About Us
Welcome to Viking Textile Maker Hub! We're a vibrant non-profit organization dedicated to empowering local textile sewers, makers, and artists throughout Lane County. Our mission is to cultivate a community where sewing is celebrated not just as a skill but as an art form and a pathway to economic opportunity. At our makerspace, we offer weekly and monthly membership options that provide 24/7 access to a professional industrial sewing studio. At our classroom, located within Viking Sewing, we offer a unique blend of small-batch manufacturing, classes, workshops, and educational programs. Whether you are an experienced sewist (sewer+artist) or just beginning your journey, our spaces are designed to support your creativity and professional growth. Join us in building a thriving textile community that fosters collaboration, learning, and innovation. Discover more about our team, our vision, and how we stand out in the local fabric of our community.
Our Mission
Mission Statement: Viking Textile Maker Hub is a space that provides Industrial sewing machinery & equipment, education and programming to support and build a community of sewists, textile artists, designers, makers and entrepreneurs focused on equity, sustainability and inclusivity.
Our Team
Sierah Edwards | Executive Director
Sierah has been upcycling textiles since she was five years old. She studied Apparel Design at Oregon State University and has participated in local fashion shows since 2009. Her clothing brand, "sierah SEW fresh," offers size-inclusive, sustainable costumes and accessories for festivals and events. When she isn't sewing, Sierah enjoys camping, cooking, reading, thrift shopping, and traveling. She's excited about many amazing upcoming VTMH events and hopes to see you there!
Mitra Gruwell | Board President
Mitra is an upcycle fashion/product designer, educator and consultant with a focus on business and program management, entrepreneurship and creative curriculum development. As the owner of Discard Upcycling, her mission is to make sustainable design using waste materials more accessible and affordable for both businesses and individuals. Mitra is the Board President for nonprofit Viking Textile Maker Hub, offering education and access to industrial sewing skills and equipment, and she teaches workshops on machine operation and sewing, Textile Repair, Upcycling and Design Thinking. She is a Sustainability Commissioner for the City of Eugene, Master Recycler, the Fix-It Fair Coordinator as well as the Community Engagement Coordinator for local nonprofit the Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts, MECCA. Mitra is passionate about the arts and sustainability and the roles creativity and innovation play in creating a healthy and sustainable future for humanity and the planet alike.
Marcia Lent | Board Member
Marcia is an independent fashion designer, entrepreneur, and early upcycling pioneer whose career spans more than four decades of West Coast alternative fashion culture. She opened her first store, Pineapple Kiss, blending surf culture, punk aesthetics, handmade fashion, and reconstructed clothing long before upcycling became mainstream. Shortly after, Marcia launched Piranha Industries, a widely-recognized alternative fashion label specializing in upcycled clothing, punk jewelry, exotic dancewear, and handmade accessories. In parallel, she created work for surf, skate, and swimwear companies including Quiksilver, Volcom, and Fred Segal-related projects.
After moving to Eugene, Marcia opened several memorable retail spaces including Pineapple Kiss, Zen Dragon, Bohemian Mojo, Tropical Loveland, Paradise City Cafe, and Kitsch-22. Recent work has included design and production of professional wrestling gear and performance wear under the global name “Spandex Body.” Marcia remains deeply connected to maker culture, mentorship, and community reuse programs. She has donated industrial sewing equipment, inventory, and materials to nonprofit and community-based creative initiatives, helping support emerging artists, designers, and entrepreneurs in Eugene’s upcycling and maker communities.
[CONTACT MARCIA]
Ashley Kemper | Board Member
Ashley has long shared similar values as the Viking Textile Maker Hub in both creative textile expression and service to the community. Her background in the arts spans video, film, the fiber arts, mixed media and costuming. She has merged these mediums in varying capacities throughout her academic and professional careers through costume design and headdress building, 2D and 3D arts, as well as experimental and documentary filmmaking. She worked in the film industry in Los Angeles for 15 years in costumes and the art department, applying her creative hand to a variety of hands-on projects over the years. Her desire for fashion justice and equity led to a masters degree program at the University of Oregon, where she dove into fashion research and related environmental policy. As a mental health advocate, she has also devoted much of her free time working with nonprofits to serve her community, and is excited to continue that service at VTMH.
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[CONTACT ASHLEY]
Scott Hellier | Board Member
Scott is a founding member of Viking Textile Maker Hub, established alongside business partner Mitra Gruwell during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing that they had industrial machines, space, and a community full of people who needed to make money or support one another, Scott and Mitra saw an opportunity. Inspired by Mitra's vision to train individuals on industrial machines and enrich lives through that skill, Scott helped bring the Maker Hub to life. Scott doesn't consider himself artistically creative, but he's long been mechanically creative—a tinkerer who finds satisfaction in maintaining, repairing, and understanding how machines work. That fascination with sewing machines took root in 2004, when he first started working at Viking Sewing, Vacuum, Hearth & Grill, and has only grown since he transitioned from employee to owner of that business in 2018. For Scott, the Maker Hub represents a range of possibilities: a space for working artists to create and collaborate, and an opportunity for unhoused individuals to learn a new skill and feel seen. The Maker Hub provides access to machines and space that would otherwise be out of reach, and inspires people to sew. Scott sees his role simply as a facilitator — someone who works to make things happen for the people who walk through the door.
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[CONTACT SCOTT]
Jayme Vinyard | Board Member
Jayme is a, co-founder of Wildling Collaborative Arts and an interdisciplinary artist. She has resided in Eugene for the last 25 years.
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[CONTACT JAYME]
Bethany Hays-Alsin | Board Member
Bethany (she/her) is a local textile designer and founder of Fluid + Drape. She began sewing at the start of her sobriety journey in 2020, discovering in it a steady, grounding practice that helped change her life. What started as self-regulation became a calling — and a belief that sewing is real self-care. She joined the board of VTMH in 2023, drawn to its mission of teaching professional sewing skills to people rebuilding their lives.
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[CONTACT BETHANY]
Our Partners
