RISE Refugee Sewing Program

SAVE THE DATE 🛍️

RISE Workshop seamstresses are busy this summer! We’re making bags and crowns and aprons and Folk Dolls (we know some of you collect these). We’re expanding our inventory for our next Pop-Up Shop on July 18 at Community Craft. Come add to your folk doll collection, grab a Market Tote on your way to the Farmer’s Market, and support refugee women in Tulsa🤎

Did you know?
We purchase stitched products from the RISE seamstresses who are in our Sewn Goods Workshop. This provides the women income without waiting for the products to sell. Our purchase of these beautiful handmade products means that we believe in the women, their skills, and shoppers who know their purchase makes a real difference for a refugee woman. If you would like to host a Pop-Up Shop in your home, at your business, church, school, or community center, send us a message. We would love to share our story and provide a special shopping experience with you!

RISE Graduation Night!
Our beginner students received their certificate, supply bag, and a new sewing machine after attending ten weeks of class. Intermediate students also joined in the celebration, along with family members, volunteers, and our Rising Village staff and Board members. It was a special night, and we are so honored to share moments like these with our refugee friends.
Keep stitching, ladies! We’re so proud of all you are creating. 🙌🏼🧵

You can now shop RISE products online again! We are slowly dropping another batch of products in our store, including tote bags, ball caps and relaxation eye pillows for Mom (Mother’s Day is May 10!) and folk dolls, crowns, pixie bonnets, and aprons for kids. We are continuing to improve your online shopping experience, so please be patient as we work on our store. In the meantime, we didn’t want to keep these beautiful items behind closed doors. Your purchase of these products gives income to refugee women in our Sewn Goods Workshop. Shop with Purpose! https://www.risingvillage.org/store

Our director, Kelsey, taught her last sewing class with the RISE program yesterday. Six years and nearly 400 students. Organizing craft shows and pop-ups, heading up the program as we transitioned into new space, bandaging fingers, crying, and laughing over sewing mishaps, welcoming refugees, and guiding volunteers. She is leaving the program in capable hands, but we will miss her gentle spirit and deep passion for refugees in our community. Thank you from the bottom of so many hearts, dear friend. We have you for one more month, but we know it was hard to goodbye to the classroom yesterday. You have done good work, Teacher ❤️

14 years ago we asked a pattern designer and sewist to design a bag for seamstresses in Ankaase, Ghana, where Rising Village had begun working 6 months earlier. She did, and two seamstresses made 10 of these bags using local wax fabric we purchased in local markets. We named it the Ankaase Bag and brought a suitcase filled with the bags back to Tulsa and sold them everywhere we went to speak about our program in Ghana. We sold out, and kept bringing more back, eventually helping to provide income to six seamstresses with this product and many others. We are still committed to providing income to creative women from around the world through the RISE program in Tulsa as we work with refugee women. And yes, we are still making these bags in Tulsa!

A few talented ladies with their latest creation - neckties! We learned how to cut on the bias. Do you know about this? No? Ask one of these ladies and they can tell you all about it. We only have one class left before the end of this semester and we have learned so much. What a joy to be in community where we sew and grow together.

New Workday Tote Bags (made by Ada and Ciin) are in process. Heads up for Mother’s Day shopping - one of these will be the perfect gift for Mom! They will be in our online store this week and you can schedule a personal shopping time to see these bags up close. More details to come!

Intermediate class finished their “Hold Everything” tote bags tonight! Three important sewing skills we worked on while making these bags: zippers, boxed corners, and interfacing. One important lesson we learned: There is NO such thing as too many pockets.
Also, do we love these fabrics? Yes, we do!
Nice work, Ladies 👏🏼👏🏼