by CADY MAAS
Senior Derek Linden has always loved fashion–clothes, dressing up, design … you name it.
This year, he decided to take fashion into his own hands.
Recently, Linden started his very own Music and Sewing Club to share his passion with the Chadwick community.
At the club, students learn how to sew and make their own clothing.
It’s a safe space for bonding and growth, and the community is growing by the week under Linden and fellow senior Austin Ransford’s guidance.
Linden’s story started a while ago, when his friends caught wind of his interest in clothing design and encouraged him to enter the world of fashion.
After considering his friends’ advice, that’s exactly what Linden
did.
“I designed clothes, and then I would have my mom make them for me. And after a while, I was like, this is fun. I love doing this with music blasting in the background, and I want to learn how to do this myself,” Linden said.
“And so that’s what I did. I started a club so that my advisor would be able to teach me how to sew, and ever since it’s just been growing and growing. I plan on getting very good at sewing so I can make my own things.”
Linden has raised the club from scratch, starting with just himself and his advisor, and now including a whole band of friends, both old and new.
With each passing week, Linden’s entourage grows.
He currently has around 20 people signed up, with more than 10 coming to every session.
“It happened pretty naturally. When it started out, the first session was just me and my advisor. And then in the second one, I covinced one person to come try it out.”
“And they did, and they loved it. And then they told their friends, their friends told their friends, people saw the stuff I was making, and they were like, ‘Hey, I want to try that out.’”
Linden’s club has provided an unexpected but wonderful opportunity for seniors to connect. The club has led Linden and others to meet new people and make new friends.
“I’ve really enjoyed seeing people who I would never expect being into it coming and being like, this isn’t really my thing, and then trying it out and being so cool, and then just coming every time since,” Linden said.
Since its beginning, Linden’s club has already created many fun memories.
He shared that his favorite thing about the club is “the atmosphere of creativity and fun that you don’t really see at school throughout the day.”
“I feel like with other clubs, you go there and it’s like, ‘I have to go to this club this week.’ But for this one, you don’t have to show up if you don’t want to. It doesn’t really matter. It’s just all about having fun and everybody actually comes to sew.”
The Music and Sewing Club has helped so many to express themselves in the clothing medium, but it has done wonders for Linden, too.
Linden, who plans to attend Haverford College near Philadelphia next year, reflects on the trajectory of his journey.
“Potentially, I’ve thought about starting my own clothing business with designs and then actually producing them on a larger scale,” he says. “For the club members, it’s totally up to them what they want to do.”
He’s considering opening the club to a younger audience and teaching Village students to sew as well.
Until then, Linden’s club will continue to bring the community together, and provide the space in many often-stressful high school lives for expression and creativity.
The Mainsheet 