Ep48: Dawne Hoeg - Stitch Buffalo, Refugee Women, and Building Something Buffalo Needed from Scratch

In this episode of Angles with John Richmond, John sits down with Dawne Hoeg, founder and executive director of Stitch Buffalo, a nonprofit on Buffalo’s West Side that brings together refugee women through the craft of textiles. What started 12 years ago as a grassroots community workshop in a borrowed basement has grown into a full organization with a team, a board, a new facility, three distinct revenue streams, and a model that has made Stitch Buffalo what Dawne calls a pillar of this city. She is also, as she mentions in the conversation, a three-time cancer survivor, and that experience is woven into everything that drives her.Dawne walks John through her origin story: a family of women who sewed for practical reasons, a childhood defined by hard work and showing up, a meandering path through packaging design, pattern drafting, a master’s degree in textile education, and teaching at the Waldorf school and Buffalo State College before she noticed something that no one else was doing anything about. The refugee women she kept seeing on her commute to Buffalo State - dressed in traditional clothing, carrying textile traditions from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Bhutan, the Congo, South America, and Ukraine - had no connection to the academic institution down the street and no place to bring those skills together. So she built one.The conversation covers how Stitch Buffalo actually works: the consignment model that puts money directly into the hands of the women, the Second Stitch resale arm that turned a flood of donated materials into a revenue stream, the community classes that are open to everyone, and the five-year arrangement with Rich Products that gave the organization its foundation. Dawne also talks candidly about leadership, delegation, decision fatigue, the current political climate and what it means for the women she works with, and the very difficult work of succession planning when you have built something from nothing and it is your life’s work. This is a powerful, human episode. By the end of it, you will understand exactly why Stitch Buffalo matters and how you can be a part of it.Enjoying the episode?Subscribe, leave a review, and share Angles with John Richmond with a friend.🎧 New episodes every week.Visit www.richmondvona.com/angles-podcast/ for more📱 Follow us on Instagram:@anglesjohnrichmond@johnrichmondlaw@richmondvona🎥 Follow us on TikTok:@richmondvona@johnrichmondesq📺 Watch on YouTube: @angleswithjohnrichmondFollow us on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576886611238Disclaimer: This episode is for informational and educational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the guest and host are their own and do not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Angles Podcast does not endorse any specific health claims, products, services, or treatments mentioned in this episode. Listeners should consult qualified professionals for advice tailored to their individual circumstances.