Làmhan is a new charity based in Callander, Scotland
Làmhan has been set up to address the inequality of access to affordable, high quality sewing tuition in Scotland. The founder of the charity is Jo Watson. Her fellow trustees are James Wylie, Carolyn Seggie, Kay Ledgerwood and Sarah Chalmers-Page.
We are dedicated to preserving and teaching traditional sewing and textile crafts, particularly heritage skills at risk of being lost. Through hands-on workshops and public education, we provide opportunities for people to develop sewing skills, fostering creativity, self-sufficiency, and a deeper appreciation for Scotland’s textile heritage.
Làmhan aims to become a leading hub for textile heritage education in Scotland, recognised for its high-quality training, commitment to sustainability, and efforts to preserve cultural and artistic traditions. We provide a welcoming space where individuals can learn, collaborate, and promote a more sustainable future through sewing, making, and mending.
We also believe that our work also supports better mental health, for all.
Left: Jo, Founder and CEO
Our mission
Làmhan’s mission is to teach, promote, and sustain traditional sewing and textile crafts, with a focus on heritage skills that are in danger of being lost. Through hands-on workshops, apprenticeships, and public education, Làmhan seeks to provide individuals of all ages and backgrounds with the opportunity to develop sewing skills, fostering creativity, self-sufficiency, and a deep connection to Scotland’s textile heritage.
Our vision
The vision is for Làmhan to become a leading centre for textile heritage education in Scotland, renowned for its high-quality training, its contribution to environmental sustainability, and its role in preserving Scotland’s cultural and artistic traditions. Làmhan aspires to be a hub of creativity, where individuals can learn, collaborate, and contribute to a sustainable future by making and mending their own clothing and textiles.
Our charitable aims
- We will provide a wide range of learning opportunities which will improve employability and confidence through the development of skills, providing pathways to qualifications and by offering access to training, volunteering and employment activities
- We will empower people by teaching them to sew, make & repair their own clothes through workshops, patterns, books and sewing kits
- We will offer Dress and Textiles Heritage training to people who traditionally face barriers
- We will advance arts and culture through the promotion, revival and presentation of traditional tailoring, kiltmaking & dressmaking and the provision of creative opportunities to ensure that these skills do not continue to decline and are not lost to history
- We will advance environmental protection or improvement by the promotion of environmental sustainability, through repair, reuse, reclamation, recycling and use of surplus and leftover materials in our classes
The Team
Eden, Studio Manager
Cara, Studio Assistant