Walking into Sincere Studio @sincerestudiopdx for the first time, I would describe the space’s vibe on first impression as “cozy industrial.” Frances Andonopoulos’s brainchild, opened two years ago, effectively melds the twinned lineages of fabric work, that of the domestic spaces of congregation, the sewing and quilting circles that gave (primarily) women a way forward for artistic expression, with a slightly more workerly environment. Which isn’t to say, of course, that Sincere Studio is anything like a factory. It’s a community sewing studio: a hub for community members to come together and work on their individual projects during open hours, a classroom for textile education, a meeting place for clubs and affinity groups, and a landing spot for community-based projects.
Andonopoulos founded Sincere Studio in 2022 as a response to a need they saw for an easier point of access to sewing education. “More people are becoming interested in sewing and mending and making things that last a long time.” Frances says, “But you need a sewing machine, which is a couple hundred dollars, along with a lot of the other things needed to get started. And while there are existing spaces, some people aren’t able to access them for whatever reason.” In the nearly two years that Sincere Studio has been open, they’ve taught around 400 people how to sew, which attests to the space they’ve carved for themselves in the textile ecosystem.
For Frances, fostering the creation of Sincere Studio developed from an early passion for mending and quilt-making based in a sense of practicality. “I’m a person who likes to try all of the hobbies, but this just really stuck with me, and I think that’s because it was so useful in day-to-day life. I always tell people, even if you don’t end up liking sewing as a hobby, it’s still a skill that you have. I compare it to using a lawnmower. Maybe you don’t love to mow the lawn, but knowing how to use a sewing machine can solve some problems and make oneself a bit more self-sustainable.”
Sincere Studio also aims to help people generate a stronger attachment to the world and things around them, through community building through communal making. “I think people are interested in having less objects in their home, but those objects having more meaning to them. One beautiful, meaningful quilt instead of six blankets from Crate and Barrel. It’s not about having a more minimalist life, necessarily, but a more meaningful space.” There are other events that Sincere Studio hosts that reflect the connections community members have to the things they make, like Frances’ personal favorite event Sew And Tell, in which participants bring a project they are working on and talk about it. Some of the participants are people that just started learning to sew in Sincere Studio earlier that year, and Frances notes, “they are showing off these amazing garments, things that are really cool, complicated, and intricate. It’s so cool to see.” As the community grows, Frances is making plans for more skill share opportunities to connect the different segments of the community, from the new learners to the seasoned veterans of their niche.
If there is a significant challenge in facilitating all of these different facets of Sincere Studio, it is perhaps a predictable one: money. “I feel like every nonprofit would say this,” Frances says, “but if we could do it the way we really wanted, everything would be free. But that’s not workable. So you have to always figure out what’s the balance of how much free stuff we can offer people while still keeping the lights on. We’ve been trying to get into the grant world, but that has its own barriers to entry. But the community is so supportive and excited about this space, so it hasn’t really been difficult in any other sense.”
For Portland TextileX Month 2024: Origin Stories, Sincere Studio will be hosting a community quilting event titled “Stitching Stories.” Inspired by the impactful lineage of collaborative art-making projects such as the AIDS Quilt, participants will contribute textile pieces that symbolize their own personal origins which creates a shared portrait of the diverse social fabric of the community within Sincere Studio. The workshop event will take place over two sessions, with the fabric pieces being shared and placed in the first session and the quilt being hand-tied in the second session. This workshop will be a great way to invite new people into the studio and blending them with the existing community. When they walk in, they’ll find a welcoming space, one that is open to all identities and bodies, a space that welcomes them to both get down to work and to get to know each other.
“Stitching Stories” will take place on Sunday, October 13, 12-4 PM for Part 1 (Contributing a textile to the community quilt) and Sunday, October 27, 12-4 PM for Part 2 (Quilting Bee). Sincere Studio is located at 2636 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR, 97232. For more information, visit sincerestudiopdx.org.
