Grain Stories: Abigail Petit, Maker, Mender, Mentor and Mother
Abigail Petit in one of her beautiful handmade shawls on the South Downs
We talk to Abigail Petit, Maker, Mender, Mentor and Mother about how she became a pioneer in bringing Fair Trade textiles to the British high street.
If life is a rich tapestry, then Abigail Petit is weaving the fabric of her own unique and beautiful story. Her passion for textiles and sustainable fashion has taken her on a lifelong journey of learning and exploration from Bangladesh to Brussels to Brighton and to Lewes where she now runs abigail’s drapery.
Listen to the full podcast with Abigail Petit - see below.
From creative roots
Abigail grew up in a very creative household. Her father was an Engineer who demonstrated the rewards of hands-on, technical work. While time with her mother revolved around making and mending clothes. She remembers hours of watching her craft homemade dresses in the 1960s. Abigail was inspired and got her first sewing machine before she’d even reached school age.
“I remember a wealthy cousin from London giving me something called a Little Singer,” says Abigail. “ It was a tiny, beautiful green 1950s hand toy machine. I started working that at the age of about three and I sewed a lot.”
From there, her passion blossomed. By the tender age of just seven, she started making toys.
“When I was about 12, my dad used to take me to Nottingham library on Saturday mornings. I was really very geeky and went through all the craft books. I started making Hessian dolls. It was like creating some kind of life in a weird way. I always made them for other people.”
An introduction to Textile Process Engineering
As a teenager growing up at the start of the 80s, sewing was not the cool thing to do and Abigail transferred her energies into studying A-Levels alongside a part-time job at Pizza Express. She became absorbed in studying the sciences and had ambitions of becoming a doctor in Bangladesh. However, she missed her lower sixth exams and had to choose a different path.
Inspired by the “tremendous vision” her father applied to engineering, she was drawn to a course in Textile Process Engineering - the ideal blend of fashion and science.
Abigail’s studies took her on an incredible journey through the history and practical application of engineering in fashion, from studying sheep in the Yorkshire Dales to learning how to write “weaving code” to knowing the inner workings of handlooms, shuttle looms and air-jet looms.
She remembers not knowing immediately what to do with all the knowledge she had acquired. And, as one of only eight women on a course with 200 engineering students, it was not an industry that had many opportunities for girls.
Abigail recalls the moment opportunity struck: “There was a poster on the wall in my university, which was from the Intermediate Technology Development Group, as it was called then and now named, ‘Practical Action.’ The organisation was working with hand weavers in India and, guess what, Bangladesh. I remember going to the phone boxes in the rain and ringing the Head of Textiles and I said ‘I'd like to work for you’.”
That was Abigail’s big break. She was employed as a clothing consultant to do the First Trade clothing catalogue in 1985 and six weeks later - her first six weeks into working life - she was on a plane to Bangladesh, albeit to be a fashion designer.
Flying the flag for Fair Trade
After a few years in India, learning the beautiful skill of embroidery with “beautiful people”, Abigail’s career soon gathered momentum and she landed a job as a Fabric Development Manager at a multinational in Brussels.
It was a stark contrast from the life she was used to in Bangladesh, working side-to-side with the embroiders whilst sitting on the floor. And perhaps more corporate than felt natural to her. However, she recognised the privileged position it could offer to make a difference.
She explains: “This is where my Textile Process Engineering knowledge underpinned everything I did next. I had all the economics of this whole supply chain. And the two extremes that I'd already lived, all laid out in my head.”
Alongside some equally passionate advocates, Abigail convinced Oxfam Belgium that there was something valuable to be done with cotton farmers. It was a process that took two years but they secured a commission to produce 10,000 Fair Trade cotton T-shirts.
The project gathered interest from big high-street brands and demand from both consumers and suppliers snowballed. The Fair Trade dream was becoming a reality. “I had this very big vision that we were creating this to supply to loads more people...to change everybody, change the world,” Abigail recalls.
Embracing a slower pace of life in Lewes
After years of travelling and working alongside big brands, Abigail is now happy to have put down roots in Lewes, where she runs her business abigail’s drapery - a fabric repair shop and space for workshops, creativity, community and education.
She prides herself on being a mother to her four girls, as well as a “sewing mother” to those in the community.
Revealing how important fabric remains to her, she explains: “I think cloth is really important. It holds a lot of memories. It can be very human and can also enhance our humanity, our kindness. I don't know it's a kind thing.”
While Abigail may not hold the traditional doctor’s career that she dreamed of as a teenager, she is acknowledged as a doctor in her trade: mending, alternating, fixing and bringing life back to used garments.
“I dissect each garment. I can feel their history and see their DNA. I can see what kind of factory they were made in. There’s a wild selection and the brands are very different. It's fascinating and it's a very meditative thing with every piece and every person. There is a hugely healing journey.”
Coronavirus and conscious consumerism
“I think the textile industry is going to be the one that's going to come back the most changed from Coronavirus” she predicts. “PPE for example is going to be made in England next year. So they'll be factories opening all over the country.”
She believes the lockdown has taught people to be more creative and consumer savvy.
“People have stayed in their houses and worn the same wardrobe. They've learned to accessorise. My kids have been cutting their things up and they've been selling them on. I think there are going to be a lot more designers and makers - people who have their own fashion in their own town,” says Abigail.
Abigail is pleased to see a conscious shift to local purchasing, although she recognises that “Lewes is a bit special”. She adds: “There’s a very conscious community here and there's a lot of conscious shopping. And that changes everything.”
Listen to the mesmerising podcast interview with Abigail Petit
The Grain Store Founder Anni Townend talks to Abigail Petit as part of her Leaders in Conversation podcast series. Discover all the details of Abigail’s rich career in Textile Process Engineering.
Anni talks to Abi, Maker, Mender, Mentor and Mother about a rich career in textile engineering that took her from Bangladesh to Brussels to Brighton. They also discuss her passion for ethics and how Abi became a pioneer in bringing Fairtrade texti...
Thank you to Abigail for the wonderful interview. You can find more information on her website abigails.drapery.co.uk
About Grain Stories
Grain Stories is a new online feature where we put a spotlight on the people, places and tales linked to The Grain Store and our home in East Sussex. From inspirational stories in the community to diving into the rich history of the South Downs Way, we want to celebrate this beautiful corner of the world and the people that make it special..