Crafting wonders

Our production process

Each of our products goes on a long and impactful journey before it is ready to be sold. And every one of our items touches the life of at least one prisoner or prison leaver in some way.

Our needlework kits are put together in our prison workshops before being distributed from our London hub to our wonderful volunteers. These inspirational supporters teach people in prison the necessary skills to craft each piece. The completed stitchwork is then returned to us, to ensure it meets our exacting standards, before finally being sent back into a prison to be 'made up', turning it into the final product (e.g. stuffing and adding zips to cushions).

In total, this process can take up to 200 hours and over 70,000 stitches (per piece!)

We know that every single one of our products boosts self-esteem, builds confidence, has a positive impact on a stitcher’s mental health, and gives them the opportunity to transform their lives.

By purchasing a product, you become a part of that journey.

DONATIONS

Support our work

By purchasing from Fine Cell Work, you are making social change. However, 75% of our rehabilitation programmes are funded through donations and grants. We know that transformation is possible - for our stitchers, for our communities, and for our society as a whole. Your support - through donations or by purchasing products - will help to break the devastating cycle of reoffending and repeated imprisonment.

£10 donation
Provides a prisoner with the materials for one tapestry cushion (100 hours of creative activity). 

£20 donation
Will enable us to continue providing paid, creative and productive work to even more prisoners around the UK, helping them to build a brighter future.

£50 donation
Sponsors a prisoner to train as a volunteer 'class coordinator', teaching and mentoring other prisoners.

£250 donation
Covers the volunteer costs of a stitching class in prison.

£500 donation
Pays for the training, materials and support for one prisoner for an entire year, helping them to rebuild a meaningful, independent,crime-free life.

By giving prisoners hope that transformation is truly possible, they can envision a meaningful life after release. But nobody tells the story of how Fine Cell Work has helped them better than the prisoners themselves:

“Stitching allows me to use a totally different part of my brain and personality. I can move away from the more difficult reflections and anxieties and feel creative and purposeful. This means I no longer feel that my life has come to a halt and that I am of no use to anyone else.”

- Tom, FCW Stitcher -

Customer Reviews

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V
VK
Gorgeous

I love these coasters. Beautiful colours. Each one is like a little artwork. They are so well made and a joy to see on the table. Only problem is I don’t like putting my glass on them in case they spoil!

C
Chris Barnes
Lovely quality gifts

These geometric coasters are beautifully made, they will make a lovely gift for one of my friends. As always, the materials are of high quality and the stitching impeccable.

A
Ann Fitzpatrick
Geometric coasters

I bought the colourful geometric coasters as a gift but decided to keep them myself as I only bought one set and I found them too useful to give away. The design is lovely and each mat is perfectly stitched . As usual, the workmanship is spot on and the shape and lie of the coasters are perfect:they are perfectly flat. I expect that this standard is difficult to achieve with tapestry work. I was also very impressed with the finishing:each stitch is ,again, perfectly placed. I would most definitely recommend this product: the workmanship, stitching and design is excellent and the item is useful. The price is also very reasonable, particularly when you consider the amount of stitching in each item. The colour choices are also tasteful and well chosen.
A lovely product. Thank you.