The society is the brainchild of Hannah Galvin, the recently elected society president, and arose as a result of lockdown stresses. She said: “I started this society due to my love of scrapbooking, and how much peace and comfort this simple activity has provided during this particularly difficult time."
"Having the time to slow down and reflect on my favourite memories is something that I, as a relatively busy individual, see as an opportunity we should incorporate into our post-pandemic lives.”
Hannah also took inspiration from her grandmother, who collated a series of postcards, photos and newspaper clippings to document important parts of her life. Although different to the style of art that Hannah makes, the imagination from her grandmother has always been a very important part of her creativity.
The society plans to provide some amazing opportunities for its members, such as specific calligraphy and paper crafting sessions to improve artistic skills. The basic £5 membership will provide basic scrapbooking material for every member as well as shared equipment to produce artworks.
The committee have also planned themed scrapbook sessions, incorporating other seasonal crafts such as a Halloween theme in October and a Winter festivals theme in December. Even though the society is a very recent creation, their aims are big with one of the main goals being to team up with other societies and NUSU volunteering schemes to produce decorative, hand-written story books for the children’s unit at the RVI.
Hannah continued “Even though we are new, we are determined to provide plenty of opportunities to have fun and get involved from the start."
"I said in my presidential manifesto that I wish to make this society more than a sum of its parts - so as much as this society’s aim is to improve the mental wellbeing of students through crafts, it is also to make an impact on wider society from the get-go.”
Wellbeing is a key focus for Scrapbooking society. Wellfare Officer Sarah Bolton explains why arts and crafts help take her attention away from life’s other stresses:
“There is something incredibly soothing for me about being able to put all my focus on one thing that’s purely for my own eyes. Unlike university work, it doesn’t matter if it’s neat or perfect. It’s just my creation."
"Not many things allow you to switch off from the desire to achieve perfection, but I think scrapbooking does.”
So, if you fancy finding out more about what this quirky, fun, new society has to offer, you should check out their social media pages below and attend the taster sessions they plan to hold in October.
Facebook | Instagram | TikTok: Nusu_scrapbookingsoc | Discord
Featured Image: NUScrapbookingSoc | Rachel Wilson