Michelle Obama said “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” Stitch Buffalo, a nonprofit textile art center in Buffalo NY, is committed to “empowering refugee and immigrant women” by teaching, equipping and providing a venue for these talented women to earn an income through the sale of their custom made handcrafted goods. Michelle Perkins, Development and Communications Director of Stitch Buffalo, shared some of her time to talk about this amazing organization.

“Stitch Buffalo is a textile art center committed to empowering refugee and immigrant women through the sale of their handcrafted goods, inspiring creativity and including through community education, and stewarding the environment through the re-use of textile supplies”

In 2014 Dawne Hoeg, who is the founder and Executive Director, was on her way to teach textile arts at Buffalo State University. While driving she saw women on the west side of Buffalo in their cultural clothing, setting in motion Dawne connecting with a refugee resettlement organization to begin a weekly embroidery class as a way to help these women connect. Week one was attended by one woman. Soon after sixty to eighty women were coming every week to learn embroidery while building relationships and skills.  The refugee and immigrant women had some sewing skills, yet wanted to learn more and needed to earn an income. Demand for classes began to grow along with people interested in volunteering to help and donate supplies. Rich Products offered the use of space to Stitch Buffalo in 2017 to continue “stitching communities together” with classes and selling of handcrafted items. More refugee women were coming to Stitch Buffalo through word of mouth. The Stitch Buffalo safe and diverse space was welcoming to any refugee or immigrant women who walked through their doors. In 2022-2023 they were bursting to the seams in their current space and raised money to purchase and renovate their current location.  

“Our Values

  • Community Building: Bringing people together through the textile arts.
  • Empowerment: Maintaining a welcoming environment that fosters fair and equitable opportunity and self expression.
  • Trust: Forging an inclusive and trustworthy space where each individual’s cultural traditions and lived experiences can be expressed and preserved.
  • Passion: Working, learning and celebrating together in pursuit of innovation and personal expression.
  • Environmental Stewardship: Reducing waste by keeping useful materials out of landfills and in the hands of creative people.”

As a grassroots organization Stitch Buffalo is expansive and thoughtful in how they operate and support women from Bhutan, Burma, Nepal, Thailand, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Peru, India Congo Somalia, and beyond. Utilizing a circular system they look for and identify meaningful ways to be stewards of the world that are not draining resources or people. Each woman who comes to Stitch Buffalo will receive her own sewing machine along with instruction on how to operate it. When sewing machines are donated their incredible group of volunteers thoroughly check the sewing machine. If repairs are needed their sewing machine repair volunteer will repair the machine. Stitch Buffalo operates with a three fold system. The Refugee Women’s Workshop is a thriving community of women artists. Classes are held to empower women to learn, or advance on their textile sewing skills. If women choose they can sell their handcrafted creations at the Stitch Buffalo store where they receive 60% of the profit for each item sold. All materials are provided to refugee and immigrant women at no cost to them. The generosity of people donating supplies helps provide upcycled materials the women can use for their creations. Last year 26,000 pounds of supplies were donated. Community classes offer textile art classes that are taught by staff, experts in the community and members of the Refugee Women’s Workshop. For anyone wanting to tap into their creativite juices and learn embroidery, dyeing, sewing or weaving Stitch Buffalo has it covered with the bonus of fostering cross-cultural interactions in a diverse and welcoming space. They also offer private craft class parties. Last, but not least, of the trifecta of goodness at Stitch Buffalo is Second Stitch. This sustainability program gives life to donated textile art supplies. Any items or materials that they cannot use are offered to the community at huge discounts. Sustainability is a foundational value of everything Stitch Buffalo does. They want local artists to thrive while keeping useful materials out of landfills. Other threads of support include having professionals help the refugee artisans with tax preparation, providing space for ESL tutors and mentors, teaching classes for refugee women in small manufacturing, industrial and commercial sewing. This all encompassing support of refugee and immigrant women gets all the happier for the work they put in. A recent grant provided the funds so six women from five different countries could learn how to dye fabric in the most beautiful ways. 

With honor and joy we shine the Kindness Champion spotlight on Stitch Buffalo located in Buffalo New York. Founded in 2014 the “simple desire to gather and create” has grown into a fully equipped textile arts center stitching together fabrics and people creating a strong community and glorious handcrafted goods. We thank you for being you and bringing your awesomeness to the world.

For more information or to support this amazing organization here is their information:

Website: https://www.stitchbuffalo.org/

Instagram: @stitchbuffalo https://www.instagram.com/stitchbuffalo/?hl=en

Facebook: @StitchBuffalo https://www.facebook.com/stitchbuffalo