M and Sew Creative Collective owners Mollie Merchant, left, and Serena Oaks, center, work with Keira Hegarty, 7, center, and Brooke Hegarty, 10, during a Maker Meetup Sunday in the Sew Studio’s location in the Colonnade.
LILY RESLINK
Staff writer
After starting M and Sew Creative Collective in 2025 to turn visions of non-traditional artistic careers into a reality, Serena Oaks and fourth-generation Chautauquan Mollie Merchant found a “pop-up” home for their business at Chautauqua Institution.
“It’s a creative business that we started to explore different ideas around thoughtful making, intentional design and functional, lasting things — and the community connections that can be formed around that,” Oaks said.
M and Sew Creative Collective originated in California and has no official physical space; Oaks and Merchant created “Sew Studio” in 2025 in the available space in the back of Spruce Home Decor, located in the Colonnade. Since its beginning, Sew Studio has expanded to welcome other makers to create art, repair items and exchange ideas.
The path to “Sew Studio” began in 2024 when the two Californians coincidentally crossed paths at a sewing retreat in England. There, they realized that not only did they live only 30 minutes apart in the U.S., but they shared similar ideas about art and ideal career paths.
“We just connected and started creating together and sharing a vision of how we wanted to develop our careers — moving forward in a non-traditional way that was more true to what we were really passionate about and what we felt would really make an impact in society,” Oaks said.
In starting a business, they have found that their differences and similarities alike have served them well.
Oaks’ background is in mechanical engineering and product development; Merchant is a multidisciplinary artist. In collaboration, Merchant said the two have “naturally gravitated” toward the aspects they are skilled in. For instance, Oaks’ technical skills lent themselves to establishing the LLC and website, while Merchant’s artistry supported her ability to establish a functional studio space and to make connections across media, disciplines and techniques.
The success of this career path, Oaks and Merchant said, has depended on people who support small businesses that are “making with intention and a moral compass.”
Sew Studio’s outward-facing role at Chautauqua consists primarily of Maker Meetups, which have grown from limited Sunday availability in 2025 to being open from 2 to 5 p.m. Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays this season at Spruce Home Decor. Sew Studio also hosts occasional pop-up events, such as this weekend’s event in partnership with Erie, Pennsylvania-based yarn store Hanks Yarn Supply from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in the studio.
Oaks said the goal of Maker Meetups is to invite anyone to bring their own creative projects or functional projects, such as clothes in need of repairs or tailoring.
She said Sew Studio can offer a space as well as resources, such as a sewing machine or other mending materials for Chautauquans who don’t have the materials at home or a space at Chautauqua to create. They reconfigured the studio space to fit 12 seats around the large table often adorned with works in progress.
Oaks said she and Merchant are looking for participants to join the maker community at Sew Studio by bringing their projects and sharing the ideas and resources they have to give. She said maximizing Sew Studio’s space to accommodate more makers while maintaining it as a private studio has been a challenge, but bringing makers together is part of their shared career vision.
Merchant said her childhood at Chautauqua shaped her artistic interests and values of being part of a connected creative community. She recalled taking her first weaving class at the Institution, and said it was probably her “favorite summer at Chautauqua” because she was able to spend two weeks weaving.
“I have such a fond memory of that experience and that connection in the classroom of people knowing family members and having history with my family members,” Merchant said. She added that learning those traditional skills influenced her more recent work. For example, one can find Merchant’s woven upcycled packing paper art around Sew Studio.
Including herself, Oaks said Merchant frequently introduces others to Chautauqua; her first introduction, Oak recalled, was chatting and sewing on Merchant’s lakefront porch prior to the 2025 Summer Season.
“We were here in March in the total cold and ice of winter, and that was enough to convince Serena to come back for an entire summer,” Merchant joked.
It was around this time that they discovered the availability of their current space and decided it was a fitting place to pursue their aspirations and “test out brick and mortar ideas,” such as introducing projects to the community and gathering people together.
They said they have been making adjustments to their offerings based on what adds to Chautauqua rather than detracts from what the Institution already offers. When things get challenging, the pair said they have developed a foundation of dialogue, trust and shared values to propel them forward.
Oaks and Merchant said their mission includes continuing to build richer connections to the community and the materials they craft with. They said they are still on the journey of building community at Chautauqua, and each week has been a little different.
“It’s a completely different group of people that come in and use the space and people don’t know each other, and it’s just been the most delightful and inspiring group every single time,” Merchant said.
