[Narrator] Funding for "The Art Show" is made possible by the L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation.

Montgomery County.

The Virginia W. Kettering Foundation.

The Sutphin Family Foundation.

The Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation.

Additional funding provided by... And viewers like you.

Thank you.

In this edition of "The Art Show", seaming sustainability with style.

(upbeat music) Celebrating traditional African art and culture.

And spreading kindness one rock at a time.

It's all ahead on this edition of "The Art Show".

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) Hi, I'm Rodney Veal, and welcome to "The Art Show", where each week we provide access to local, regional, and national artists and arts organizations.

Located in Cincinnati's West End neighborhood, Sew Valley hones in on fashion, sustainability, and localness.

The nonprofit, a member of the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network, encompasses a garment factory, studio spaces, workshops, and more.

Already on pins and needles?

Let's step inside the space to get to know some of the minds behind this multi-layered organization.

(upbeat music) Sew Valley was founded in 2017 by Rosie Kovacs and myself.

I have, let's see, probably 15 years in the fashion industry.

I worked for a large fashion corporation for nine years, and relocated here to Cincinnati, my hometown, in 2015, and organically linked up with my co-founding partner, Rosie.

And she and I, we're both creative entrepreneurs and realized there were no resources for small entrepreneurs trying to build their apparel product and their creative brand here in Cincinnati.

And so we were lucky enough to receive a seed grant from the Haile Foundation, and we were able to start Sew Valley, and we've been busy ever since.

Sew Valley is a non-profit, sustainably-focused garment factory, sample room, and incubator space for apparel brands and individuals interested in the sewn trades.

Our mission is to help apparel entrepreneurs and brands manufacture locally, sustainably, ethically, and efficiently, and we have a long-term vision of creating a local garment manufacturing industry that empowers people to realize job stability, security, and career paths.

I thought my only option graduating was to move, especially once I decided I wanted to be in the sustainable realm or a smaller business realm within the fashion industry.

So, Sew Valley's goal is to really help people like myself stay in the city.

Sew Valley is unique in that there's not a lot of factories within Cincinnati.

Generally speaking, there are not a lot of manufacturers within the United States in the apparel realm.

We're our own little Sewn Garment District.

Upstairs, we have National Flag.

They've been sewing flags for 150 years.

And across the street, we've got Orange Chair, and they do upholstery and things like that.

So it's a great little community for us to pull from and bounce ideas off of, and just, you know, we're able to help each other along in various ways.

We have three pillars.

So we've got our education, we've got our membership spaces, and then we've got our services.

Education kind of covers a lot of realms.

We've offered a really wide variety.

We've had basket weaving and a lot of natural dye classes.

We offer everything from development through production.

So what that means is we offer design help, pattern making, sampling, prototyping.

We have fittings with our clients all the way to production.

And then we are a small batch facility.

We consider small batch 10 to 100 units per style.

And I would say for the overall industry, that is extremely low.

Unless you have significant startup funds, it's really hard to start an apparel brand, because most manufacturers' minimums are in the thousands.

So, we exist to kind of help incubate you, start you off, and help you grow.

I love our machines.

We have the buttonholer.

That's my favorite.

Honestly, the amount of straight stitches that we have, so just a regular lock stitch machine.

They all vary.

They all act differently.

We've named all of our machines, so we know who's being bratty.

We have heavy duty equipment, clicker presses that kind of helps die cut materials, and other specialty industrial sewing machines, four heavy duty steaming stations, the list just keeps growing.

(chuckles) An industrial machine can cost anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000.

Our membership spaces are affordable space, where they can use any of our machinery 24/7.

We also rent out our machines.

So, we help a lot of little niche needs of just people in the community that need a space, whether it be for the machines or be for the actual physical space.

I'm a tenant here at Sew Valley.

I rent this space to do my sewing projects.

I went to UC's engineering school.

Graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.

I like to find something and then alter it into a vision that I might see for it.

When I first came here, I ordered fabric from JOANN Fabrics, which you can order in custom colors.

But then when I came here, I started becoming more aware of fabric waste and all the waste in the fashion industry.

So rather than buying new fabric that's custom printed, I've been trying to find used clothing and used fabric.

The apparel manufacturing industry, although it's great, it does have a dark side.

10% of global gas emissions are from the apparel manufacturing industry.

Pretty much since the '90s, the majority of apparel manufacturing has been offshored, and it's pretty much been a race to the bottom for horrible manufacturing practices, garment workers being treated so horribly and paid pennies on the dollar, as well as the environment and environmental impacts that come from that.

So, we're here to not just talk the talk, but walk the walk and prove that that doesn't have to be the way.

Apparel manufacturing can be done right here in our backyards, and it can be a sustainable and rewarding career path for anyone looking to expand their skills.

So, I think sustainability really starts with people, and if you can't make a product and pay people what they need to be paid to maintain their lives, then that's not sustainable.

Sew Valley was founded with an ethos of creating sustainable brands.

And that doesn't just mean sustainable over time, where they're growing small and smart, it also means sustainable regarding the fibers they're using, who's creating their garments, and really, everything within the process.

So, what Sew Valley stands for, first and foremost, is providing a living wage to the very skilled workers who are able to sew.

[Evan] In the realm of Sew Valley, it makes it even more satisfying that we get to kind of take control of how a design leads sometimes, so we can kind of nudge the client in the right direction sustainably and show them what it's like to be sustainable and think about what their materials are doing after their product is finished, how their leftover materials can be reused and remade into something else.

Taking into account our sustainability goals and our efforts, we are a part of the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This will be our third year being a part of the Textile Exchange Network.

The Rust Belt Fibershed is our local Fibershed, which is a national organization in support of naturally sourced and grown fibers, and promoting soil-to-soil lifecycle of garments.

And we are new members of their value chain directory.

It's another great ally to have and in support of what we're all collectively trying to do here in the Midwest, and specifically in the Rust Belt area.

The only skill level you need to come in and rent a space is to know how to make a payment every month.

To appreciate everything else, to appreciate what the professionals here at Sew Valley do, I think you need to have made a lot of mistakes on your own to appreciate how smoothly they can make it go.

It's really amazing what our team is able to accomplish for such a small team.

They really can do anything.

So, I feel just privileged to be able to work with everyone here and feel that it's my job to promote it and turn this place into a place that lasts for a long time.

[Rodney] If you'd like to learn more about this or any other story on today's show, visit us online at cetconnect.org or thinktv.org.

Bricky's Comedy Club, how we doing, everybody?

(audience cheers) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) We're gonna maybe get that world record.

I think that's the objective, right?

I don't really know anymore.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) I'm running out of jokes already.

You plan so much on the production side that you forget that you gotta perform too, and it's here and it's too late.

You gotta get on stage and just start saying (beep) out of your (beep) face.

(audience laughing) Sorry, PBS, I didn't mean that.

Hey, give it up for the front now, let's give 'em a round of applause.

(audience applauding) [Comedian] Three, two, one, it's been going for 24 hours, baby.

I don't know, I feel like my vibe is like if a Batman villain was the CEO of Nickelodeon.

(audience laughing) I remember when I was a kid, the guy across the street would always yell at me, "Hey, Mr. Rogers, you wanna be my neighbor?"

I was like, "Hey, you are, man."

Guys, we just hit the world record.

(audience applauding and cheering) Please do give a big round of applause to the whole team who's put this on.

This is amazing, guys, like... (upbeat music continues) (no audio) Our next story takes us to Cleveland to meet the artistic directors of Djapo Cultural Arts Institute.

Let's drop into their rehearsals to see how they create a theatrical performance that combines the traditional music, dance, and folklore of Africa and the African diaspora.

This story is a part of a series produced in collaboration with Ohio's public television stations that takes us behind the scenes of the arts.

Take a look.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) We are here at the Pivot Center for Art, Music, Dance and Expression.

Tonight, we are starting a premiere piece called "Sandia: Of the Blood."

Company members know nothing about this piece.

Some of them may know a little bit if they've done some of our international travel voyages to West Africa.

But tonight, our dancers are gonna get the opportunity to experience the music and the history and the folklore of Sandia before we start diving into some of the dance techniques.

(Weedie speaking in foreign language) (group peaking in foreign language) (Weedie speaking in foreign language) Our musical director, Weedie Braimah, has gone to Mali numerous times, and he's like an encyclopedia when it comes to music, when it comes to folklore.

So he's gonna be diving into the music.

(group clapping) The dancers have to learn the rhythms.

The musicians have to learn the rhythms.

Everybody learns the songs.

(group speaking in foreign language) (Weedie singing in foreign language) One, two, three.

(group singing in foreign language) My main job is to focus on how this music elevates them as artists, and also how the way that it elevates the audience.

We're preparing for a new piece.

It's a traditional folkloric piece that comes from Mali by way of the ethnic group of the Manding, called Sandia.

The word Sandia means New Year, but it's done in honor of griots, which are the oral historians.

The word for griot in the Manding language is djeli.

That's spelled D-J-E-L-I.

(Weedie singing in foreign language) They're the ones who maintain the history, that maintain the knowledge, maintain the culture, maintain the preservation of narrative that's created within certain villages and certain areas.

(Weedie singing in foreign language) Sometimes once a week or once a month, specifically in Mali in West Africa, and people will go, and the griots will show up, and they will sing the praises of your family.

(group singing in foreign language) [Talise] It's a communal event, so it's very lively.

(group singing in foreign language) My main goal is for them to at least understand the timing of the music and how it goes, the way the song fits in to the music and how they're understanding the groove of the music.

-One time.

-I remember that.

You remember this?

One, two, three.

(group singing in foreign language) They're gonna get the history, they're gonna get the folklore, they're gonna get the musical foundations of Sandia.

They're gonna learn the rhythms.

Because that enhances their ability to dance it, with happiness, with jubilee.

You see the difference?

The word Djapo itself means together.

And that's part of our mission, bringing individuals together to learn about the art, music, dance, history, and folklore of Africa and throughout the diaspora.

(drums beating) If you want to learn about a people, if you want to learn about a culture, dive into the art.

(drums beating) It's almost there.

I promise you.

If y'all could touch the floor just that one time on that first one.

(drums beating) Oh my goodness, we've made so much progress.

Our musical director has actually completed the orchestration of the music.

So, I have actually created the village.

You know, as we talked about before, Sandia is is an event with families and people who live, you know, in a compound or within the same area.

So what I'm doing now is creating that celebratory village.

I'm recreating that space.

(drums beating) We're still kind of working through it in placement.

I haven't really placed individuals yet.

I'm just still in that place where I'm seeing where people, how they feel with the movements that's been given to them, so that we have all the choreography that's set.

So now it's just kind of like moving through space to see where those final moments will be.

My philosophy is no paper and pen, so I want you to feel the music, I want you to feel the song, understand the context and the foundational elements of the song, and capture that, and through practice, it just happens, and we get it.

(drums beating) I have to perform this for Dance Africa in Chicago.

I don't feel under the gun at all.

It's looking good.

It's just being able to bring the energy and to be able to show that for audiences, because that's my goal, is to make audiences feel something.

(group singing in foreign language) (drums beating) (drums beating) We are complete.

It is a finished piece.

I'm so excited.

Like, it's really finished.

(drums beating) The music has its voice, the dancers understand and has implemented what they've learned into their body, and the song is now understood.

And the intent of what the song and the dance represents, the music represents, is now connected.

(group singing in foreign language) (group singing in foreign language continues) What I want people to take away from this, and the artists to take away from this, is the beauty of longevity, tradition, and speech, because the job of griot is to be able to speak and maintain.

(performer singing in foreign language) I want them to take away a piece of history.

A piece of Africa.

We've lost so much.

So, if you can get a piece of happiness, a piece of history, a piece of folklore, then we've done our jobs.

(group singing in foreign language) (drums beating) (drums beating continues) (audience applauding and cheering) (group singing in foreign language) (group singing in foreign language continues) (group singing in foreign language continues) (performer singing in foreign language) (audience cheers) (performer singing in foreign language continues) (drums beating) If you miss an episode of "The Art Show", we've got you covered.

It's available to stream at cetconnect.org and thinktv.org.

You'll find all the previous episodes as well as current episodes and links to the artists we feature.

Now let's travel west to meet a group spreading kindness one stone at a time.

More than 6,000 strong, the members of Reno Painted Rocks inspire joy and hope by painting on small rocks and placing them throughout their community to be found.

Let's take a look.

(upbeat music) Imagine if you're walking down the street or in a park and you all of a sudden come across this brightly colored little rock on the ground.

And you bend down to pick it up, and you see that it's got an encouraging little quote on it.

And maybe you were having a bad day, and that made you pause and smile, and it made your day a little bit better.

That's what this is all about, just random acts of kindness.

I started Reno Painted Rocks on Facebook after seeing a similar group based up in Whidbey Island, Washington.

And I thought it was just a really cool idea to spread kindness one stone at a time.

[Jessica] Reno Painted Rocks is a community group that spreads kindness by putting painted rocks with encouraging messages or cute little pictures or cartoons out in the community just to brighten the day of a stranger that might find it.

Typically what I do is choose the stone that I'd want to paint on.

I look for a shape or something that would inspire me.

(gentle music) It's washed, and then I'll decide a design, an inspirational quote, or a scene.

[Jessica] You can use dotting tools and dot.

You can use paint pens that you can also write messages with.

[Debi] Acrylic paints, watercolors, pencil, pen and ink.

Once your rock is dry, you wanna seal it so that it can survive outside, if you put it outside and it rains.

So we usually use UV or waterproof spray sealers.

Some of us use an art resin.

Takes a little bit longer to dry, but it's very shiny and nice and hard, so it protects the design.

[Debi] I like to hide in karma boxes or little libraries.

I hide them all over.

I hide them in my neighborhood if I go for a walk.

I like to put them at the base of our mailbox.

I walk here to Rancho San Rafael on my lunch hour and just walk the trails, and there's a tree knot over on one of the walking paths that I really like to leave rocks in, because it's right at eye level and it's a nice knot that will hold lots of different sizes of rocks.

(bright music) On the backs of the rocks, it kind of depends on the real estate you have, you know, the size of the rock.

If it's small, you're not gonna have a lot of space.

But I like to write, "Keep or rehide, you decide!"

so that people know that they can keep it.

they can rehide it, they can leave it there, 'cause sometimes people think they can't take it because it's this little piece of art.

And then I'll put, "Post a picture and join the fun on Facebook," and then put RenoPaintedRocks and the hashtag if it'll fit.

So it kind of gives people a clue.

If they don't understand from what's written on the rock, they can go to the group and kind of see what it's all about.

Reno Painted Rocks sometimes will show up on, like, Instagram, but for the most part, it's on Facebook because of the group feature, where we can have that community group and interact and comment and post lots of pictures.

[Debi] We try to keep our members painting within our guidelines.

We prefer that you source your rocks ethically by purchasing them.

[Jessica] You can get, like, a bag of river rock or go to the local landscaping company, and a lot of times, they'll sell them to you in a five gallon bucket.

[Debi] We do prefer that people don't glue things to rocks, because it could harm wildlife.

[Jessica] When you're hiding the rocks, we wanna make sure that they're not in any kind of national park or protected lands, not in grass so it won't damage a lawnmower.

[Debi] And the biggest guideline we have is to be kind.

The kindness, I didn't feel that when I first started painting the rocks at all.

You know, it's just painting rocks.

But when you do give, either as a gift, or you hide, it's really amazing.

It's really heartwarming that people appreciate a rock that you've painted and taken time for them.

I love it.

I'm painting rocks with my grandma.

I hope that when people find my rocks, that they feel excited and they keep them, and that's, like, a gift.

(bright music) It's very humbling to see that there are so many amazing humans that want to share the same message.

I started doing it because I liked the idea of the random act of kindness.

In the process, I've learned that this is kind of like my go-to self-care now.

Like, if I've had a rough day at work or a rough week at work, I make time that night or over the weekend to paint, and it's kind of like a reset button.

So I think there's something about the act of putting kindness out there without the expectation of anything in return, and it's useful for me.

(chuckles) We often say that the rock finds its person, and I believe that when you are having a rough day, the rock appears.

You're looking for that little bit of hope, and there it is.

(no audio) If you crave more art goodness in your life, the podcast, "Rodney Veal's Inspired By", is available now.

You can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Learn more and find show notes at thinktv.org or cetconnect.org.

And that wraps it up for this edition of "The Art Show".

Until next time, I'm Rodney Veal.

Thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) [Narrator] Funding for "The Art Show" is made possible by the L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation.

Montgomery County.

The Virginia W. Kettering Foundation.

The Sutphin Family Foundation.

The Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation.

Additional funding provided by... And viewers like you.

Closed captioning in part has been made possible through a grant from the Bahmann Foundation.

Thank you.