CASTLEREAGH Industries is having to work harder than ever to make ends meet for the workers in their supported employment program.
The rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has changed the way Castlereagh Industries is funded and several potential new income streams are currently being explored.
But staff and participants are excited about the potential of a creative way to use their existing pool of materials to ‘bag’ some income.
Fabric from the vast piles of donated clothing they receive, along with handles from handbags, belts, scarves, doilies and miscellaneous decorative ‘bling’ is ingeniously sewn together into a range of stylish shoulder and hand bags.
The bags were the brainchild of staff member Gemma Jordan.
“I spend quite a bit of time on Pinterest,” Mrs Jordan said. “That’s where I get lots of the ideas.”
Most of the bags are made from denim jeans in a range of colours, shapes and styles.
“We call them Bespoke Bags,” Manager Katrina Mulholland said. “The only thing we’ve had to buy apart from thread is some webbing for handles.”
Early samples of the Bespoke Bags were well received by the decision-makers in the wider St Vincent de Paul organisation and an initial order for 150 bags is almost half completed.
On Sunday 6 May staff member Gemma Jordan transported the first bags to Sydney for distribution to six retail outlets.
The sewing team at Castlereagh Industries includes Tim O’Connor, Cheryl Collins and Belinda Welsh with both Cheryl and Tim finally getting to practise their skills after completing a sewing course several years ago.
“Gemma is the matcher and pinner,” Mrs Mulholland said. “But we’re looking for some volunteers from the community to assist and mentor the sewers.”
