Hayneville, AL 36040
Let's discuss
Central time
Generations of Gee’s Bend quiltmakers built a remarkable artistic and business legacy. The internet offers another way for makers to share their work and connect with customers.
Gee’s Bend, also known as Boykin, sits along a bend of the Alabama River in Wilcox County. Its quiltmaking traditions have been passed through families for generations. In 1966, quilters from Gee’s Bend and surrounding communities founded the Freedom Quilting Bee, a Black women-owned cooperative that brought paid work and national customers to the area decades before online selling.
Today, artists and community organizations continue to tell that history, make new work and welcome visitors. Their work and stories deserve to be seen in their own words.
Visit Gee’s Bend’s own guide to quiltmakers, studios and community shops. Check each maker’s preferred way to buy and credit the artist when sharing their work.
The Gee’s Bend Heritage Trail and local tours offer a way to learn the community’s history from people connected to it.
Local artists lead workshops that connect visitors with the living quilting tradition. Check the current schedule with the organizers.
A dependable connection can help a maker photograph work, update a shop listing, communicate with customers, process payments and promote an event. It can also help visitors find local businesses before they travel. These are possibilities for any Black Belt entrepreneur, built on work the community already leads.
Explore Gee’s Bend through its official visitor site, which is a project of Souls Grown Deep and the Gee’s Bend and Alberta communities.