Hailing from Eritrea, Merhawit traveled to Buffalo with her three children and husband to join her sister who has been here since 2015. Merhawit had been in Buffalo for only nine months when she started her training at Stitch Buffalo, and says she enjoyed being a part of the training program because it broadened her social circle and allowed her to express herself artistically. Her designs feature elements from nature. She especially likes working with stitched shapes that resemble a bird or a flower. 

Fouzia spent three years in Pakistan after leaving her home in Afghanistan. To her, moving to Buffalo represents the first time her family can truly settle in and find peace of mind in a new community. After living under restrictive rules about schooling for women, Fouzia says that learning is extremely important to her. She attends classes at community college, where she is currently working on building her English skills and hopes to explore new subjects. As an experienced tailor, taking part in the training program at Stitch Buffalo has enriched her eye for design. She loves being able to take an item of clothing through every step of production—from surface design to sewing from her self-drafted patterns.

With her three-year-old son, Warda left Ghana almost a year ago. Warda credits her mother with giving her the spirit of an entrepreneur, and says she has always looked for opportunities to make connections and solve problems. In the training program, Warda enjoys working with the other women as they share ideas and teach each another from their own perspectives. She says that learning to make things with your own hands has been “special in its own way,” providing her a new avenue of growth and independence. Warda also appreciates the meditative aspect of preparing items for dyeing, which helps to quiet her mind from the daily stresses of being a single mom in a new country.

Abrehet was born in Eritrea. After living in Israel for nearly a decade, she made her way to Buffalo almost two years ago, along with her husband and three small children. While Abrehet can be soft spoken, nothing can hide her determination. Settling into life in the U.S. has been difficult; Abrehet says she has struggled to learn English and finds it challenging to keep busy at home on her own while her family heads off to work and school. In the past, she worked outside of the home, but opportunities to do that in her new country have been difficult to find. Being a part of the dye-studio training program has focused her energy on building new skills—and she hopes to continue her training in our sewing machine program. Abrehet also remarks upon how powerful it is to create in a group of people, finding it easy to communicate with each other using the shared visual language they are learning together.

Before settling in Buffalo, Asha, her husband, and their three children spent several years traveling between African countries in search of a place to call home. Nearly a decade later, she has built a life here—adding three more children to her family, becoming fluent in English, and working for five years at the front desk of Vive. After being laid off earlier this year, she received information about Stitch Buffalo’s dye-studio training program and immediately saw an opportunity. Already running a small at-home business altering and sewing dresses from African fabrics, Asha was eager to expand her skills. She has especially enjoyed experimenting with resist dye techniques and creating fashionable pieces like tote bags, dresses, and scarves, appreciating how each design allows her to play with space and color in new ways.

Hui brings a rich and varied background—from studying traditional Chinese painting (guo hua) to working as a nurse and later in a beauty salon. Before moving to the U.S., she longed to have another child but was restricted by China’s one-child policy. Giving birth to her daughter after immigrating felt like a true blessing. Participating in the indigo training program has rekindled her connection to the arts, echoing the creative studies she pursued in school. Her background in painting clearly informs her approach to resist dyeing. She thoughtfully balances white space and composition, bringing a painter’s eye to every piece she creates.