Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabrielle Hodges.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started The MixMatch because I was looking for a space that didn’t exist and I chose to create it. I’m a former teacher and I’ve always loved of learning and sharing my knowledge with others. That concept extends to my love of craft. Because I love learning, I’m always looking to acquire more skills especially craft skills. And because I’m a former teacher, I’ve always enjoyed attending classes. So when I began quilting in 2023 after the birth of my son, I wanted to find classes to learn more about quilting and most of those classes were held on weekday mornings and afternoons. Then when I started needlepointing in 2024 I wanted to find a place to hang out with my friends and stitch after work or at night when my baby was sleeping. Many craft businesses are only open during the day or they close early which makes it really hard for working adults and moms to attend classes and build community. This is why I started The MixMatch. I wanted a place that was open for working adults who wanted to learn about craft, who wanted to spend time with like minded people, and who wanted a place to further their creative practice. When I started The MixMatch back in March of 2025 I partnered with a local craft business; a bead store called Be Made Beads, to host bag charm workshops. Those first two workshops sold out and by June I had signed a lease on a brick and mortar space. I worked during the evenings and on weekends to get the space ready. I found furniture secondhand and I took the materials, supplies, and equipment from my own craft room at home to get started. Then we opened in August 2025 and we had great reception from the community. Many people told us this was something that Fort Worth really needed. We started as a creative craft workshop space and small retail shop with local vendors and as time has gone on we moved away from the retail space and have focused on our classes and workshops. I’ve always loved teaching and The MixMatch gives me a place to be a teacher again and to continue sharing my knowledge with the community. We have now moved away from offering walk-in craft experiences and are moving toward being an actual community studio with a roster of multi-part classes and one-time workshops in stained glass, fused glass, mosaic, sewing, pottery, crochet, needlepoint, lino cut and so much more. We are a studio dedicated to craft; the skill, technique, traditions and art of craft. We currently have a team of artists and craftspeople who teach our classes and every week we get to welcome in new and familiar faces to come and create and explore with us in our studio. I like to say we’re a home for the creatively curious because our goal is to create a place that people can explore many different crafts, have space to practice, and find community all under one roof.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I wouldn’t say it’s been a smooth road. I think it’s been a curvy road. When I first signed the lease I spent a lot of time trying to get electrical and the certificate of occupancy set up. Because of that, a lot of the work that had to be done in the space was done by the light of the sun and without air in the dead of the summer. But we were able to open and get started with operations. From there the biggest obstacle has been marketing and just getting people to know we’re here and who we are. We’ve had a great deal of people come into our studio because they saw us on tik tok or instagram and it’s been incredible to see the support from the online community. Now we’re finally able to get our into the community and start meeting people face to face and connecting with other businesses to form connections. Our other big struggle was just having enough time and bandwidth to operate the business. As the owner, I spend a lot of time with programming and running the business. Up until a few weeks ago I was working as a corporate instructional designer during the day and running The MixMatch in the evenings and on the weekends. But luckily I was able to leave my corporate job to run The MixMatch full time and I’m excited for everything that’s in store for our studio!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The MixMatch?
The MixMatch is a community craft studio dedicated to the study and practice of craft. We host classes and workshops in craft disciplines like stained glass, pottery, fused glass, mosaic, sewing, crochet, needlepoint, lino cut and much more. We are known for our extremely knowledgeable, patient, and inviting group of instructors who are all artists and craftsmen. We are proud that we get to be a space for craft here in Fort Worth. One of the things that I’m most proud of is the fact that our hours reflect the people we serve. Our studio currently opens 4pm-9pm Tuesday-Friday and 10am-9pm on Saturdays. While many craft stores and businesses are open during the day, we make sure that we’re open at night for the working adults who want a place to build community and learn about craft.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Having a full studio makes me happy. It means that all the hard work I’ve done is working. It also means there’s a studio full of people who committed to an afternoon or a night where they disconnect from the online world and engage with craft and creativity. It also means I get the opportunity to tell new people about everything else we offer because we get a lot of people who came in because they saw one video for the exact class they’re taking and they haven’t been able to see what else we do in our studio.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://themixmatchfw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themixmatchfw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16MfTyEytT/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@themixmatch
