Carol Fisher-Linn
It’s the old thing … someone with an idea gets to work and creates magic. Dawne Hoeg, who taught textile arts courses at Buffalo State College, drove through the west side of Buffalo daily to get to work. She was struck by the beautiful, colorful, and intricately designed garments the refugee women wore. Seeing their love of textiles, design, and embroidery art as something they would have in common, Dawne arranged to meet with a few of them in a community room. Over time, these meetings led to volunteers from the broader Buffalo west side meeting together with these refugee women. Stitch Buffalo was born, giving the people of Buffalo and surrounding areas a veritable melting pot of women from around the globe to meet and enjoy their talents. It turns out that although many were still struggling to learn the English language, they were very talented seamstresses and artisans, sharing their diverse cultural heritage with Buffalo.
Stitch Buffalo has come a long way since its inception in 2014. Dawne serves as Executive Director of Stitch Buffalo. They are now a 501c3 not-for-profit, and their desire to create and gather has become a reality in 1700 feet of work and retail space at 1215 Niagara Street, which they are outgrowing rapidly. They create jobs for these talented women who become independent contractors, some never having worked for money in their lives, but who now contribute to their family’s well-being. Still others are free to come to Stitch Buffalo to get, at no cost, supplies to make clothing for their own families, if that is their need. It is truly a miraculous endeavor in a world full of greedy bottom lines. Bonus: Their location provides easy access for those of us not accustomed to having to compete with city drivers. They are off the exit 53 ramp of the 190 (Niagara Steet/Peace Bridge exit) and have at their disposal, thanks to their generous landlord, Rich Products, a parking lot next to the building. EZPZ. They are open Monday, Friday, and Saturday from 10-4 and Wednesday’s 10-6. Read this, find them online, and you will want to see it for yourself.
In conversation with Olean native Michelle Perkins, now Development and Communications Manager at Stitch Buffalo, the initial desire to create and gather has turned into a vital resource for the many refugee women on the west side who, by the way, are part of the reason Buffalo’s population is growing, unlike many American cities which are not. Roughly 23% of the West side population is made up of people from places like Burma, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Peru, Ecuador and Ukraine and others. Perkins said it’s like traveling to another country every day she walks in her neighborhood where forty languages are spoken. She further explained that the current predictions say that we will be getting more climate change refugees. They follow the trends so they know in advance which languages they will need to brush up on or get interpreters. Since its inception 9 years ago, over 300 women have participated in Stitch Buffalo. Generally, at any given time, 75-100 are active, said Perkins.
Here’s what they do in a nutshell. They now have 3 programs: 1) Refugee Women’s Workshop: Through the creation of handcrafted textiles, each artist nurtures her artistic heritage while affirming her self-worth as a woman and a human being. 2) Community Education: They offer textile arts classes each month taught by their staff, experts in the community, and members of the Refugee Women’s Workshop. 3) Second Stitch: Through the Second Stitch sustainability program, they give a second life to donated textile art supplies keeping them out of landfills and into good use.
These women create gorgeous, decorative, unique clothing goods in combination with decorative pieces/ornaments, much like the ones Ellicottville shoppers will find in Alexandra. Owner, Joan Ess and everyone’s favorite, Lynn Timon, present a lovely display of Stitch Buffalo decorative pieces for sale – such as house blessings, their famous wee hearts, pins, and purses. This will give you a taste of their wizardry and hopefully encourage you to go online to discover their full story and the services they offer. One that I find appealing is the personalized, decorative embroidery art that one can have them create especially for you on your favorite shawl, jeans, Levi jacket or boiled wool jacket. Indeed, a lovely way to set yourself or your loved one apart. To learn more than one small article can impart, please go online to https://www.stitchbuffalo.org/ and prepare to be amazed.