By Carol Fisher-Linn
It truly is a small world, after all. If you wander into Alexandra, a sweet contemporary gift shop at 10 W. Washington Street in Ellicottville, you will find items that are both well-made and beautiful to look at, and some hand made by craftswomen in Buffalo, NY from Burma, Egypt, India, Somalia and many more countries. Offering their unusual and beautiful wares for over 25 years in Ellicottville, Alexandra searches out only the best American products made by talented crafts persons and brings them to you. Starting her businesses in the Williamsville area, the owner, Joan Ess, was also involved in teaching English as a second language to the immigrant community in Buffalo, exposing her to a magical, far-reaching endeavor called Stitch Buffalo.
refugee and immigrant women through the sale of their handcrafted
goods, inspiring creativity and inclusion through community
education, and stewarding the environment through
the re-use of textile supplies. You can fi nd many of their handcrafted
items in shops across the community, one of which is
Alexandra in Ellicottville.
As with most from the ground up stories, Stitch Buffalo grew from a curiosity of a woman passing other women on the street wearing beautiful, hand-embroidered scarves/shawls and wondering about their origins. You see, this woman had an educated eye for these things. Dawne Hoeg, Founder and Executive Director of Stitch Buffalo holds an MFA in Textile Design from University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. She taught in the Textile and Fibre Arts Design Department of Buffalo State University. In 2014 her course began to change when she discovered the incredible hidden talent of the refugee women in the West side Buffalo community. Long story short, she started weekly embroidery classes in borrowed community rooms which evolved through her leadership and vision into what is currently Stitch Buffalo, a comprehensive textile arts center which supports refugee women in the creation of hand-made textile products. Along the way, she has provided pathways to success for hundreds of refugee women artisans and established a vibrant community of diverse volunteers, students, and artists.
Looking to create a safe workplace for refugee women, the dream began on Niagara Street in a building belonging to Rich Products. Alas, over the years, they were bursting at the seams and needed a larger facility. Stitch Buffalo has recently located to 284 Plymouth Avenue, not far from Kleinhan’s Music Hall or D’Youville University.
Back at Alexandra you will find a wonderful assortment of Stitch Buffalo smaller items (which Joan buys at their retail and resells to you at their price), but a larger assortment of pins, ornaments, keychains, eyeglass cases, purses, bags, totes, hats, scarves and wall art can all be ordered online www.stitchbuffalo.org where home goods like pillows, napkins and handwoven table runners might also catch your eye. Their custom work is of interest in that they will embroider artistic designs on your jean jacket, vest or anything denim or linen. A visit to talk with their artisans will produce a one-of-a-kind hand-embroidered piece just for you and you alone. What better gift is there for yourself or a loved one? If you are corporate or a small business and need multiples they will work with you. On their website they reveal that they can “develop concepts to meet almost any style and budget … As much as possible, we work with upcycled tools and supplies.”
Not 9 to 5, some women are on site only once a week, stopping in to gather materials (and even a sewing machine if needed) to work at home around their family schedules. Their work is carefully catalogued and bar coded so every item sold is paid for by Stitch Buffalo. This affords these women the dignity and pride of providing for their own families with money made from their own talents and hands.
embroidery classes in borrowed community rooms which evolved through
her leadership and vision into what is currently Stitch Buffalo, a comprehensive
textile arts center which supports refugee women in the creation of handmade
textile products. Along the way, she has provided pathways to success
for hundreds of refugee women artisans and established a vibrant community
of diverse volunteers, students, and artists.
But there is so much more going on here. Aside from running the operation, Dawne takes time to coordinate rides, interpret on their behalf, and assists with school or personal issues. Because of her long-standing relationship with the local resettlement agencies, Stitch Buffalo is always recommended to the new women. It is Dawne’s hope that more of the women will teach classes, be employed in the retail space or even become studio assistants. There is room to grow for everyone.
The new location on Plymouth Street offers more rooms for broader opportunities for the refugee women of Buffalo, open studio space and more room for their Second Stitch shop: A Commitment to Reducing Textile Waste Through Creative Re-Use.
Stitch Buffalo is a 501c3 organization. Donations to support their continued fine work can be made online to stitchbuffalo.org or checks can be sent to 284 Plymouth Avenue, Buffalo NY 14213. If you have materials they can use in their work or in their shop, please contact them online.