Our Story

A Place for Healing

The Transformed Shop is the social enterprise of New Life Mission, formerly Brevard Rescue Mission, a long-term transitional housing program that has assisted women with children experiencing homelessness in Brevard County for the past 12 years.

Within the walls of the Transformed Shop sewing center, women find a sanctuary of hope, healing and creativity as they leave behind their experience of homelessness and start a new chapter toward self-sufficiency.

Like the materials they repurpose, their lives gain new purpose as they rearrange the scraps of the past into a beautiful new tapestry.

Studies have shown that just 45 minutes of creative work with your hands can significantly lower your cortisol stress hormone levels and the goal of the Transformed Shop is to be a sanctuary of hope, healing and creativity as they work through the New Life Mission program.

 

Around the Shop

In the Transformed Shop, the women, who are called students in the New Life Mission program, work with staff and volunteers to cut and sew repurposed fabric and denim. Their creations range from denim keychains, lanyards and earrings to placemats, coasters and tote bags. The items are sold from the Transformed Shop location at 1230 N. Harbor City Blvd. in Melbourne, Florida, during community events and online at www.TransformedShop.com.

All sales go back into supporting the work of the Transformed Shop and New Life Mission to break the cycle of homelessness for generations.

Growth on the Horizon

The Transformed Shop’s first project in the spring of 2020 was to make face masks to donate to healthcare workers and other nonprofit organizations. To maintain social distance, students received bins of materials in their apartments for cutting and sewing, and 500 face masks were made and donated.

The Shop officially launched its website with its first items for sale—face masks and earrings—in June of 2020. Now the website has a wide variety of handmade items to choose including accessories and products for the home.

In the fall of 2020, the Transformed Shop received its first corporate order for 1,240 sets of denim coasters, which allowed for the hiring of two seasonal employees.