just be winning...

We had a day off! At least that was the plan, but it mostly involved Spring Cleaning at home instead. I relieved the lemon tree of some of its bumper crop. Next stop, lemon marmalade.

Spring cleaning continues at the Skiathos workshop. Arthur has been buffing up his favourite loom. Jean has been airing fleece ready for picking and picking bits of fleece off the picker. And the moth barometer points at excellent news for a good wool season!

On our way up to the workshop today we saw much evidence of Spring cleaning. We didn't intend to begin our seasonal spruce-up but it was impossible to resist!
In other news, Arthur hadn't been to the workshop since last November. He said: I forgot how nice it was up here!

We are feeling our way forwards with Facebook.
Jean Wildish, the Cumbrian textile artist, is more used to feeling her way forwards with wool as a medium for learning, earning, expression and communication.
Arthur Charman, the story-telling engineer, is more used to fixing things with ones and zeros, nuts and bolts, cable ties and sometimes spoons.
Between us, we learned a huge amount about textiles, techniques, travel, tourism and t’ sheep.
This May we are opening our workshop again to visitors who want to learn how to wash and process freshly shorn, local wool. We aim to keep our visitors entertained and purposefully occupied for a week as they transform fleece to fluff and learn to spin, weave, felt and dye. And many other things in between!
See our webpage for more details (link in profile) or message us here.

The long road home.
As we started to plan our route back to Skiathos and contemplate the long drive across Europe.
I'm reminded of two people who came on our first adventure and the possibility of seeing them again on our journey back.
Our project has always been about sharing whether it be knowledge or our hospitality.

So I would like to share the experience that Mateja and Robert wrote about last year.

Available now!
Two (almost) last-minute places on Working With Wool - Skiathos, Greece 14-21 May 2024.
Join us for an interactive, exclusive, all-inclusive woolly experience!
Go to skiathoswool.phoenix-projects.org for more information or contact us directly at [email protected] for details.

Skiathos Island, Greece
Working to preserve a tradition of working with wool.

And a reason for our project here.

I came here in an era when people were connected by the telephone and not the internet. You had to wait at the bus station in Athens for a ticket and hope the bus had at least some standing room for the 3 hour journey to the ferry.
I spent Drachma, a currency that was unique to Greece. It's a currency that a generation can no longer relate to - a currency that had value and meaning.
I was free and I held my head up high, not because I had a home here, but because I was privileged and life was not clouded by the need for more.
For many years I remained anonymous, hiding in the shadows with a few friends, not wanting to taint the love for a place I held so close to my heart.
But time changes and in pops Jean Wildish, a talented textile artist, who has reset the clock here to give me hope and a reason to return. A friendship struck in Cumbria became something stronger on this island.
We even married here - mid-pandemic - tying our own loose ends and futures up with those of Skiathos.

Now my days are filled with wonder and amazement. Jean showed me the light and opened a world of texture and colour that had been blocked out by the shadows of the past. If you want to join us, we are ready to welcome you to our new world. Drachma is no longer king. The Euro is a symbol of bureaucracy. Meraki is our currency.

Under construction .......

skiathoswool.phoenix-projects.org

Working with Wool - Skiathos, Greece. May 2024
Following our successful programme last year, we are looking for people who are interested to join us on our project in Skiathos - soon! In mid May we have the opportunity to meet the sheep and the shepherds, to shear the sheep and learn all about wool. We will provide daily activities in our fully equipped workshop to cover all aspects of wool work, from washing the fleece to making finished goods. Participants can practice felting, spinning and weaving or can focus on individual aspects, depending on group size and personal interests. In addition to practical skills, we will also spend time learning about the island. We will visit local places of cultural and historical interest, as well as see some of the beautiful natural sites which have made this island a popular holiday destination.

We have set aside some lovely accommodation in shared twin rooms located just across the way from the sheep. We can provide guidance on additional activities or extensions to cover a longer stay and are very happy to help with organising flights or transport to and from the island. Lunches will be provided during workshop days and there will be arrangements for some group evening meals.

This is an evolving, collaborative project which involves and includes local people, individuals and small businesses. Basic prices and information can be provided following expression of interest. Please contact Jean and Arthur as soon as possible by email. Numbers are limited!
[email protected]

Things are moving along here at Tinker's Cutting and our project on Skiathos is evolving and developing.

Over the last 3-4 years we have been doing our best to find the happy medium between art, tradition and economic survival.

Many of you on this FB page will know that making a living from wool alone is near impossible and patience and ingenuity the key!

Patience.
Jean Wildish has spent the largest portion of her adult life honing her skills in textiles. She is a rare all-rounder, working with all aspects of wool, but one of her biggest challenges yet is to turn Greek fleece into gold. This is the quest to make wool economically viable.

Ingenuity.
The development of all the skills of all the individual components to make up a finished item. This item has to have a value not only economically but has to warm the heart, giving it a life and enabling it to stand out in a world of e-commerce and glittery shop windows.

So as we come to a crossroads in our journey of "working with wool" we have decided that Jean should do what she does best - developing her wide range of skills and vision, turning to culture and sustainability, using small pieces of the past and entwining them into the future - for not only economic value but also for art and design.

Me, I come from a world of fast moving, technical problem solving in a very competitive market. Time can be costed in seconds and minutes and mistakes not only cost money - they can cost lives.

So our skills are very different but not incomparable. Our journey reminds me that we are like a "nut and bolt" or a "needle and thread". Both fasten things together but both are very different.

This week we will venture into the world of culture and tourism as we arrive in Athens before moving on to Skiathos, Greece. Home from home. And another stop on a very long journey.

Stay in touch

Local hat maker Ellie Langley and textile artist Jean Wildish, Doing what they do best - having fun and sharing skills.
But really, working with felt is not only a skill in its own right it's also an opportunity to share life's problems and lighten the load.

Langley - Fleece with Altitude

As another year fades into, another year. I try to remind myself that it wasn't just another year, quite a lot has happened!

The Phoenix Project has had its moments, its success and its failures, that's life. right?
There was laughter and there were tears but we survived.

We hosted a successful Erasmus+ program, we launched our Greek legal entity "Traditional Woollen Textiles of Skiathos" and we battled with storm Danial and met some amazing people along the way

It's now clear to us that our project here on the sun kissed island of Skiathos is not about saving wool and in particular Skiathos wool. This unfortunately disappeared a long time ago wiped out by mass produced goods and a need to turn a "quick buck" in the forever expanding tourism sector.

Our project is simply about reinventing Skiathos Wool, giving it an identity and a value worthy of the effort in bringing it to the table and creating a following of like-minded people.
We know this won't be easy, a walk in the park or even a quick buck but we have tasted the nectar of Meraki

In 2024 we will explore the idea of offering holidays themed around tradition, where people will have an opportunity to learn about the rich history, myths and explore the local gastronomic culture, not forgetting our core project - from fiber to textiles. Here you will create and develop skills laid down over centuries working with natural fibers and textiles.
We may even find time to be a shepard in the wilds of Skiathos mountainous country side the possibilities are endless.

If this sounds like something you would like to try or support drop us a message and you never know our mission may become your dream and Skiathos may just be something you never expected.

It's been some time since we took these pictures and the world may have changed, but one thing that hasn't changed is our determination to succeed.
We are quietly but surely developing our ideas and skills to enable us to move forward and are looking forward to 2023 with optimism and enthusiasm.
Phoenix has acquired premises and is investing in equipment to enable us to thrive in an industry destroyed by mass production and synthetic materials.
However, we believe in natural materials and that traditional skills still have value and a place in modern society. Through a network of like-minded and open-minded people we will strive to bring these materials into the world of current fashion and hopefully introduce some new manufacturing techniques along the way.
Follow our dream, our aspirations and our struggles.