Located at 301 North Street in Batavia, My Sister’s Closet is a boutique style second hand clothing and accessories for women and children. The primary mission of My Sister’s Closet is to provide quality and affordable clothing to women who are re-entering the job market. The shop is open to the public, and proceeds assist the YWCA Domestic Violence Program.

Hours of Operation

• Monday 10am – 5pm
• Tuesday 10am – 5pm
• Wednesday 10am – 5pm
• Thursday 10am – 7pm
• Friday 10am – 5pm
• Saturday 10am – 3pm

History and Background:

In the first quarter of 1996, the idea of a woman’s shop featuring pre-owned clothing became real. YW staff members, Sandy Funke and Linda Olson, were charged with developing a volunteer-based program from what had originally been planned as a grant-funded opportunity. A committee was formed and enthusiasm for the project grew. The name for the store was selected from a short list. It came from an out-of-state consignment shop that one of the committee members had visited.

The Daily News provided a photo and story to explain the YWCA’s need for clothing and volunteers. There were 18 interested and eager women at the first volunteer recruitment meeting. Decisions were quickly made regarding hours of operation, pricing, and other procedures. Clothing racks, hangers, a display counter, and other items were soon gathered. My Sister’s Closet opened for business in late March,1996, and recorded an astounding sales total of nearly $5,000 during their first year of operation.

Volunteers, donations, and customers just kept coming, and by 2007, the annual sales total reached over $30,000. In time, the original location in Room 10 became overcrowded, and in January, 2005, My Sister’s Closet re-opened in newly refurbished and larger quarters in Room 9. Even that space eventually became too crowded, and in 2007, another move to Rooms 3 and 4 finally provided the shop with adequate floor space for displaying clothing, plus two work areas, good natural lighting, and a better location in the YWCA building.

My Sister’s Closet and GCC:

GCC Professor Donna Ehrhart was involved in the initial planning committee that established My Sister’s Closet twenty years ago.She recently introduced Fashion Program student Daisha Spence to Linda Olson of My Sister’s Closet, to offer her assistance as a visual display intern. With Daisha’s impeccable sense of style, I’m sure she will do just fabulously in this endeavor.

(Daisha Spence, Linda Olson, Donna Ehrhart )

GCC has a long history of partnership with the YWCA. Dean of Students Jennifer Newell is very involved with the YW’s Stiletto & Sneaker Walk, a fundraiser and community event aimed at raising awareness about domestic violence.

Another GCC faculty member was recently honored by the YWCA, Maryanne Arena . Arena is the director of Fine and Performing Arts at Genesee Community College. Her goal is to teach her students life lessons and serve as a mentor for those who love performing arts.In the past, the local YWCA chapter has honored award recipients at its annual Fabulous Females event. In 2015 they chose to hold a Women of Distinction event to fully align with the national YWCA goals and mission to empower women.

Last year, the Fashion Business program initiated a student and alumni contest to design an official Genesee Community College plaid. The spectacular winning design was created by the talented alumnus Michael Moultrap, a resident of Batavia, who holds an Associate’s degree in Human Services (1999) as well as Digital Art (2011). Under the watchful eye of instructor extraordinaire Donna Ehrhart the unprecedented project blossomed into a range of silk scarves, neck ties, and bow ties.

These 100% silk products have been very well received since their inception! They featured at GCC’s first ever Dandy Day, a scholarly tribute to the stylish and eccentric gentleman, with special guest speaker Rose Callahan, author of the noted “I am Dandy: The Return of the Elegant Gentleman.” Several scarves and ties also travelled to NYC, as esteemed participants on the annual Fashion Program field trip. These meaningful and affordable accessories are now on sale for just $20 each by contacting GCC’s Fashion Business Office at 585-345-6830.

The story doesn’t stop there though! Recently Professor Ehrhart was the proud recipient of an Academic Innovation Award for $1,785. This incredible achievement enabled the funding of the next great stage of this groundbreaking project for the college. Upon securing this grant Professor Ehrhart set out to contact the Weaver’s Guild of Rochester to inquire about having someone hand weave the tartan, in able to have it officially registered by the Scottish Register of Tartans. This was a momentous undertaking.

Professional custom weaver Kathy Cairns Hendershott decided to take up the charge, and the planning process began! Located out of Warsaw Mrs. Hendershott is a regular vendor at the Letchworth Arts & Crafts Show, and likes to take on the unique challenge of weaving a stretch tartan every year, to keep in practice.

Tartans are slow and exacting tests of a weaver’s consistency, skill, and patience. A different shuttle has to be used for each color, which has to be put aside and changed every time the colors change, sometimes every four rows, sometimes every twenty eight rows. This makes the weaving speed significantly slower than a one-shuttle weave. The GCC tartan has to be constructed according to the exacting standards used by traditional tartan weavers- each color has to be an even number of threads in a traditional 2/2 twill. The colors need to come as close as possible to official Genesee Community College colors and still remain pleasing when combined in a tartan. A 5/2 Perle cotton is decided on for luster, strength, and density.

As a custom hand weaver Mrs. Hendershott sets a minimum of fifteen yards for a custom fabric order. This is because it takes about twenty hours or more, to “dress the loom”, whether it’s for one yard or a hundred yards. Between winding, spreading, beaming, threading, and tying, the total time put in before the actual weaving starts, is about thirty hours!

After the tartan is constructed on the loom it has to undergo a washing process. To account for take-up and shrinkage after the fabric is washed she must weave twenty yards in order to achieve the desired seventeen yards of finished fabric. Being washed in plenty of water allows the threads to shift and take their final place. It also removes the spinning oil used at the thread manufacturer, any dirt or oil on the weaver’s hands, and allows the thread to “bloom”- soften and enlarge to its final form.

To complete this project Mrs. Hendershott ultimately put in ninety hours of labor intensive work. Genesee Community College now has an official woven tartan! Now it’s up to the students in the Fashion Business program to make some beautiful garments with it! This weaving is part of the Fashion Design student project which will begin next year.

It all started with Donna Ehrhart’s commitment to excellence, and striving to take GCC’s Fashion Business program beyond expectations on all levels. I for one cannot wait to get my hands on one of these precious garments, especially after coming to understand the amount of time and craftsmanship that goes into the very threads of the fabric they will be cut from.