WAIT HOW’D WE GET HERE?
Makeshift came about because we were looking for a space to make together, share equipment, and build community through craft.
Our first event was at Tomato Day 2026, where we raised over $900 for the Durham Farmers Market’s Double Bucks Program with an arts and crafts raffle.
MEET MAKESHIFT’S FOUNDERS
WEAVER, DESIGNER, DIGITAL FABRICATOR
Sharon Brener is the founder and fiber artist behind Touch Grass Textiles. She spent 15 years as a VP of Product and Design and now channels that energy into making 3D-printed mini loom kits, teaching local workshops, and weaving one-of-a-kind scarves and home goods on any loom she can find. The first act of her career was about delivering great user experiences on screens. This is her second.
Sharon Brener
NEEDLE FELTER, LASER CUTTER, PUNKY NERD
Allison Dupuis, a fiber artist and needle felter, is a Chapel Hill / Durham native who made her way back to the Triangle after spending a couple of decades in Texas. She owns BaconAstro (a needle felting kit and supplies shop) and spends most of her time stabbing wool, making a mess with her daughter, and painting the occasional chihuahua portrait.
Allison Dupuis
FINE ARTIST, RUG TUFTER, SEWIST
Katie Hatfield is a Durham-based textile artist, designer, and texture connoisseur helping art lovers adorn their spaces with exceptional pieces by creating unique fiber art that pushes the boundaries of what home decor can be. Through her work, she navigates concepts of community, our shared humanity and the depths that can be found when we dig below the surface of ourselves. When not in the studio, you can find Katie on the outdoor patio of one of her favorite downtown Durham bars getting lost in a steamy romance novel or laughing loudly with her pals.
Katie Hatfield
STAINED GLASS ARTIST, APPAREL DESIGNER
Camille Barot is a French multidisciplinary artist based in Durham, NC. After ten years in the home sewing industry, including running the sewing pattern company Deer&Doe and a brief stint as a fabric business lead in the corporate world, she is now embracing stained glass as her medium of choice. A reformed academic researcher with a PhD in AI, she focuses on artisanal production and traditional craftmanship while exploring sustainable uses of technology to expand creative possibilities and accessibility.
Camille Barot
ILLUSTRATOR, DESIGNER, KNITTER, SEWIST
Gabs Taccir is a graphic designer, illustrator, and crafter based Durham, NC. Known in Durham as the designer behind Durham Farmer’s Market Tomato Day. He owns and operates Studio Gabba, their independent design studio generating graphics, branding, and merchandise. They spend their time knitting, rolling on the mats practicing Brazilian JiuJitsu, and reading romance books.
Gabs Taccir
