Today we’d like to introduce you to Keiona Cook.
Hi Keiona, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey with sewing started at six years old at the kitchen table with my mom. I began by hand-sewing clothes for my Barbie dolls and little things for myself. Later, my Godmother taught me how to use a sewing machine, where I made my first quilt and my first pair of bellbottoms. Those early experiences planted the seed for everything I do today.
After high school, I earned my BFA in Fashion Design from Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. After graduating, I returned to Minnesota for a few years before moving to Lithonia, Georgia, where I designed prom dresses and worked with a cancer support organization called Lived 2 Tell, creating couture garments for women transitioning through cancer treatment.
In 2008, I moved back to Minnesota and began designing couture garments for clients and artists throughout the Twin Cities. Over the years, I’ve designed pieces for Prince, backup singers for Luther Vandross, and many local artists and creatives.
In 2009, I founded Lovely’s Sewing & Arts Collective and officially became a nonprofit organization in 2010. For the past 17 years, I’ve taught youth, teens, and adults sewing as a trade skill while combining entrepreneurship, leadership, and life skills into our programs. Today, Lovely’s Sewing & Arts Collective also operates as a retail plus Sewing Experience space inside the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis, where people can shop handmade items, take sewing classes, and experience creativity and community in an interactive way.
At the same time, I’ve continued running my couture brand, Qe’Bella Couture, for more than 22 years. I truly feel like I’m living my dream career by being able to use fashion, sewing, and creativity to impact people’s lives every day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. Being both a designer and an educator can be incredibly challenging, especially in a country where sewing is often labeled as a hobby instead of the trade skill that it truly is.
One of my biggest challenges has been visibility and fundraising. As a first-generation college graduate, I didn’t have a roadmap showing me how difficult it would be to sustain a creative career while also running a nonprofit. There have been many moments where I’ve wanted to give up and just work a traditional 9-to-5 job for the stability. People often see the finished product — the fashion shows, the beautiful garments, the teaching space — but they don’t always see the sacrifices behind the scenes.
A lot of people assume that because we teach sewing, donating fabric or sewing notions is enough support. While I truly appreciate those donations, materials alone do not pay the rent, utilities, staffing, or operational costs needed to sustain a teaching space. There’s also a misconception that community programs should always be free, but offering everything for free is not sustainable and does not create long-term economic stability for organizations or the communities they serve.
One of the hardest realities has been constantly fundraising just to keep programs going. Right now, I often have to organize two fashion show fundraisers each year simply to raise enough money to operate for several months at a time. My hope is that one day we’ll be in a position where a single fundraiser or stronger community investment can sustain the organization for an entire year. That would allow me to focus even more on being an artist, educator, mentor, and leader while also earning a livable wage for the work I’ve dedicated my life to.
Despite the challenges, what keeps me going is knowing that I’m preserving and passing down a timeless trade skill to future generations. Sewing teaches patience, focus, creativity, confidence, entrepreneurship, and problem-solving. It is part of my ancestral history, my purpose, and my legacy. I truly believe that when we invest in teaching hands-on trade skills and creative entrepreneurship, we strengthen communities and create opportunities that can impact generations to come.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a couture fashion designer and the founder of Lovely’s Sewing & Arts Collective. Through my couture brand, Qe’Bella Couture. I create one-of-a-kind garments for women and little girls designed to help them feel beautiful from the inside out.
Through Lovely’s Sewing & Arts Collective, I use sewing as a tool to teach patience, focus, leadership, confidence, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. What makes our programs unique is that youth as young as six years old can create and sell products they make themselves while learning money management and business skills.
A lot of what I teach comes from what I wish I had learned growing up. I created the kind of environment I needed as a child, teenager, and even as an adult. One of the things I’m most proud of is mentoring young people while continuing to grow myself through mentorship and community.
What sets me apart is that I don’t just teach sewing — I teach life skills and entrepreneurship through sewing as a trade skill. Everything I do is rooted in lived experience, creativity, and helping people see their potential.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Over the next 5–10 years, I believe the fashion and sewing industry will continue shifting toward sustainability, customization, and trade skills. People are becoming more interested in handmade products, upcycling, tailoring, and learning practical skills that allow them to create income independently.
I also think younger generations are becoming more interested in entrepreneurship and learning how to build brands and sell products at an earlier age. That’s why at Lovely’s Sewing & Arts Collective we combine sewing with financial literacy, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
Technology and AI will continue changing fashion, but I believe authentic handmade craftsmanship and one-of-a-kind design work will become even more valuable because people are craving originality and connection.
Most importantly, I hope sewing will continue being recognized for what it truly is — a valuable trade skill that teaches creativity, problem-solving, confidence, and sustainability.
Pricing:
- Group Youth Sewing Classes: $320.00 monthly
- Couture pieces for women start at $250.00-$28,000.00
- Adult Sip & Sew $60 per person with a minimum of 10ppl
- Team Building Workshops start at $1500.00
- Youth Sewing Experience start at $500.00 minimum 10 kids or teens
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lovelyssewing.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelyssewing
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GpKypmrTw/?mibextid=wwXIfr
