Stitch Buffalo

On her daily drive to Buffalo State University, where she taught textile art, Dawne Hoeg would pass through the incredibly diverse West Side. 

The neighborhood is one of the main refugee resettlement points in the U.S., with more refugees than even New York City, and over 40 languages spoken. Families from Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean, are all part of this vibrant community. 

Seeing the rich variety of textiles worn by women in its streets, Hoeg saw an opportunity to create a communal space around them. 

In 2014, that vision came to fruition with the creation of Stitch Buffalo, a textile art center where refugee and immigrant women can sell their handcrafted goods, alongside communal classes and a thrift store of textile supplies. Its mission: stitching communities together.

It started as an embroidery workshop attended by one refugee woman. Today, over 200 refugee women and families receive free sewing equipment, supplies, and training each year. 

The organization recently changed buildings, moving into a renovated former factory. Stepping in, visitors are greeted by an open space full of joy and bright colors. 

The first stop for visitors is the store, where they can explore products created through the Refugee Women’s Workshop. Products include hand-woven totes, crocheted shoulder bags, embroidered pillows, and beaded jewelry. Most are one-of-a-kind, informed by women’s past training as artists, the culture they come from, and the styles worn back home. People can also bring their clothes to have them altered by Stitch Buffalo’s artisans.

Just behind the store is the Second Stitch Program, a sustainability initiative where more than 20,000 pounds of textile art tools and supplies and over 200 sewing machines find a second life each year. When not used in the Refugee Women’s Workshop or during classes, these materials are available at a discount for crafty people to browse. 

Past the thrift shop are the community workshop spaces, where visitors can try embroidery, dyeing, sewing and weaving–often taught by refugee and immigrant women who practice their English as they share their craft. 

The organization just completed a giant mural that wraps around the building. Created over 18 months with deep community input, it features textile tools, fabrics, and shapes iconic to Stitch Buffalo. It embodies the diverse community that makes West Side Buffalo such a special place.