Do You Know About Visible Mending? — There’s Never Been Mending Like This Before, Zaneedle

A mending style that reveals rather than hides its traces is called ‘visible mending.’ Zaneedle is a brand that introduces this mending technique through workshops and hosts an annual mending arts festival to present mending as a creative genre in its own right. We met Ji Minju, the founder of Zaneedle, who spent nearly twenty years as a theater producer and now brings people together through clothes and needles.

Interviewee Ji Minju (Founder, Zaneedle)
Interviewer Ryu Sunwoo

What kind of brand is Zaneedle?
It's a social venture that started from the idea that anyone can mend their own clothes with their own hands, adding their own personal touch. Our goal is to help everyone learn to mend their clothes however they like. We spread the word about various mending methods through workshops, and we also collaborate with companies and organizations as part of ESG initiatives. Atelier Zaneedle, our workshop space, is a place where like-minded people can gather and enjoy themselves comfortably.

What made you start Zaneedle?
I worked as a performing arts producer for a long time, mostly at the National Theater Company of Korea. Theater often deals with social issues like the climate crisis. While researching for productions, I learned that the fashion industry's environmental impact is more serious than I'd realized. I really love clothes, and the desire to express myself through them kept clashing with my concerns about the environment. Watching the costume team fix clothes backstage looked like fun, and I had this vague idea that maybe I could try it myself. Instead of throwing away clothes I never wore and buying new ones, I thought I could give my clothes an interesting transformation with my own hands. In theater, the process of making something is just as fun as watching it. I wanted to show people that styling your own clothes can be more fun than you'd expect.

How did you first get into mending?
I majored in sociology, psychology, and science studies—fields with no connection to mending at all. At first, I took a twelve-week mending program that covered the basics, like hemming pants and replacing zippers. That's where I first learned to use a sewing machine. What I ultimately wanted to do was what's called ‘visible mending.’ Mending usually aims to fix something so seamlessly that you can't tell it was ever damaged. Visible mending does the opposite—it reveals the traces of the repair and expresses individuality.

Why did you want to do visible mending?
When I took mending classes, the instructors often told us, “Don't take on difficult customers.” They said if the result didn't match what the customer wanted, disputes were likely, and in serious cases you might even have to pay for the garment—so we should stick to basic repairs that wouldn't differ much no matter who did them. But that makes it hard to create added value, and mending fees just keep getting lower. Mending is actually a sophisticated skill that improves the more you practice it, yet its value isn't properly recognized. Visible mending, by contrast, is far more free. Because it belongs more to the realm of creative work, both the person requesting the mend and the person doing it can approach it with an open mind.

What can visitors experience at Atelier Zaneedle?
We offer visible mending and a range of embroidery services and also offer various embroidery services. With our custom embroidery service, you can stitch something written or drawn by someone precious to you—like your child's first drawing—onto your clothes. We also actively run workshops centered on mending techniques.

What kinds of workshops do you run, and how are they structured?
We teach close to twenty different mending techniques. Sometimes we run workshops in an event format, like our ‘Mend Anything Day,’ where people bring in clothes they want to fix and we show them how, right there on the spot. We also hold an annual ‘Mending Arts Festival.’ The idea of viewing mending as an art form is still unfamiliar to most people, so through this festival we introduce the work of mending artists and show people that mending is a creative practice.

It's refreshing to see mending approached as a creative activity.
What's fun about visible mending is that it turns the clothes you wear every day into a tool for self-expression. Mending has its constraints, but that's exactly what makes it such an interesting field to work in—after all, a little bit of limitation often sparks more creative thinking.

Has your past work influenced how you run Zaneedle?
I think I'm more of a planner at heart. I've always worked on connecting things that seem unrelated. What I do now is, in the end, still about weaving together clothes, creativity, and human connection. What matters most to me is not making the message feel too heavy. Working in theater taught me that no matter how good the subject matter is, people won't come if it's not fun. It's the same with Zaneedle. People come because the work here is enjoyable, and along the way they end up wearing their clothes longer, which naturally leads to protecting the environment.

How is the Mending Arts Festival organized?
We exhibit works by mending artists, run workshops, and offer free hands-on experiences. There's also a market where artists sell their work. Following last year, we held it again this June for ten days in the space on the first floor of Atelier Zaneedle. The festival has two goals: one is to introduce the concept of mending as art to the public, and the other is to serve as a platform for mending artists. Once or twice a year, we host networking parties that bring together not just mending artists but activists, ESG professionals, and arts and culture planners. Meeting and mingling like this builds a loose sense of solidarity. Most mending artists work alone, so these gatherings give them strength. I create these events hoping to draw public interest and help nurture more artists.

Is there a mending technique you personally love?
Lettering is my favorite. You can stitch a phrase you love onto a piece of clothing you never wear, or layer new text over what's already printed to create a whole new meaning. You could even make your own matching couple shirts by embroidering a private symbol onto your everyday clothes. I also like to stitch phrases that feel like my own personal mantra. I love funny things, so I tend to keep an eye out for interesting expressions and later embroider them onto my clothes.

What's the appeal of sewing?
I believe our hands can save us. These days, we mostly touch smooth surfaces like smartphone screens, so we don't use our sense of touch very much. Our hands actually have a huge number of sensory receptors, and if we don't use them, our brains grow dull, making the world around us feel flat and uninteresting. To make life richer, you have to actively use all five senses and deliberately stimulate them. Sewing is about feeling the firmness of a needle, the elasticity of thread, and the texture of fabric—it's also training that constantly coordinates your hands and eyes. In the end, sewing and mending help the environment, but they're also a way of living for yourself.

Do you have a favorite travel destination?
I love places where urban regeneration is happening actively, like Gunsan or Seongsu-dong. For the same reason, I also love Yokohama in Japan. I first learned about the city through an international performing arts festival, and once I visited, I loved it. It's a charming city where different eras and cultures blend together. Since it was once a treaty port, there are many Western-style buildings and Asia's largest Chinatown. Cultural facilities like the Akarenga Soko (Red Brick Warehouse, 横浜赤レンガ倉庫)—a former brick warehouses converted into a cultural complex—are also worth visiting.

Do you have any plans to travel with sewing as a theme?
I'm heading to the UK this fall, and I've been keeping an eye on British artists who do visible mending. If I get the chance, I think it would be fun to join one of their workshops. Sewing techniques are similar everywhere, but I've noticed that the way each country uses color is different. It's fascinating how people who do this kind of work seem to connect with each other regardless of nationality—like there's a warmer welcome between us.

What are your future goals?
My goal is to broaden the foundation of mending culture. I want to introduce mending artists and become a platform that connects them with the public. I'd also like to introduce Korean-style mending methods to people from other countries. We're already working with hanbok, which is hard to recycle. Ultimately, my dream is to open locations in various regions, so that Zaneedle can be easily found anywhere—so that just by stopping by a workshop near home, people can bring their cherished clothes back to life in their own way.