Keiona Cook doesn’t simply teach people how to sew and mend garments–she also stitches invaluable life lessons into her classes.

Through her nonprofit Lovely's Sewing & Arts Collective, now located in the North Loop, Cook helps students of all ages learn patience, persistence, self-expression, self-love, and a whole lot more. Along the way, they don’t just pick up a hobby–they hone a monetizable trade skill.

"I believe I was created to take care of the hearts of women and children, and I do that through sewing," Cook told Downtown Voices in an interview on Tuesday. "I use sewing as a tool for sneaking in love and other life skills."

Lovely’s community is a patchwork of kids, teens and adults of different races and from different places across the Twin Cities. Together, they’ll proudly show off their designs on Wednesday evening during an enchanting Rubik's Cube-inspired fashion show, which raises awareness and funding for Lovely’s programming.

A submitted photo from a previous fashion show fundraiser for Lovely's at Machine Shop.

Cook started learning how to sew at a very young age and earned a degree in fashion design. She founded Lovely’s almost 15 years ago in North Minneapolis to offer a loving, sewing-focused learning environment, which she wishes she had access to when she was growing up in the area.

Lovely’s teaches kids as young as 4 how to sew by hand and on a sewing machine. There’s a monthlong youth sewing program that costs $300 for four three-hour-long classes, including all of the necessary materials, a healthy lunch, and a 30-minute yoga and meditation break.

Lovely’s also offers private lessons, group classes and parties, and team building workshops for adults. Cook’s clients include Fashion Week Minnesota founder Sarah Edwards and the owner of local swimwear brand Wet by Bre. 

Lovely's holds two all-ages fashion show fundraisers each year, in the spring and fall. The first of 2024 takes place Wednesday, April 3 from 6-9 p.m. at Machine Shop. Tickets will be available at the door, and if you're not able to make it but still want to support what Cook is doing with her organization, donations are always accepted.

"The need and the dire to learn how to sew is there," she said. "The funding just isn't."

Lovely’s is located in the basement of the Dock Street Flats apartment building at 530 N. Third St., which also houses Rise Bagel.