Barbara Gadd is the owner and founder of Vintage-Patch, an online upcycling and secondhand clothing shop based in North Oxfordshire which specialises in iron on fabric repair patches.

"My mother was a tailor, and from her I learned to see the potential in old clothes…how to recognise beautiful quality fabrics and how to revive a garment and make it shine again. This was in the 1970s so it was upcycling before the term became fashionable, and I’ve been doing the same ever since. In 2012, I inherited a hoard of vintage fabrics and thought they would look great as patches and from that my small business was born. Since then I've extended my range to include vintage fashion and accessories, but the emphasis on re-use of fabric as patches is essential. To me, it's a double win - you save the raw material from landfill, and it goes on to repair another garment too."

Barbara is passionate about making it easy for people to get the most mileage from their clothes and shares quick, simple and thrifty ways to upcycle and patch clothing on her blog at https://www.vintage-patch.co.uk/post/category/news/