Longtime sewing teacher fears she'll have to close shop due to rising rent

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) — As we close out Black Business Month, CBS News Philadelphia is highlighting a small business built on a lifelong passion. That's how it all started for one South Jersey woman teaching the next generation how to sew. Now, Tish Carter fears she'll have to close her shop due to the rising cost of rent.

This past July, at a summer camp in Cherry Hill, about a dozen young girls between the ages of 5 and 13 gathered around Ms. Tish to learn how to make clothes. The theme of the week-long camp was "nature" and each student gets to pick out their own fabric, pattern, and design. Then, they bring it to life.

Tish Carter is the owner of Sew Authentic and at her studio, she offers camps, classes, internships and more.

"Anything that has to do with fabric, fiber arts, fashion, anything like that, interior design, design of any type, I teach that," Carter said.

For those who want a future in fashion, Carter helps students get their portfolios together and apply for scholarships.

She said the studio space she's been in for three years now, located just off Route 70 in Cherry Hill, has everything she needs — a big open space to accommodate classes and equipment, plenty of parking and loyal customers and students. But she's now worried because her lease is up in November, and she expects the new rent will be higher than she can afford.

"I've seen everybody either move or close up shop," Carter said.

She says the bottom line for small businesses is often more complicated than customers realize. According to numbers from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 56% of small businesses owned by people of color say inflation is the top challenge. Another 29% say the top challenge is revenue.

CBS News Philadelphia reached out to Carter's property owner to see if the rent will go up but we did not get a response.

But Carter says she's committed to finding a way to serve her customers and students as she always has.