Stitches ‘N’ Beads Loft opens, supports women worldwide through handmade creations

LEAVENWORTH – Stitches ‘N’ Beads Loft, a new addition to downtown Leavenworth, offers handmade gifts and serves as a space for creativity and community connection.

The shop is owned and operated by Vimbai Madya, an entrepreneur from Puyallup, WA. Madya’s shop features handmade dolls, jewelry, accessories, and clothing created by her and women worldwide. Stitches ‘N’ Beads is Madya’s first retail location, after building a business from online and market sales that was inspired by her own journey to the U.S.

Madya grew up in Zimbabwe, and in 2014, fled to Tanzania with her 6-month old daughter to escape an abusive relationship. In Tanzania, she witnessed women in similar situations, who did not have the education or economic means to leave. She began helping women to perfect and sell their craft.  

“Talking to people, they just said, ‘I can't leave, because I have seven kids. I have five kids, like, 'I can't pay school fees’…So I started it when I was in Tanzania, just starting to make, trying to understand what they are capable of doing. Can they bead? Can they weave?” said Madya.

While helping women in Tanzania find ways to support themselves, Madya also worked at a local hotel to provide for her own family. It was there that she met an American couple from Washington. The couple’s friendship with Madya grew over the years, eventually leading to her attendance at their daughter’s wedding in 2017, where she met her now-husband. After relocating to Puyallup with her daughter, Madya later gave birth to a son, who arrived prematurely at 29 weeks and spent nearly two months in the hospital. During those challenging weeks, knitting became Madya’s solace.

“All I did was knit, knit, knit when I was in the hospital, because it was so stressful, I didn't think he would survive. So, knitting helped me, like with the stress and everything,” said Madya. “After that, I had so much I had done, and my husband said, ‘What are you going to do with all of this?’”

Madya started selling her products online, then products from a network of artisan women from Zimbabwe, Kenya, Turkey, and Tanzania she had built. One of Madya’s partners is Gogo Olive, a nonprofit in Zimbabwe that employs women to knit children’s toys, such as dolls and finger puppets. The Gogo Olive products can be found in the retail store, with the name of the woman who knitted the individual product.

Two years ago, a friend convinced Madya to start doing holiday markets and craft fairs, and her popularity and community support grew from there.     Her efforts resonated with customers, and two generous patrons surprised her with a tent and banner, helping boost her market presence. Additionally, over 300 supporters raised $15,000 through the crowdfunding loan platform Kiva, in order to help Madya meet the growing demand for her products.

“I didn’t know anybody here, but, like Washingtonians became my family,” said Madya.”They just love to support.”

During one market, customers suggested that Leavenworth would be the perfect place for Madya’s products. Her family visited, and her kids fell in love with the snowy town. However, it wasn’t until a shooting occurred near her booth at the Grant County Fair in August, that Madya was convinced to explore a safer and more stable option for her business. Madya opened her retail space by Thanksgiving. 

“I do have finished products that the tourists can buy and use them as souvenirs and all that, but I also want the local people to be involved in this,” said Madya.

Aside from selling ready-made projects, Madya envisions a place where people can learn new skills and work on their own projects. A craftroom is located in the back of the space, where Madya welcomes community members to bring their own projects to work on. In the future, she plans to organize lessons for different crafts, such as beading, embroidery, knitting, and crocheting.

“I want people to be free to come here, to crochet, to knit, to bead, to just talk and to meet, to come and make friends here, you know? To build a community, like a safe space,” said Madya.

Stitches ‘N’ Beads loft is located at 703 US-2 in downtown Leavenworth. It is currently open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media