Loose Ends Project aims to ease grief, create community, and inspire generosity by matching volunteer handwork finishers with projects people have left unfinished due to death or disability.
External link for Loose Ends Project
Portland, ME 04101, US
Seattle, WA 98109, US
Excited to be part of this conversation. If you craft, think about having a CRAFT EXECUTOR .
How Do We Finish the Projects Someone Else Started? Join us for another live & interactive discussion about WHAT TO DO WITH OUR “STUFF” Learn about an innovative non-profit that aims to ease grief, create community, and inspire generosity by matching volunteer handwork finishers with projects people have left undone due to death or disability. Jennifer Simonic, co-founder Loose Ends Project
So happy to be part of this program. Matthew Syed and his team wove together a beautiful story. ( We also had a few laughs)
In this week’s Sideways on BBC Radio 4 - Matthew Syed shares remarkable stories that reveal beautiful possibilities in leaving creative work half-done and reflects on whether reappraising the unfinished can enable an imaginative process to unfold, connect people more deeply to one another and even ease grief. Another episode I’m grateful to have made with the team at Novel featuring wonderful insights from founders of Loose Ends Project Jennifer Simonic and Masey Kaplan, composer and artist Jan Hendrickse and Nina Collins, daughter of filmmaker Kathleen Collins. Sound design by Rob Speight Listen here:
What difference a year makes! We now have over 25,000 volunteers from ALL 50 states and 63 additional countries.
Projects are welcome from everywhere. Submit unfinished projects at https://lnkd.in/es6Sqx8m — Projects must be already begun (or have the pattern and yarn purchased), and left unfinished by someone who has died or who can no longer finish the work due to illness or disability.
Loose Ends Project co-founder, Jennifer Simonic, was excited to speak to Urmila Mohan last week :)Thanks for the opportunity!
Excited to share Episode 3 in our Podcast 'Embodied Worlds'! https://lnkd.in/e_PWCHQy What is “finishing” and how has this craft practice grown recently to form a global community of kindness? To find out, listen to our interview with the inspiring @jensimonic co-founder, Loose Ends. Jen co-founded @looseendsproject with Masey Kaplan in August 2022 and it has grown rapidly from 150 finishers to 25,000 finishers worldwide. Both avid knitters, Jen and Masey started Loose Ends with unfinished projects from friends whose family members were deceased. As crafters, they both knew of the generosity of their community as well as how many incomplete projects are left behind when a loved one passes away or can no longer make something due to illness. Jen reflects on finishing as a practice born out of loss as well as hope that resonates with us. Each finished project is one more loose end tied whether in a craft project or in helping people see the community already present around them. Image @winky-lewis-4163321 Emily Levick Sandra Dudley Lagi Maama Kevin Murray
Amazing day at h+h americas! Honored to be awarded the Golden Scissors for Innovation in the Craft space. Thank you Craft Industry Alliance. Here in Chicago until Friday come see us at booth 4614
Heading to h+h americas to talk to the craft industry about Loose Ends Project’s mission. Come visit us at booth 4614.
Shobana Albrecht, so happy to have you on our board!
The Loose Ends Project is a nonprofit that matches volunteer crafters with people who have unfinished knitting projects due to the loss of a loved one or inability to continue work. Founded by #CMU alumni Jen Simonic and Masey Kaplan, Loose Ends was merely an idea sparked at a Tartan reunion and the rest is history. Shobana Albrecht, who graduated with both bachelor's and master's degrees from the Tepper School of Business, is one of many early Tartan volunteers. She was the 11th person to sign up for the Loose Ends Project and also serves on their board of directors along with Robert Bethge, who graduated from the Tepper School in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in industrial management. "I crochet and quilt a little," said Albrecht, "but I'm not as good as some of the finishers that were joining." That didn't stop her from stepping up to help with the backend management of matching projects and volunteers, which is just as important of a job. Albrecht, along with more than 19,000 volunteers from our community and beyond, helped make this project a success. Read more: https://cmu.is/42czloi
Thanks to Anne Stych for the wonderful piece on our new partnership with JOANN Stores. Read more : https://lnkd.in/gieBuGtN
Getting the word out about Loose Ends Project and JOANN Stores. Thanks Carnegie Mellon University
Exciting news! Carnegie Mellon University highlighted Loose Ends Project in their alumni magazine. Happy for all the Tartans who have been helping to amplify Loose Ends Project. Shobana Albrecht and Robert Bethge for being amazing Board Members. Patricia Gardner for the first project. Eric Snider for early newsletter support. Benjamin Kuo for collecting Washington Posts. Lauren Kaplow for being a finisher. Spencer Welton, Phil Kaplan, and Brian Albrecht for being amazing trophy husbands, keep it up guys. Thanks, Carnegie Mellon University for the shout-out, and Mitch Coates and Heidi Opdyke for getting us there. #LooseEndsProject #carnegiemellon #TartanProud Read More here:
We are beyond excited to share the news of Loose Ends’ partnership with JOANN Stores! Did you know…. since Loose Ends began, JOANN has quietly and generously donated supplies so that projects could be finished without a cost burden to grieving families? Now, a year later, we are excited to announce that JOANN will be expanding its partnership with Loose Ends and our community. Throughout February, JOANN customers are invited to round up at the register at all JOANN stores nationwide and online, with proceeds directly supporting Loose Ends Project. This initiative will allow us to continue our work, expand our reach, and connect more families with finishers for their loved ones’ craft projects. In addition, JOANN will continue to support our finishers and project owners, as they have been all along, by providing a place to meet up and exchange projects, and by supplying yarn, fabric, and other materials when needed.