Capito joins members of the NRGRDA and WV Hive for ribbon cutting at new textile training center in Beckley

A new textile and entrepreneurship training and manufacturing center is coming to Beckley. 

On Thursday, Nov. 7, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), members of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA), WV Hive, local officials and more were on hand at 412 City Ave. in Beckley to help cut the ribbon on the future home of the PATTERN (Planning and Accelerating Textile Technology and Entrepreneurship Regional Network) manufacturing and training center. 

“It’s a big old building, but we have absolutely fallen in love with it and we are really excited to share it with you,” said Judy Moore, WV Hive executive director, adding that the basement will house the industrial sewing center while the main floor will house the cut and sew manufacturing center. The floor plans for the center were designed by Thrasher Engineering. 

Moore explained that PATTERN is the result of a multi-state collaboration. 

“For this program, we are fortunate to have formed incredible connections with textile experts from North Carolina, West Virginia and beyond, which began with a visit and outreach to our colleagues at The Industrial Commons in Morganton, North Carolina, who helped us connect with the best of the best in this field,” Moore stated. 

Project development partners for PATTERN include Libby O’Bryan, owner of Sew Co., a creative design studio and urban sewing factory based in Asheville, NC, and Emily Rouse, owner of Edgington Studio, a cut and sew apparel manufacturer based in Wheeling, WV. 

Additionally, training partners for PATTERN include ISAIC, a nationally recognized industrial sewing curriculum organization based in Detroit, Michigan, and TSUGA, a designer and outdoor gear manufacturer based in Boone, NC. 

“Utilizing these two partners, we have licensed a 192-hour industrial training curriculum, and we are working on developing a specialized outdoor gear training component to build the workforce needed to support our outdoor gear manufacturing in the region,” Moore said. 

Jina Belcher, executive director of the NRGRDA, shared her own story of how sewing helped her achieve her dreams, and how she hopes PATTERN will help others. 

“I was born and raised in McDowell County,” Belcher began. “And while I afforded every opportunity my parents could push my direction . . . what was made abundantly clear to me is that I had to be prepared to pay a down payment on a car if I ever wanted a vehicle.”

Belcher continued that jobs for high school students in McDowell County were “few and far between,” so she decided to teach herself to sew on her grandmother’s 1940s model cabinet sewing machine. 

“In 2004, I filed for my very first business license, and within a year I had enough money to pay a down payment for my 2001 Honda Civic. My custom purses and embroidery also afforded me a full entrepreneurial scholarship from the McKelvey Foundation for Concord University,” Belcher said. “Over the last 20 years, I have continued to use that talent as a hobby while dreaming of creating a program that could support other young, aspiring entrepreneurs with the space and technical training to hone their skills. I came to understand that beyond my passion, there was a much larger opportunity to lift communities through textile manufacturing.” 

Belcher added that reviving the textile industry has the power to “strengthen the entire economic fabric of this region – including the outdoor economy.” 

“This center represents so much more than sewing machines and training programs,” Belcher said. “It symbolizes the belief that we can make things ourselves, we can learn new skills, we can recruit competitive industry, and that we can grow as individuals and a community.” 

Belcher also stated that Sen. Capito’s support of the NRGRDA and WV Hive also made PATTERN possible. 

Sen. Capito secured over $1 million in Congressionally Directed Spending for this project. 

“[Sen. Capito] opened her Congressionally Directed Spending for us and said we need this yesterday,” Belcher noted. “We are very thankful to have Sen. Capito here. She has supported the NRGRDA and the WV Hive in so many ways for so many years, and this is just one of the enormous projects she has helped us garner funding for and bring to the New River Gorge region.” 

“Sewing is not one of my skills,” Sen. Capito began. “But, when you travel and you realize how important the skills that are going to be taught and developed here are, along with the design skills that go with it, you really forget about all the things in our lives are sewn and are designed and are specific to this industry.” 

Capito added that it is “great to see the revitalization of an older building,” as well as the development of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. 

“The vision over the last two years has been bringing people into West Virginia, showing our beautiful, majestic landscapes and recreational opportunities, but with those opportunities come other business opportunities, and I’m really proud of what you have done to be creative and to help entrepreneurs develop their products,” Capito said. “I love the name PATTERN, and I hope that this is just the beginning of a revitalization and a partnership between not just the outdoor industry, but also the community college and WVU Tech.”