Lisa Shepard Stewart – In Love With African Textiles
“I love African fabrics with every fiber of my being”, says Lisa Shepard Stewart, textile expert, fashion designer, book author, and Owner of Cultured Expressions Sewing & Quilting Studio in Rahway, New Jersey. Lisa took a trip to Senegal West Africa and became obsessed with African textiles. Returning from the trip with duffel bags that were stuffed with batiks and African printed fabrics, she decided to write a book, African accents: Fabrics and Crafts to Decorate Your Home (1999).
At the time, her book was the first ever, how-to project based book in the fashion textile industry, that focused on African fabrics. In 2017, Lisa opened her studio located at 1417 Main Street in the Arts District of downtown Rahway, New Jersey. When asked why she opened a retail store after having a successful online business at home, Lisa replied, “Rahway was gaining an artsy vibe and I felt that the community could benefit from a culturally relevant sewing & quilting studio”.
Lisa offers the community a space that serves as a retail store, a sewing, quilting, crafting center, and a place to host private parties. In addition, she holds online Zoom trunk shows, sew alongs, and live workshops. Personal shopping appointments with Lisa can also be made by Zoom, WhatsApp, or Google Duo video calls. Lisa, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), in New York, studied marketing & communications. Lisa’s career goal has always been based in the sewing and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) end of the industry. Her love for sewing is what has kept her selling, sewing, and promoting textiles for all of these years.
Lisa’s overall goal is to provide inspiration and encouragement for others to be creative, while fostering an appreciation for African people and African culture through the enjoyment of textiles and crafts. Lisa has recently launched a CE Business Grant Program, as a celebration of and a vehicle to promote African Textile Entrepreneurship. Applications are due by December 31, 2021 and more details can be found on the website. You can also visit the website to shop, sign up for sewing classes, and get more information about Lisa’s passion, mission, and upcoming events:https://www.culturedexpressions.com/about-lisa
Cultured Expressions, Inc.STUDIO: 1417 Main Street, Rahway • NJ 07065 • P.O. Box 35 •Rahway, NJ • 07065 • 866-MUDCLOTH (866-683-2568 º• Facebook & Instagram: @culturedexpressions
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