Meet Sarah from Sew Crafty

For some of our upcoming events, we have developed exciting partnerships with several Houston arts organizations, such as Lawndale Art Center, Aurora Picture Show and Sew Crafty Houston. On Saturday, January 22, Sew Crafty Houston will host our special workshop, “Ruffled Accessories with Jenine Bressner.” (Spots are still available—click here to learn more and register.)  So, this week, we’ve invited Sarah Gabbart, owner of Sew Crafty Houston, to tell us a bit more about her sewing lounge in the Heights.

Sarah Gabbart at Sew Crafty’s December craft fair. Photo by Ellen Chen.

Crafters, makers, DIYers and indie artists have flocked to Houston in the last few years, presumably for our low cost of living, and have found a city that’s ready to be part of what other places like Austin and Chicago have already experienced: a DIY community.

How do I know? I started a sewing lounge called Sew Crafty in 2008. For the past three years, I have found tons of folks who were ready to meet other people that enjoyed crafting as much as they did! There they were, yarn or fabric in hand, just waiting for someone to say, “Hey you guys! This is where you can craft.” That’s why I started Sew Crafty—so people could have fun and make stuff together.

At this point you might be asking, “What the heck is a sewing lounge?” Good question! In a sewing lounge, like Sew Crafty, you can take classes, buy supplies or rent space to work on your projects—but that’s not the whole story. You can meet other folks who like sewing, knitting, crochet, craft, DIY and fun stuff like that. You can be part of a craft community!

Many folks have found this kind of camaraderie online, through sites like Craftster.org and Etsy.com, but not in their own backyard. In the past, we have worked with groups like Etsy Houston (a group of makers who band together to fight evil… err… rather, create craft fairs, promote their wares and enjoy cupcakes) to help bring awareness to all of the cool stuff people are making in our very own city.

Sound like fun to you? It’s easy to get involved—visit a craft fair, join a meet up group or take a workshop with us or HCCC! I promise it’s a whole lot of fun, and there are usually cupcakes.