Fashion Workshop is on mission to help the crafty people out there in Central Oregon. As a bit of a crafty gal myself, I was surprised when I walked in that most items were under $10. Fashion Workshop, a nonprofit, opened its brand-new storefront Aug. 8, just outside of downtown Bend.
The storefront features a space where guests can browse an array of donated fabrics, buttons, lace, sewing patterns and other accouterments to create nearly any article of clothing or accessory.
Rather than a typical drop-off system, the donations at Fashion Workshop come from a relationship-based interaction with the owner, Qristy Kurtz, who often comes and picks up the material herself.
“People are stepping up big time,” Kurtz said, referring to the outreach in the community. Kurtz tries to plug her donations to whoever needs them. “If we have stuff that’s more entry-level, I might take it over to the teen sewing studio at the Open Arts Center.”
Her most unique finds that are currently in the store are pieces of African mud cloth, a traditional cotton textile from Mali created by handweaving narrow cotton strips and hand painting patterns on top of them. More recently, she got the opportunity to snag two boxes of design samples from a retired local who used to make swimming board shorts.
The store also boasts a back room filled with anything crafters would need for a sewing project: machines, a pattern projector (a camera that projects sewing patterns over fabric to be cut out), Tailornova (a program used to design garments) and even instructional classes.
The nonprofit started off as a mobile classroom in 2025, traveling to the Open Arts Center, Central Oregon Community College and other spots all across Central Oregon. Now, the work has expanded.
“I had this really cool opportunity to have a profit generator that helps pay for all the free stuff that we do, but also serves the community by providing affordable sewing supplies,” Kurtz told the Source. Everything Fashion Workshop sells goes straight back into discounted or free sewing classes.
Opening a nonprofit like Fashion Workshop is a dream come true for Kurtz — a dream she’s had since the ‘90s.
“I did everything you could ever imagine with regards to fashion,” she said. “Sewing and fashion really got me through those really hard high school years…and I just want to make it more accessible.”
“Also, I’m a serial entrepreneur,” she said with a smile.
What makes Fashion Workshop so unique is the one-of-a-kind selection of items you can find throughout the store.
“[Our] quantity is larger so you’re more likely to find something if you’re looking for something specific,” Kurtz said. “I’ve got a pattern cabinet with 400 sewing patterns.”
But the space is also about creative connection across generations. Kurtz said she hopes that Fashion Workshop becomes a place where teens can go with their moms, grandmas and aunts — when they’re off work of course.
“Lots of sewing groups happen in the middle of the day [so] there’s a huge demographic of people who are really into this culture and into this craft but can’t participate,” Kurtz said. “So that’s the niche we are trying to fill.”
Fashion Workshop is located at 1285 NW Wall Street in Bend and online at fashionforeveryone.org. The store is open Tuesday and Thursday 4-7pm and Saturday 10am-4pm.
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