Embroidery in the Community

Dawne Hoeg is the founder of Stitch Buffalo, an organization that supports refugee women in the creation of hand-made textile products.

Nestled in Buffalo’s vibrant West Side is the unique organization known as Stitch Buffalo. Established in 2014, its founder, Dawne Hoeg, endeavored to create a safe workplace for refugee women. Today, Stitch Buffalo is home to the Refugee Women’s Workshop, a place for women from the refugee community to socialize, learn, and earn money through the sale of their handcrafted goods.

Unlike the typical workplace, Stitch offers a schedule based on flexibility. Refugee artisans usually visit the facility only once or twice a week to retrieve their supplies, and most of their work is done from home before being sold at the storefront. With this model, each woman can work whenever and however she prefers. Some work in the morning, some work in the evening, some sew, some stitch.

Many of the participating women feel that this system allows them to support their loved ones. At whatever level they participate, each woman chose this work because their skills are good, they like doing it, and they love the flexibility.

"I think they all enjoy it," Dawne maintains, "It is just a matter of what they are able to do, given their life."

As such, Dawne is committed to providing them this opportunity. Quite often, she steps away from her emails or Zoom meeting to help facilitate the refugee women's visit, whether they are dropping off work or needing new supplies.

On the importance of Stitch’s flexible schedule, Dawne says, “That seems to be the best way to organize things, and it is not the easiest. And I say that because they are my first priority in everything I do here, in the organization."

For these refugee women, the money they receive from the work means more. From their earnings, they can buy new backpacks for their kids, special treats, or even a nice coat for themselves. Dawne argues, "When women receive their paycheck, their money really goes towards supporting their children and themselves. In all of that comes empowerment. They have literally made their own money from their hands."

Dawne also regularly interacts with the womens’ families. Whether it’s their husband, their son, their daughter-in-law, their daughter, or their sister, Dawne is happy to help however she can. She coordinates rides, interprets on their behalf, and helps answer the questions they have regarding school systems or other personal situations.

Speaking about community outreach, Dawne mentions that, “All the resettlement agencies know who we are and what we do in the services we provide." Whenever refugee women want to learn some skills or need a part-time job, the caseworkers at resettlement agencies always recommend Stitch Buffalo.

When Stitch started, a community was built around shared workspaces, and Dawne believes this activity is essential. A collective environment can facilitate a textile worker’s creativity and give everyone a sense of togetherness beyond the work itself. "When you are in a bigger space that allows you to just do what you do, beyond just the working component of it, there is socialization. That is very important.”

In the future, Dawne is looking forward to securing a larger space for Stitch Buffalo so they can have an open studio space for more groups of people.



Beyond this, Dawne hopes to broaden the employment opportunities for refugee women in Buffalo. "I would love for them to teach more classes. I would love to employ them to work in the retail space if they are interested. Alternatively, to be a studio assistant. We have much growth to do for sure."