Now in its third year, the Creative Exchange Fund, administered by the Medium in downtown Springdale, supports local artists by providing financial support and a space to take creative risks. KUAF is partnering with the Medium to profile some of this year's 37 multidisciplinary artists. We'll hear about their art, their process and what it means to be a creative in Northwest Arkansas right now.
Jessica Robin is the founder of Mend It, Darn It, a free monthly meetup created for attendees to revive clothing items with provided supplies and expert guidance. Robin grew up in Northwest Arkansas and has been sewing for over 20 years, spending time at the University of Arkansas Theatre Costume Department and at Interform before it dissolved last year. She says the end of Interform prompted her to want to create a space like Mend It, Darn It for community members who want to work on their craft or just give clothing items a second life.
"I really liked sharing making things with people in general. I've done that a lot throughout my life. I really like sharing skills. I like kind of seeing how people can connect over creating things. And so I've sewn with people or made things with people for several years, and I've mended my own garments. But getting together with the mending kind of started with the grant because I've been interested in it and wanted to share it.
"I feel like one of my skills and what I really enjoy doing is making things accessible and kind of having everybody be a part of it. I worked for Interform for three years, so I did sewing in community with them and just saw how important and connected people felt in that environment, how it really was able to bring a lot of different kinds of people together. Sewing is interesting because it's an art and it's creative, but it's also practical. So you kind of get a wider range of people that feel like it's accessible than other arts or other creative practices where people kind of feel like there's a barrier to entry, right? Some people feel like they're artists or they're not artists sometimes, but sewing is really great because it's got all those aspects, but it's got this practicality too, that really connects a lot of different people from lots of different backgrounds.
"And so I've been sewing with people there, saw how beautiful that was, and just really wanted, once that shut down, to figure out how to continue that. And so I went to the Medium because Interform was actually going to have a display there before they shut down. And so I could see how, with Interform too, how cool it was for people to be a part of a bigger thing, that connectivity where you're all working toward a project. Because it's one thing to teach people to make a dress that they're going to then wear later. But it's another thing to be a part of something collectively that you're working towards.
"I was trying to figure out how to have that still. And so I checked with the Medium about even renting the space or what the possibility would be to do a display. And they said that they have these grants coming up. I spent a lot of time looking at the grant, trying to figure out what classes might look like, how to still get together with people otherwise even. And then once I received the grant, I was just like, okay, well, I'll use this to do a regular meetup. I wanted to have something that was regularly occurring that people could be a part of. And that — almost for myself too — like having that structure, having that place to go.
"We all have mending. We all have things we intend to do, especially makers of things. And so to have a slot of time in which someone's available and that's there for you if you want to come. It's a lot of bringing together a lot of things. So still trying to figure out what it looks like, because community space is hard. And then even if you have the community space, where's the storage of the stuff needed to create the items. This one is all hand sewing, so not as involved in terms of stuff, but still, it's still a lot of stuff. It's just a lot of space. But it's going well.
"I started doing them in June, so it's been almost a year that I've been doing them once a month. The first one I did at Casa Magnolia, which was a super sweet spot in Springdale that is no longer. The focus on community, lots of small spaces, were super helpful. It was really a wonderful way to kick it off, and the feeling that was there with the people that would come, as well as the people that worked there. So it really started in a beautiful way.
"And then Ozark Folkways got the folk school space. Once Casa Magnolia was shutting down, I was able to check with Abby and she said that they could take it on and I could meet up there. So the Walker Stone House has been our new home. I think I did three or four months at Casa Magnolia, and then all the rest of them have been at the folk school, which is neat to be a part of these other communities too.
"So I have some people that come real regular. I have one or two people that came to Casa Magnolia that still come, even though it's a different town, which feels really special. I have a few people that come almost every month and then I always have new people, and I usually have a few people that have never sewn before at all, which is really exciting. It's great to feel like people feel like they can come and they usually walk away with something mended and happier for it.
"And it's neat. I'll run into people and I'll mention it to people. And so many people are like, 'Oh yeah, I have a pile that I just can't let go of and don't want to let go of, but don't know how to fix.' So it's really gratifying to feel like someone was like, 'I've had this sitting in a closet for years and now it's usable and it can be a part of my life again.' Someone is taking the time. We are at a place where storage is hard. People are all having smaller places to live, and the fact that they're still keeping these things that are important, that are in disrepair, is an interesting thing.
"So May 12, from 6 to 9, we'll have an opening reception with some music. And a lot of the people that have been a part of this project will be there, which will be really lovely. So it's a reflection of the community that has created it. My hope in applying for the grant was — when I talked to Amber and some of the other people at the Medium, like, this is my idea, where does this fit? Because this is what I want to do. I want to gather people together for a purpose into a larger thing.
"So the show is an interesting combination. I have a few really amazing designers that are local that have things that are repurposed. So everything in the show is based on reusing something. So all of it has had a second life. All of it has had that history and that's where we're kind of coming to it in the first place. And so there are designer pieces and then there are pieces that we made as a community with other sewing students. So we worked all together over the course of eight weeks. So there's a whole section where me and about 15 to 20 people all worked together on these things over six weeks. So it's a reflection of the community that we did it in. All those pieces are a combination of learning from each other, which I really love. And then I have an area where it's all just mended things. And then I also have a mending event there as well.
"So activating that space in a couple of different ways. I'll have my regular mending, which is at the folk school, and that's always from 5 to 8 on the second Monday of the month. And then I have one on the 19th as well, that will be at the Medium. So I have a Springdale location for mending this month that will be while the show is up. So you can come and look at the show and also mend garments. You can go to the opening reception, or you can come and mend something. I'll have a couple different events activating that space. I have the mending, I'll have a day of workshops in June. And then the Medium also does a visual arts night, which will be Friday, the 26th of June.
"You know, the goal is accessibility. So the idea is that you can come at it with whatever skill and whatever purpose. So you can just be fixing a hole on something, you could be repurposing something into something else and get a sewing machine out and do that, or you could want to really hone this craft. And all of those places are accessible places to start, or to have goals with, and a way to appreciate the clothing that is in our lives all the time. It takes a lot of effort, for as cheap as we get it. There's a lot involved. Textiles and clothing have been so historically underappreciated. The labor with that — we have so many things in our life that we just finish and then it's off to the side. It's really nice to have a moment of it getting attention and notice and giving it its moment in the sun, in a way."
Jessica Robin is the founder of Mend It, Darn It, a monthly clothes mending meetup in Northwest Arkansas. The group will be hosting an opening reception for its cumulative exhibition at the Medium in Springdale tomorrow evening from 6 until 9. You can find the group on Instagram, or search for Jessica Robin on Facebook.
The Creative Exchange series is produced by KUAF Public Radio in partnership with the Medium. Support for this project comes from the Tyson Family Foundation. The Medium and the Creative Exchange Fund are projects of the Creative Arkansas Community Hub and Exchange, or CACHE. For more about this project and the 2025-2026 recipients, you can visit themedium.org.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
