Last week, I challenged everyone to participate in the National Day of Service, recognized on MLK's birthday. I took the day "off" to seek out an opportunity in my own neighborhood, to lend a hand, show up and get active.Thanks to an email I received on behalf of Michelle Obama from Organizing for America, I went to Sue Rock Originals Everyone Design Studio. A large party of enthusiastic volunteers gathered at this busy little shop in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, to lend their time and talents to the day's project: constructing numerous quilts from reclaimed fabrics to be donated to domestic violence victims and their families. There was a roomful of skilled seamstresses, speedy knitters, wily weavers and crafty crochet stars, and I, not in possession of any of those wonderfully creative skills, took out my camera to document the day.
For seven years, Sue Rock Originals, an eco-fashion brand of women's separates, has been supporting women and their journeys to begin new lives, though outreach programs and fundraisers. The finished quilts from the MLK Day project will be distributed through one of the design studio's partners, the Center Against Domestic Violence, one of the country's first organizations (established in 1977) to work to end domestic abuse. Apart from providing useful items created by volunteers, Sue Rock Originals also offers victims the opportunity to become self-sufficient and learn valuable life skills while building their new lives: the women who participate in the program make their own clothing and accessories in a series of classes offered by the studio over a six month period. Bolts of fabric, materials, machines, the studio space itself have all been donated to support this beautiful cause that ultimately helps women help themselves.
It was truly a wonderful experience to see people from all walks of life: men, women, mothers, kids, the experienced garment mavens to those who simply swept up remnants come together on a cold January day to work towards a common goal. The chatter and buzz in the room was light and sprinkled with laughter, as these mostly strangers began to bond over boxes of fabric squares, around knitting needles and beside tables piled with yarn.
I met Sue, a cherub-faced bubbly woman, as she moved around the studio, greeting and thanking volunteers for their efforts. As she shared the story of Sue Rock Originals with me, I heard the commitment and passion in her voice, and saw the absolute gratitude she had for the day's amazing turnout. She also had me thinking when I left, "Why don't I know how to sew?" My maternal grandmother was a seamstress, and my childhood is peppered with memories of visits to her house, where there was always fabric and thread on the floor, a humming Singer pedal machine, and some new tissue paper pattern pinned to a length of fabric, stretched out on the living room floor. And her skills weren't lost on the next generation: my mother did her share of garment service for the family. I can dig up more than a few photos of me and my brother wearing matching corduroy ensembles, or us covered up in front of the t.v. with a crocheted afghan or a quilt made of fabric culled from old favorite outfits. Although in these salad days I was gifted with impromptu demonstrations and hands-on lessons, and even bought myself a compact machine as a young adult (now, somewhere "misplaced"), I somehow have become strangely dependent upon my favorite Lower East Side tailor who will hem a pant leg or sew on buttons for $3 and up. Sadly, sewing has become a fading art in my family tree.
Sue Rock Originals Everyone Design Studio offers sewing classes, the first three Saturdays of the month, for $20. I told Sue she'd see me again, at least once. Not only will I commit to taking part in a process that will assist others in their quest for a better life, it would be great to improve my own, and carry on some part of the legacy of domesticity that was imparted upon me that I seemed to have lost along the way...I just have to get past the thought of sewing on Saturdays...
Check out more photos here:
Sue Rock Originals Everyone Design Studio is located at 1069 Bergen St., in Brooklyn, NY.
