16 February 2020
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
A Stitch in Time Saves the Environment
Olga Voytenko
The Cork arm of Glandore, Ireland’s leading serviced office and flexible workspace provider, have teamed up with Olga Voytenko, a Russian seamstress living in Cork, to give their members the opportunity to repair clothing this February. The relationship comes as a part of Glandore’s ongoing sustainability drive which aims to achieve an eco-friendlier workspace. Using Olga’s expertise, they hope to encourage their members to repair clothes instead of dumping and buying into fast fashion, subsequently reducing carbon and clothing waste.
Olga, who is a Russian asylum seeker and is living in a Direct Provision Centre, has been in Cork for three years. Last December, she opened her first sewing studio in Cork City through the assistance of John Dennehy, Chairman and Founder of Zartis and member of Glandore. Subsequently, John recommended Olga to Glandore, who have now committed to hiring Olga for her superb seamstress skills on February 12th.
In keeping with their ongoing efforts to support women in business, Glandore will welcome Olga to their Cork offices, where members can schedule an appointment to have their articles of clothing looked at. Light repair work and tacking will be carried out on-site and clothing will be then taken to Olga’s studio for further repairs if needed. Garments will be conveniently returned to members of the workspace at the office 4-5 days later. This will be the latest addition to Glandore’s array of member perks and services, which already include visits to their offices from a barber and a hairdresser. And for those particularly hectic days when their members want to take the edge off, Glandore also organise a fitness instructor and masseuse to pop by.
This is not the first effort Glandore have made to become a greener working environment. In 2019, Glandore declared their Cork location in City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork City as its first plastic-free, flexible office space in Ireland. They provide reusable amenities across all their facilities and have worked with their suppliers to ensure that deliveries are plastic-free and that other packaging coming on-site is reduced.
“Not only do we think the addition of clothing repair work is a great sustainability initiative, but it also allows us to continue to support female entrepreneurs. We are a predominantly female-led business, so it is imperative that we are able to give other women the opportunity to thrive in business,” said Danielle Healy, Sales Manager at Glandore.
“We are fully committed to supporting female entrepreneurs and small businesses through our partner programme, so this connection with Olga is very welcome.”
Olga’s studio is located at 19 Patrick’s Hill, Cork City and her contact details can also be found through her website http://sewingstudio.ie/
To book a tour of one of the many buildings at Glandore or enquire about a private office or coworking in Cork, Dublin or Belfast and to enquire about holding your next meeting or event at these stylish premises, visit www.glandore.com. See facebook.com/GlandoreNetwork, instagram.com/glandorenetwork and twitter.com/GlandoreNetwork.
Danielle Healy. Sales Manager
