Artist Renee Sherrer fuels her passion through creating a collaborative workspace studio in the heart of Bellingham.

Written by Bella Coronado

Creativity greets you right at the door — clothing racks full of costumes and color, piles of fabric bolts, dress forms waiting to be fitted in fabric, and the sounds of hyperpop and French jazz blasting from the speaker.

Tucked away inside the Bay Street Village building in downtown Bellingham, there are a number of studio spaces, a large hallway leading to storefronts with ‘for rent’ signs pasted in the windows. Although there is a lack of booming business in the historical building, it is slowly becoming a hub for artists, bringing creativity and art back to the streets of Bellingham.

An artists’ hub is just the place Renee Sherrer, owner of Social Fabric, has been dreaming of. With a degree in art and textile design, Renee originally created Social Fabric as an eclectic and fashion-forward boutique previously located on Commercial Street. After its closing, Renee opened the studio in Bay Street Village. It serves as a space for her and other artists to gather and create garments with one another, teach classes and provide a space for the community to explore creativity in textile design.

Renee believes that maybe her boutique was a bit too fashion-forward for Bellingham. The city is full of people engrossed in PNW fashion — Birkenstocks and yoga pants — contrasting with the edgy, fun and funky clothing Renee was purchasing and curating for the boutique. Realizing this, her vision for Social Fabric changed.

“What I want to do is have a street presence where people can come in and sign up for classes or sign up for our mailing list to find out what we do, or come in and create,” Renee said, dressed head to toe in a classy purple and black outfit with a matching beret, a dazzling rhinestone pin spelling out her name attached to her lapel.

Renee began sewing at the age of 5, starting with embroidery. At the age of 7 she learned how to use a machine, making clothes for her dolls.

“My mom had a brand-new sewing machine and I was excited to learn how to use it,” Renee said. “We were really poor growing up; we made all of our clothes. I didn’t have a new dress from the store until I was 14.”

From then on, Renee’s life has revolved around creating art. Graduating from college with a Master of Fine Arts in painting, drawing, textiles, surface design and sculpting, she continues to create garments and art pieces.

Renee worked in Seattle during the ’90s at Designerfabric, a material boutique providing a range of luxury fabrics to local designers. She moved around working on creative projects and helped manage the Sojourn boutique in downtown Bellingham, dressing mannequins and merchandising.

“Everyone was like, ‘You’re so darn creative!’ and I was like, ‘Well I should be! I have a graduate degree in art!’” Renee said, laughing. What she really wanted to do was use her talent to create a space for people to come together and learn how to sew and make art.

“My perfect world would be just a place the size of Target that would have studios for artists, and then there would be a cafe and a coffee shop … like a women’s center for focusing on creativity,” Renee said, recognizing her limits. “But, I know that me — left to my own devices — I would have done all that but I would have been spread too thin and I would have to let go of making art.”

In 1984, Renee committed her life to art. Her direction in life provided her with a job that would allow her to put all her time and energy into something she really cared about and gave her the opportunity to share it with others.

The social aspect of making art is important to Renee. Throughout her experiences of creating textile art, sewing garments, making hats and decorating cars, the opportunities for collaboration have driven her spirit to create.

“When you’re collaborating it’s a very social thing,” Renee said, recounting her memories. “You’re listening to music and you might have a bottle of wine or something; it’s just kind of like a party where you’re making art!”

Pulling from her stock of designer wools, specially-ordered linens and stashes of material she found at Goodwill, Renee creates couture garments for commissions and her personal endeavors. Her creativity drives her life. The theater productions, nights out with friends, evenings at the opera and dinner parties all provide a place for Renee to create garments.

Renee’s idea wall covers the space above her sewing station; a collage of magazine pages, high-fashion photoshoots, furniture and art. Her creative mind is always running, constantly looking for inspiration. Artist’s block is unimaginable.

“For me, it’s more like, ‘How do I keep in mind all the projects I want to make?’” Renee said, immediately shaking her head in response to the mention of artist’s block. “So I keep an idea wall going. It also helps me to take a look at that wall and go, ‘There’s that blue dress. I’m making that.’”

For Renee, it is more than just creating for the sake of making something. Sharing the space with others who hold the same passions as her furthers her dreams. Her studiomates bring energy and laughter to the sewing space. They each work at their own stations yet chatter over the hums of their sewing machines and loud music.

“To be honest with you, they’re having a good time back there,” Renee said. “It’s a social thing. Sewing is social.”

After a day’s work of sewing in the studio, Renee and her studiomates discussed what they were ordering for dinner — developing their plans to spend time with one another in their workspace after hours.

Social Fabric creates a space for art to thrive in Bellingham. Through Renee’s devotion for garment design and textile artwork, she has gathered a little community of others who are passionate about fashion design and art.

Renee breathes art. She sees inspiration in the everyday objects around her, drawing her in and compelling her to create.

“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t an artist, but it’s like I don’t have a choice,” Renee said. “I would be miserable doing anything else. So I do this because it brings me joy; it makes me want to get up everyday.”