Derry's Debs to showcase at first Christmas Market, a year on from double heart valve transplant

Debs is the brains behind Rejeanerate, making upcycled accessories from old jeans and they say they are ‘both nervous and excited’ to be taking part in their first ever Christmas Market in the Guildhall, with Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin.

Debs was the winner of the Launch Pad Pitching Competition for Social Impact, where she was awarded £1000. Debs invested the prizemoney into her company, buying an embroidery machine, which they use to customise and personalise their products. Debs said that when the time came to enter the competition in February, she was very much still in recovery from their massive operation.

They said: “Preparing to enter that competition was like going from the frying pan to the fire! I had the operation in November last year and I struggled with a lot of things afterwards. I had to learn to do a lot of things again like walking and feeding myself and for weeks after, I struggled a lot with fatigue and breathlessness. It felt like when you put your phone on factory reset! Going to the awards was my first time properly out of the house since the operation but I had been working hard up to it to get prototypes ready and examples of what I could make if I had my own machine. When I won, I bought the embroidery machine so now I can embroider any design, name or something personalised that someone might want. Whether it’s a tote bag or a purse or something like that.

Read about Debs’ Halloween book here

Debs was also one of the recipients of the LAB fund earlier this year, which is enabling her to create and develop her website and also hire a photographer to take pictures of their products.

Debs held their first workshop in September this year, where people made their own tote bags with customised designs. Debs created the designs based of the ideas of the participants, who sewed up the bags themselves.

“My first workshop went really, really well,” they said. “The wonderful thing about doing it was that people could tell me what they wanted and I would have to draw it up. It challenged me to be more creative then because some of them were more peculiar!”

Debs took part in a craft fair during the summer but they say they are nervous for this one because of the potential impact it could have on their business.

"I feel like this is my big chance to push my business and what I do,” she said. “Even if people don’t find something for them on the day, I can make them whatever they want in the run up to Christmas. I’ll have sort of generic designs with me on the day but I can embroider names or designs or logos or anything on something for them. I don’t do it very often but I could also make a bag out of someone’s old jeans or their favourite shirt or something like that too. One of my favourite things I’ve ever made was a bag from a shirt that I loved so much, I wore it to death. I made a wee tote bag out of it in the end and I just love it.”

“I spend nearly every day in the Fashion and Textile Design Centre on Shipquay Street and I would be absolutely lost without them. I now have a job with them managing their social media and it’s been amazing. They run classes throughout the year which will be starting again now in January and anyone with an interest in sewing, no matter what level they’re at should get involved in the classes.

For more information on Debs’ business, search for Rejeanerate, on Facebook or Instagram or visit their craft stall at Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin’s Craft Fair in the Guildhall on Sunday, November 26.