Shailah Maynard at Sew Valley has created a space for apparel professionals and newbies alike

At the time of Sew Valley’s conception in late 2017, co-founders Shailah Maynard and Rosie Kovacs had their own creative brands, and they knew resources were needed in Cincinnati for entrepreneurs in apparel and fashion.

“We got a small grant to see if our suspicions were correct, and we started Sew Valley with an eight-month trial period just to see if we were right,” Maynard shares. “Do people need access to equipment rentals? Do people need access to services? Pretty much right off the bat we were proven right.”

Quickly, Sew Valley took off as a niche apparel business in Cincinnati. Sew Valley is a nonprofit, sustainably focused garment factory, sample room and incubator space for apparel brands and individuals interested in the sew trades. The nonprofit offers small batch production, sample development, studios for rent, hourly rentals on equipment and education workshops.

While Sew Valley is a unique concept, there are other “pockets” of organizations doing similar work to it. “We’re kind of like a mini maker space, but specifically for apparel,” Maynard says.

When deciding on the route to go with the nonprofit, Maynard took a trip to Chicago and saw a few places with a similar goal, as well as larger maker spaces in Baltimore and New York City.

In New York City, there was a program called the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator through the Pratt Institute. “That really resonated with us as something that could be utilized here in Cincinnati due to the [University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning] programming as well as the [number] of creative individuals that live and work here,” Maynard says.

Maynard and Kovacs first met when Maynard was working with Kovacs and Kovacs’ husband at Brush Factory, the couple’s cabinet shop. “That’s when the ideas started coming together and we started realizing that we both have fashion backgrounds but in different ways,” Maynard says.

Kovacs is no longer working full-time with Sew Valley, though she does some consultant work and photography.

At Sew Valley, those already well-versed in apparel production can rent machines or studio space, but there are also opportunities for learning.

“We aim to reach outside of our echo chamber and get people excited about our industry to learn more about it,” Maynard says. “If you’re not in our industry, most people, it goes right over their head. We want to help people who are trying to advance their product and learn a couple things with our classes.”

Sew Valley hosts Intro to Industrial Sewing and DIY Alterations, where participants can bring in an apparel product and the instructors will teach the participant how to alter the piece.

“Not only are you walking away with your tailored garment that you will likely wear more often and for a longer period of time because it fits now, but you also walk away with the skills to do it again and again,” Maynard says.

As a nonprofit, Sew Valley works for the benefit of the public. “Our focus is to help small brands and entrepreneurs get off the ground while also providing on-the-job training and job placement in this industry in an effort to be an economic driver for Cincinnati, but also retain the creative talent here in Cincinnati,” she adds.

Sew Valley prides itself on paying living wages to its entire part- and full-time staff of 11. “Because we’re sustainably focused, it’s very important to us to lead by example and pay our workers living wages and provide safe and comfortable working conditions,” Maynard says.

As a woman-owned nonprofit, Maynard shares her expertise with the community. Recently, Sew Valley did an activity with Bigger Than Sneakers (BTS). “They’re a nonprofit that provides a platform to showcase a larger ecosystem surrounding sneaker culture,” Maynard says.

BTS is backed by Corporate, a local sneaker and clothing boutique.

Maynard assisted with BTS’s summer academy for teen students interested in the fashion and apparel industry. The students were able to visit Sew Valley, tour the facility and make split panel T-shirts on the industrial sewing machines.

Currently, Maynard and Sew Valley are gearing up to start their first-ever capital campaign to support relocation into a larger space. She is also hoping to introduce a workforce development program for industrial sewing machine operators. These programs are planned to launch in 2026.

Sew Valley are active members of the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network, which supports the nonprofits’ Sustainable Development Goals. In late 2023, Sew Valley was awarded the P&G Connect + Develop Best Partner Award, which recognizes its innovation in collaboration with P&G on various research and development projects.

Additionally, Sew Valley recently designed and helped manufacture new red jackets for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra musicians.

“We are really excited to have been able to partner with CSO and are really thrilled to showcase their new and improved jackets,” she adds. These jackets will debut the weekend of Sept. 13-15 during performances of Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey.

As an entrepreneur and someone who runs a business that helps entrepreneurs, Maynard is uniquely learned on the topic.

“Entrepreneurship for me individually…it’s very hard,” she says. “But it is very rewarding, and I feel I have learned more trying to run my own small creative business outside of Sew Valley by myself than I would’ve learned any other way. You have to do everything, you wear every hat, [and] you are responsible for the success and failure of whatever the product is that you’re trying to make and sell.

“It’s quite a lot for one person to tackle. And you can do it, but you got to really want to do it,” she adds.

As part of its goals, Sew Valley wants to nurture the next generation of apparel and fashion entrepreneurs.

“[Sew Valley] exists to help those entrepreneurs out. And we’re always willing to work with our clients if they have individual questions…we look at it as you succeed, we succeed,” she says. “A rising tide raises all ships.”