We love what we do.
Female-Owned. Fueled by creativity, community, and inclusivity.
In 2010, we had a simple business plan: Open up a sewing studio and classroom space that served Portland by providing a welcoming and well-equipped space with quality sewing machines and the friendly support to use them. Even if you didn’t have a sewing space of your own, you had ours.
Our business evolved quickly over the last decade. We became a BERNINA dealer, started selling fabric, bought our own building, and opened a second location. However, the most important thing we’ve done in the last ten years is help build the most incredible community of sewists of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. Our staff members have become dear friends and our wonderful customers have all become part of our big MD family. View our story.
Core Values:
- Inspiring Warmth of Home
- Creating a Modern Aesthetic
- Nurturing a Healthy Work/Life Balance
- Delighting Customers & Each Other
- Teaching & Learning Every Day
Every Purchase Matters
Your support of our small business gives us the collective power to support our community. Modern Domestic is invested in looking beyond our creativity as sewists, and doing what we can to affect the community around us. This includes monthly contributions to Planned Parenthood, The NAACP, and The ACLU. In addition, we have gifted one-time donations to various organizations based on immediate need including Oregon Food Bank, Don’t Shoot PDX, Color of Change, World Wide Fund, American Red Cross Western Wildfire Relief, Basic Rights Oregon, Women for Afghan Women, The Salvation Army Haiti, Brown Hope, KairosPDX, Black Resilience Fund, Black Girls Code, Every Child Oregon, Baby2Baby, The Contingent, Oregon Wildlife Foundation, and APANO, among other local and global nonprofits.
Learn about our 2020 raffle fundraiser that raised $6,545 for the Family Stabilization Fund for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School to support our BIPOC neighbors who are not receiving adequate government aid during the COVID-19 crisis.
Fabric & Tool Donations
Schools and organizations committed to sewing education, both locally and internationally, have received access to free or generously discounted sewing supplies, machines, and fabric from Modern Domestic. These contributions are made in collaboration with sewing educators on a case-by-case basis.
We are always happy to assist in connecting organizations to supplies and machines they need. If you have a used machine you’d like to donate, contact Rosie’s Room, or Coffee Creek Quilters.
Auction Donations
Throughout the years Modern Domestic has contributed more than $15,000 in gift card donations to various local schools and nonprofits.
If you are seeking auction items for your school or nonprofit we are happy to contribute! No application needed, all organizations will receive a $50 gift card to auction off at your event. Gift cards are created at your time of pick-up and can be applied to any product, class, or machine service.
Our Team
We foster an open, gracious, and fun work environment. Our staff is a vital part of our community, and we are proud to offer competitive, livable wages and benefits to our hardworking team. These include health and dental care, paid time off, 3% IRA matching, a monthly stipend for sewing supplies, free participation in classes, $200 in extra curricular education, and a gym membership.
Community at Heart
Charity Quilting
Each month our studio is visited by charity groups including the Quilts of Love, First Unitarian Portland and the Portland Modern Quilt Guild. Our studio space is supplied with BERNINA sewing machines, tools, and a BERNINA Q24 longarm quilting machine, all of which are available to charity quilters monthly at no charge.
In return, these charity groups have made quilts for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Legacy Health Hospice Care, Portland Homeless Family Solutions, and a number of other charities over the years.
“The purpose of making these quilts is to serve families at Portland Homeless Family Solutions, as they transition from the shelter to a permanent home.”
— Quilts of Love
Our charity quilters have expressed a flood of gratitude to us, sharing that our donated space and tools brings everyone together to help our community. We’re so grateful to be a part something we could never do on our own.
Kids Camp Scholarship Program
In 2016 we launched our Kids Camp Scholarship Program, intended to make sewing camps accessible to children in our local community who would otherwise not be able to experience the joy and creativity of making. Moving forward, we are expanding this program to benefit more of our Black community members specifically.