The Way we work
We are a social enterprise on a social mission. The majority of our work takes place in Birmingham, our home city. Our vision is to:
Stitch Birmingham’s communities together through creative fun and shared purpose to build a connected, content, and colourful city.
We also work in other parts of the UK for the benefit of communities outside Birmingham.
How we measure our social impact
Image stitched by Catherine (Home is where the arch is!)
We want to make a difference through our projects and work. We measure how well we are doing against the following measures:
Outcomes for project collaborators:
More connectedness.
Individual project collaborators will have an increased sense of belonging and connectedness to people, places (and organisations, including us), through taking part in our projects, now and in the future.
More wellbeing.
Individual project collaborators will experience the therapeutic benefits of crafting, will have fun, feel happy, included, proud and valued as individual artists and for their contribution to collaborative artworks when they take part and in the future.
More skill sharing.
More people will learn to stitch as a skill for life, become more confident in their stitching abilities and share skills with others.
Outcomes for communities:
More social cohesion.
People from different cultures, age groups, neighbourhoods and of different abilities will have worked towards a common goal and with shared purpose to achieve greater social cohesion.
More community spirit.
The public artworks stitched by the project collaborators will make a positive impact for the wider community for as long as they are visible.
How we define 'community'
Image stitched by Wendy (Home is where the arch is!
At Woolly Mammoth Stitch Works CIC, we define ‘community’ as a group of people who are connected to each other.
Community is not defined by where we live. Every day we interact with a variety of communities. We have connections to people through family, work, on our commutes, online, where we volunteer, study, shop or meet regularly, as well as through shared interests and passions.
Our social enterprise’s values
All our projects are built around the following values and approaches to maximise community benefit:
Image stitched by Wendy (Home is where the arch is!
Outreach
We will take projects to people in their own familiar community settings; reducing barriers for people to access our opportunities.
Inclusion
We will adapt the way we involve people, so anyone who wants to can take part and contribute. For most of our artwork we prefer to use plastic canvas as it is really easy to stitch into whatever your age or ability.
Social cohesion
Our projects will be designed to create groups of people working towards a goal for the benefit of the whole group as well as individuals within it.
Equality
We are committed to deliver projects and work which celebrates diversity and fosters a sense of belonging, especially for people who have been marginalised historically and continue to be. We will not accept any form of hate or oppression within our stitching communities.
Skills
We will share our skills with others and recognise the skills that others bring to each project. We will provide opportunities for people to learn new skills and support the professional development of others.
Co-design
Every project will be researched and developed with the commissioning organisation and community / audience to help embed meaningful social impact and create original and bespoke artworks.
Build legacies
Before a project ends, we will explore and implement ways for the momentum to continue. We will help participants who wish to do so remain connected in some way; with each other, with a place or with an activity.
How we are funded
Image stitched by Lizzie (Home is where the arch is!
As a CIC we are able to apply for grants which will help us fulfil our social mission to increase people’s wellbeing and connectedness through collaborative tapestry and wool stitch projects.
To support the growth of the CIC we will also generate income from corporate commissions that offer community benefit and by selling collaborative stitch kits to the public.
