Love it or hate it ? - Lakeland

I have long had a love-hate relationship with Lakeland (or as I still somehow want to call it, Lakeland Plastics). My kitchen drawers are replete with Lakeland gadgetry, the shelves of my home office are regimented by their plastic files and they have also begun to advance upon my garden.

Lakeland, founded in Windermere in the 1960s and now run by the founder's three sons, has mastered the art of the "I have to have that" factor in kitchen wizardry. Their colourful catalogue arrives complete with a chatty letter from Wendy, the Customer Ambassador, who has taken on the epistolary duties of Michelle the Marketing Director who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. When the catalogue lands on the doormat it is hard not to grab it and curl up on the sofa to test one's self control. Do I really need that bag to keep my potatoes fresh? Yes I know I keep meaning to take up baking, but if I splash out on a collection of non-stick bakeware will it languish untouched in the kitchen cupboard along with so many other symbols of my good intentions?

There is a lot to love about Lakeland - but also a lot to feel uneasy about. As well as providing some brilliant solutions to everyday problems, they are also creating needs that are so non-esssential as to be bordering on eccentricity. I often try to imagine the Lakeland "heavy user". She (for it is surely a she) must have the largest kitchen on the planet, with expansive worksurfaces to carry and display such must-have items as the Flexicado: "for getting the most out of an avocado", a collection of "ice cream sandwich moulds", a plastic banana guard, a plastic "avocado saver" (evidently very demanding of gadgetry are these avocados!), and my personal favoutite, the Tea Tool for squeezing your tea bags. There are bowls designed specially for storing berries, 3 in 1 pineapple slicers, strawberry hullers, herb mincing machines, corn strippers and lettuce shears (what's wrong with a pair of hands?). These types of gadgets are so specialist, that by the time you needed to use them you'd have forgotten you even had them.

So as a make and mender, I'm in two minds about Lakeland. They sell all the essentials to encourage a more creative and sustainable way of living, from making jam to growing spuds, but they also seem to be indulging our worst tendencies towards consumerism. What do you think?

Make it and Mend it - a call to revolution!

For too long we have been accustomed to buying stuff and then when it breaks or gets a bit worn, chucking it away and getting something new.

This isn't just wasteful, it is also expensive and these days as we are tightening our belts, it makes sense to start making do and mending.

This blog and our growing website will chronicle the movement to make do and mend: helping you remodel that garment, shift that stain, or mend that light fitting. We will highlight inspirational examples, share tips and ideas and pass on useful information for living more creatively and sustainably.

Please check out http://www.makeitandmendit.com and send us your own tips and suggestions too.

The blog will focus on news and stories and examples of people who are living Make it and Mend it (we call it MIAMI). It is meant to be a source of inspiration on how to recycle, reuse, adapt, repair, make and refashion.

We heard an inspiring story this week, which shows it's not just women that are making and mending. This young man has shown that what Granny knows can turn into a lucrative business and set you on the road to becoming an entrepreneur.

Fraser Doherty, 19, dropped out of university to devote more time to his fledgling jam-making business. This started out as a kitchen table enterprise and grew from the passion Fraser developed for jam-making after being taught at age 14 by his grandmother. He got up to 1000 jars a week in his parents' kitchen before moving the business into a factory. He is now selling half a million jars a year, under the brand name Superjam and the business is growing fast.

Recognising what he owes to his grandmother, Fraser has launched a charity, "Superjam Tea Parties" to get old people socialising over tea (and jam!) at community centres across the country.

We really like this idea of acknowledging the contribution older people have made to society and can still make. One of our missions at Make it and Mend it is to tap into the vast knowledge and skill base of older people and find ways to bring this experience to the forefront. As part of this Jam Boy (as he is known) has supported the elderly folks in a nationwide Knitathon to knit squares to amke blankets for for Indian orphans. To find out more about Fraser and his Super Jam parties have a look at his SuperJam Blog.

Do you know of any inspirational role models? Do you have ideas on how to share the knowledge and skills of older people? Are you in touch with a local community group that is doing this?
Contact us below or on info@makeitandmendit.com
See also our website post on Knitting a square to help a child
Meet the MIAMI team