Community Impact

Everything that we do at Sew Modest Studio is centered on empowering women, creating safe spaces and building/creating with each other. We strive to cultivate an inspiring, supportive, and genuinely loving environment that naturally attracts incredibly talented women of all backgrounds. In just 6 years our community impact has been deeply astounding, radiating well beyond our goal of building a cultural hub and women’s sewing, arts and design center; our success has been pivotal to attracting fresh, innovative client-facing businesses to the area. We've created multiple jobs, practicums and internships. We are a creative safe space that flourishes due to our diversity, engagement and rigorous curriculum.

  • 6 Years in Business

  • 862 Students

  • 3 Staff Members

  • Featured in hundreds of Magazines, Fashion Shows, News Articles, Blogs and Podcasts including Elle Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Newsweek, AJ+, The Detroit Hour, and CNN Arabiya!

  • A feature on the Ber-Henda Williams Talk Show

  • 22 interns and work-study students were hired from low-income families in Detroit and surrounding area. 

We have expanded from 1 core sewing class that only served beginners to multiple levels, Alterations, Corset Design, Kids Programs, Summer Camps, and a five month fellowship program; all centering women's empowerment and creative expression. Encouraging, supporting and learning from each other is a daily occurrence. 

Healing Through Art.

Community is a Mental Health Resource!

We teach our students to look beyond fast fashion, fads and trends and to view their style as a means of expressing the complex and nuanced mix of their cultural heritage, stories and experiences. We encourage our students to bring all of themselves to the design process, to feel and express the big scary and at times overpowering emotions that are difficult to find an outlet for. We've had so many students that have come to Sew Modest Studio seeking community and sisterhood, feeling broken, grief stricken and isolated. We've had students that were actively going through immense loss, grief, illness, even chemotherapy. Each one of them expressed that this weekly dose of joy helped them to see the light at the end of the tunnel and push through the darkest and hardest moments. Having a safe space where they can accomplish their goals and truly lean into this experience with supportive like minded women has been healing and nurturing beyond words. Art therapy.

Internships & Youth Training Programs

In addition, to our kid's sewing classes and summer camp programs that have served as a training ground for students who have taken what they learned and started sewing clubs at their high schools and community centers. We have also hired 22 Interns and Work-study Students. They've gained hands-on experience in the areas of business management, marketing, event planning and social media management. Both of our long standing employees started at Sew Modest as work study student interns.

Email us at Support@SewModest.com to inquire about current opportunities.

Professional Development & Job Creation

Both of our long standing employees, Rayvn Hill - the Director of the Alterations Department, and Gi'ana Horsley- who leads our children's classes and is the Corset Design and Construction Curriculum Lead, started as students of Sew Modest studio. Rayvn completed a two year apprenticeship prior to taking over the Alterations Department. After completing her initial work-study program, Gi’ana began working as an intern before being hired. What's even more interesting is that Gi'ana and her classmates got the opportunity to apply for our work-study program because their teacher, Keana Karim, was also my student! After taking several classes with us she was inspired to launch a sewing program at the local high school she worked at.