Our Meet the Team feature is a great way for us to introduce you to the Fine Cell Work team. To continue the series, we caught up with Sophie, Fine Cell Work's Workshop Supervisor (pictured above left with Jordanne, Workshops Manager, in our women's workshop), to learn more about her role at the charity.

I am the workshop supervisor and I have been working with Fine Cell Work for just over two years. My job started off covering for Kitty, our Production Manager, whilst she was on sabbatical, but I am now based in the workshop, splitting my time between the Hub in Battersea and in our prison workshops. Day to day my job is very varied, because twice a week I am out of the office working in a prison workshop. Most of my visits are to our women’s workshop, and then fortnightly, I visit our men’s workshop.

We need to cater for many different skills levels, so I am often found preparing a variety of work that meets all the necessary level requirements. When I am in the Battersea Hub, I am usually preparing work for the prison workshops - this can involve anything from organising materials to writing step-by-step instructions.  I also work with our Apprentices on Open the Gate, our post-release programme. For some, this involves teaching them to hand sew and machine from scratch, and for others, this might be continuing training from any skills learnt in prison or previously known. 

Machine and hand-stitching in our women's workshop

Before I visit the men's workshop, I catch up with Kitty to see what the Production Team's requirements are. This consists of checking in on kits being made in 'kit corner', hand-embroidery on the middle table and the production of cushions, bags, tableware and giftware. If there are any new pieces that need to go into production, I will go through the construction techniques and teach them to the men. These might be partnership products like Mousekins or the Chelsea Pensioners, or Fine Cell Work products that have been designed and sampled in house.

Our women's workshop has been running for nearly one year, and all the women have made great progress - they have completed their inductions and are working to a production standard. Some recent products that have been making are the Sardine Book Covers, and project bags that are included in our new needlepoint kits. It has been lovely to see each stitcher's creativity shine through the applique Cottage Purses - we have seen safari cottages, haunted houses, woodland cottages (complete with foxes and rabbits!) and a dream cottage with a thatched roof -- all selling out in record time!  We are now working with the women on Machining for Interiors - a Fine Cell Work course that is accredited by the Open College Network. This builds on what the women have learnt in the past year on the machines, and also gives them a qualification. 

A fox, a lion and a haunted house - Cottage Purses, all hand-stitched in our women's workshop

My background as a textile designer has shown me what a positive and beneficial activity textiles can be and is something I continue to do every day.  It is a joy to be able to share and teach my passion for textiles, and to see transformations in people through excitement and confidence gained from learning new skills, being creative and making high-quality finished products. There have been many highlights so far, but setting up the women's workshop and seeing how far they have come in the last year is definitely at the top. They have shown determination, perseverance and I am constantly blown away by their creativity. 

Working with Mousekins has also been an amazing opportunity for our stitchers across all of Fine Cell Work's programmes. Mousekins is a not for profit homewares company that use end of line and deadstock fabrics that would otherwise go in the bin.  We make cushions, doorstops and draft excluders for Mousekins in our prison workshops and our post-release workshop. Some of our stitchers have worked on Mousekins in prison workshops, then post-release at Open the Gate, and have then even gone on to employment or volunteering with Mousekins as graduates, which is really amazing.

Mousekins products being worked on in our post-release Hub and women's workshop

My background is in handwoven textiles and, outside of work, I am an obsessive knitter so I always have multiple projects on the go. I am currently knitting a mohair jumper and a summer top along with many other half finished projects! 

I used to design and sell woven fabric swatches for fashion and interior companies. I am often inspired by traditional textile techniques in my handwoven designs. For example, the hand-woven structures I use are inspired by the solid and open sections in traditional lacemaking. More recently I have also been exploring embroidery techniques, for example how techniques like smocking, couching and simple running stitch can be replicated into the structure of a hand woven fabric.

I quite often design with a slow approach to weaving, using techniques and materials that can only be used by a human hand - this can slow down the process considerably, but also showcases craftmanship in a fast paced and busy world.

Sophie's hand weaving projects woven on a traditional Harris loom, using techniques such as Double Cloth and Swedish Lace. Materials used range from silk, to rug wool and synthetic coated cotton fibres

Fine Cell Work is about learning to stitch, but it is so much more than that. I am very lucky in my job, because I see this first hand on a day-to-day basis. Participating in our workshops is about being part of a community to learn and work together and meeting deadlines, which will prepare stitchers for employment upon release. It is about building confidence in self-worth through learning and finishing hand-crafted products, and using personal creativity to design something and see it through to the end. It is about having a safe space where stitchers can be themselves and zone out from what is happening on their wing or in their personal lives. It is a space to learn ways of distraction to improve mental health whilst in prison and post-release. Ultimately, its about rehabilitation and the importance stitching has in so many ways to help stop reoffending. 

It is too difficult to pick just one favourite Fine Cell Work product, but I love the new green Ethiopian Hat. I also love the bold colours and graphics in the Florentine Phone Bag - I bought one for my Mum Christmas, and I'm now waiting for them to come back in stock so I can have one too!  

---

You can support our work in prisons and post-release by choosing to buy a Fine Cell Work Product, by making a donation or by leaving a legacy to Fine Cell Work.

There are many ways to get involved with Fine Cell Work. Our diverse community is made up of stitchers, post-release apprentices, volunteers, trustees and staff.

To keep up to date with all of our opportunities, as well as our latest news and product launches, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X