“I started a sustainable mending business to eliminate as much clothing and textile waste as possible, redirecting it from landfills. Mending keeps things in circulation longer and disrupts the speed of fast fashion. When we slow down the fashion consumption cycle, we get to explore its supply chain, where it is broken, and the people that are affected the most by it.”

“At 11 years old, Lisa Hutchinson learned to sew from her mother, a home economics teacher. Her interest eventually grew into a business, TopStitch Mending, where she repairs clothing as a way to minimize the environmental impact by keeping used clothes out of landfills.”

Darn It! A Sockumentary focuses on the sustainable mending practice of Richmond clothes mender Lisa Hutchinson. She applies her mantra of “anything can be mended” to the human condition, showing her love for fabric, clothes, and the Richmond community.

"With that in mind, let’s meet Lisa Hutchinson, a sustainable seamstress based in Richmond who initially created TOP STITCH as a way to keep clothing out of landfills. Lisa, who studied fashion design at Drexel University, has been sewing for over twenty years. At TOP STITCH, Lisa has earned a reputation for clothing repair, alternative alterations, mindful mending, creative fixes, and for teaching sewing lessons. Today, she has turned her skills toward protecting the Richmond community..."

“With involvement in the Ethical Style Collective, her focus is shifting consumer mindset to being comfortable and accepting visible repairs. For Lisa, ‘blemishes are a reflection of the life of a garment well worn.’...” (pg. 85)

“For Lisa Hutchinson, sustainability is a way of life. Sewing from a young age, she founded Top Stitch in 2016 to mend clothing and add new life to garments that would otherwise end up in landfills...”