Fashion Workshop, a Bend-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in July 2025, provides free and low-cost sewing and design classes and opportunities for community connection.
Founder Qristy Kurtz was raised in Bend and worked as a fashion entrepreneur in Portland before teaching fashion and sewing part time at Redmond Proficiency Academy. She now works full time for Fashion Workshop.
The organization’s board includes Mattie Rhoades of Quiltsmart, Rachel North of NorthWest Properties and teen board member Ava Jade Tedesco. Fashion Workshop currently has no employees.
Fashion Workshop primarily operates through a mobile classroom, hosting free Sewcials at area libraries and Stop & Sews at markets and festivals. The organization is also running six weeks of Fashion Exploration Summer Camp for teens in partnership with COCC and The Open Arts Center.
Fashion Workshop recently found a home for its Upcycled Fabric Store, which is stocked with fabric stash donations from Central Oregon residents. Sales from the store fund the nonprofit’s mission and are intended to help make the organization sustainable while providing an affordable place for the community to purchase sewing and design supplies.
The store’s grand opening was August 8; ongoing hours will vary because the store is staffed by volunteers, but shoppers can expect it to be open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-7pm and Saturdays from 10am-4pm through the remainder of the summer.
In September, Fashion Workshop plans to launch the Fashionable $500 Campaign to help Kurtz transition into an executive director role. Donors will receive access to the sewing studio and discounts in the fabric store. Friends, firms and families are encouraged to donate.
The organization has received grants from the Roundhouse Foundation and the Deschutes County Cultural Coalition.
Fashion Workshop has developed a curriculum focused on engaging new sewists and young creatives in sewing and the community connections that come with the craft. The organization is partnering with arts centers, quilt guilds and schools to develop sewing studios and Sewcial programs that appeal to the next generation of makers.
Its Teen Center Sewing Studio at The Open Arts Center in Bend has served as a proving ground for the program. Teens can register at theopenartscenter.org for free open sew on Mondays after school.
Fashion Workshop is located at 1285 Wall Street in Bend.
fashionforeveryone.org • 503-481-8403 • Instagram: @fashion.work.shop