FabMo
FabMo is an all-volunteer nonprofit that rescues approximately 70 tons of discontinued designer samples annually — fabric, wallpaper, tile, and carpet — redistributing them to crafters, educators, and charitable organizations via Sunnyvale warehouse sales, online/eBay stores, and Bay Area satellite events.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersSunnyvale, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What FabMo does
FabMo is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization founded in 2008 in Sunnyvale, California, that rescues approximately 70 tons of discontinued designer samples annually — including fabric, wallpaper, tile, and carpet — and redistributes them to the creative community to divert material from landfills. The organization operates as a creative-reuse intermediary between manufacturers/designers discarding samples and crafters, educators, and charitable organizations seeking affordable designer materials. Governance is provided by a 7-member working Board of Directors chaired by Holly Welstein, with co-founders Hannah and Jonathan Cranch continuing as volunteers; the organization has no paid staff, no parent company, and no institutional funding.
The core offering is the curated inventory of rescued materials, distributed through multiple channels: twice-monthly Selection Events at the Sunnyvale warehouse (1240 Birchwood Drive, Suite 2), an online store for pickup, an eBay storefront for shipped items, satellite Selection Events in Santa Cruz and Vallejo, and the Artisans Market in Los Altos. Complementary programs include educational workshops, the FabMo Project Resource Center (a library of DIY tutorials), the SewMo volunteer sewing program that produces ~30 outfits per month for nonprofit partner Grateful Garment, and the FabMo Volunteer App (FVA) for volunteer scheduling.
The business model is a hybrid of material sales, philanthropy, and referral revenue. Materials are sold via donation-based, pay-what-you-can pricing at events and through e-commerce, supplemented by direct monetary donations from individuals and corporate matching programs, and a small Amazon Smile referral stream. Customer segments are primarily individual crafters/sewists (long-tail, primary), with secondary segments of educators purchasing bulk fabric squares for classrooms and nonprofit organizations receiving donated materials for charitable sewing. Geographic scope is the San Francisco Bay Area for in-person operations, with global reach for shipped eBay orders.
FabMo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FabMo
- Legal name
- FabMo Inc.
- Website
- https://fabmo.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- FabMo is an all-volunteer nonprofit that rescues approximately 70 tons of discontinued designer samples annually — fabric, wallpaper, tile, and carpet — redistributing them to crafters, educators, and charitable organizations via Sunnyvale warehouse sales, online/eBay stores, and Bay Area satellite events.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FabMo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Creative Reuse Materials
- NAICS
- Sewing, Needlework, and Piece Goods Retailers (459130), Used Merchandise Retailers (459510)
- SIC
- Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses (5961), Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions (5130)
- akta.pro primary industry
- DIY Craft Kits & Project Kits Retail (CRALACAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Arts, Crafts & DIY Hobby Supplies Distribution (CRAOAMAE), Packaging Recovery & Closed-Loop Programs (Take-Back, Deposit-Return, EPR Support) (IMALAMAF)
Keywords
Where FabMo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sunnyvale
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
FabMo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Material Sales: Revenue generated from selling rescued designer materials including fabric, wallpaper, tile, carpet, and other crafting supplies at Selection Events, online store, and eBay.
- Donations: Monetary donations from individuals and corporate matching programs to support FabMo's operations and facility costs.
- Amazon Smile: FabMo receives a small percentage of eligible Amazon purchases when customers designate FabMo as their charity through Amazon Smile program.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Donation-based pricing at Selection Events |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
FabMo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FabMo rescues approximately 70 tons of discontinued designer samples each year—including fabric, wallpaper, tile, and carpet—and makes them available to individual crafters, sewists, educators, and nonprofit partners through twice-monthly Selection Events at its Sunnyvale warehouse, an online store for local pickup, an eBay store for shipped items, satellite Bay Area events, and an Artisans Market. Complementary offerings include skill-building workshops and a FabMo Project Resource Center with DIY tutorials.
Product overview
FabMo is a nonprofit creative reuse organization that operates as a single integrated program rather than a platform architecture. The core offering is rescuing discontinued designer samples (fabric, wallpaper, tile, carpet) and making them available through multiple channels: twice-monthly Selection Events at their Sunnyvale warehouse, an Online Store for pickup, an eBay Store for shipping, and in-person shopping. Complementary services include Workshops for skill-building, an Artisans Market in Los Altos, a Volunteer Program, and a Project Resource Center with DIY tutorials. The unified mission connects environmental stewardship with creative community access to rescued materials.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FabMo Volunteer App (FVA): Online volunteer application and scheduling platform at volunteer.fabmo.org
- Selection Events
- Special Sales
- SewMo
- FabMo Arts Boutique
Products and services
- Selection Events
- Online Store (pickup)
- eBay Store
- Artisans Market
- Workshops
- Satellite Selection Events
Quantifiable outcome
- Approximately 70 tons of materials diverted from landfills annually
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use FabMo
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
FabMo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
FabMo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Grateful GarmentcoreFabMo volunteers support Grateful Garment by sewing clothing and blankets for sexual assault victims using rescued FabMo materials. The SewMo team of 8 volunteers produces approximately 30 outfits monthly. Grateful Garment serves victims across 45 California counties. FabMo also provides fabric puzzles and unfinished garments that volunteers complete for donation.
- Sewing4GoodcoreFabMo volunteers Randa and Rachel sewed medical-grade isolation gowns through an initiative launched by the nonprofit Sewing4Good during the COVID-19 pandemic. FabMo donated materials for mask making during shelter-in-place.
- FabMo (to Marge Gordon)coreMarge Gordon serves as Volunteer Coordinator and leads the SewMo team in partnership with Grateful Garment. She coordinates volunteers and oversees charitable sewing programs using FabMo materials.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
FabMo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- FabScrap: NYC-based nonprofit creative reuse organization focused on diverting fashion and textile waste from landfills. Directly comparable to FabMo in mission, material types handled (fabric, leather, trim), nonprofit structure, and member-based shopping model. Closest analog geographically despite operating in a different metro.
- Reuse Alliance: National nonprofit network advancing creative reuse through education, advocacy, and partnerships with reuse organizations. Comparable to FabMo in mission and organizational structure, and serves as a representative of the broader creative reuse industry FabMo operates within.
- Scrap (Scrap Berkeley): Bay Area nonprofit creative reuse center diverting materials from landfill and selling them affordably to educators, artists, and the public. Almost identical operating model to FabMo: warehouse-based retail of rescued art/craft/textile materials, mission-aligned nonprofit, donation-supported. Operates in the same Bay Area geography as FabMo.
Broad incumbents
- Joann Fabric and Crafts: Largest US specialty retailer of fabrics, sewing notions, and craft supplies. Competes for the same customer wallets as FabMo but at vastly greater scale, carrying new rather than rescued materials and operating a national chain. Reusable comparator for the underlying customer base of sewists and crafters FabMo serves.
- Hobby Lobby: National arts, crafts, and hobby retailer carrying fabric, sewing notions, and home decor materials. Comparable target customer (hobbyists, crafters, home creators), but offers only new merchandise at scale versus FabMo's rescued inventory.
- Etsy: Major online marketplace for handmade, vintage, and craft supplies including fabrics, notions, and sewing materials. Overlaps with FabMo's eBay channel and serves the same creative/crafter buyer, but operates at platform scale rather than a single warehouse.
Emerging players
- Textile Arts Center: Brooklyn nonprofit combining textile arts education, studio access, and small-scale material sales. Comparable to FabMo's educational programming and creative-community orientation, but heavier on instruction than material rescue/sale.
Regional players
- Mood Fabrics: NYC-based specialty fabric store serving designers, sewists, and crafters with high-end textiles. Comparable product focus and target customer (textile-focused creators), but operates as a for-profit retailer in a different geography than FabMo.
- Britex Fabrics: San Francisco-based independent specialty fabric retailer (since 1945) carrying designer textiles to a customer base that overlaps with FabMo's sewist buyers. Comparable product category (piece goods, designer fabrics) and similar Bay Area customer base, but new merchandise only.
Others
- GreenFiber / Sustainable Textile Nonprofits Cluster: Loose cluster of textile-recycling and sustainable-materials organizations (e.g., Closed Loop Partners' apparel initiatives) operating upstream of FabMo. They influence the broader material-recovery ecosystem FabMo depends on for donated designer samples.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
FabMo social profiles
Digital presenceFabMo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FabMo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
FabMo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FabMo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FabMo
What does FabMo do?
FabMo rescues approximately 70 tons of discontinued designer samples each year—including fabric, wallpaper, tile, and carpet—and makes them available to individual crafters, sewists, educators, and nonprofit partners through twice-monthly Selection Events at its Sunnyvale warehouse, an online store for local pickup, an eBay store for shipped items, satellite Bay Area events, and an Artisans Market. Complementary offerings include skill-building workshops and a FabMo Project Resource Center with DIY tutorials.
Is FabMo a public or private company?
FabMo is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was FabMo founded?
FabMo was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is FabMo based?
FabMo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, United States, in the North America region.
How does FabMo make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Material Sales are the primary driver. The others are donations and amazon Smile.
Who are FabMo's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are FabScrap, Reuse Alliance and Scrap (Scrap Berkeley). Broad incumbents are Joann Fabric and Crafts, Hobby Lobby and Etsy. Textile Arts Center is listed as an emerging player. Regional players are Mood Fabrics and Britex Fabrics. GreenFiber / Sustainable Textile Nonprofits Cluster is listed as an others.
Does FabMo have an API?
No public API is recorded for FabMo.
What industry is FabMo in?
FabMo's product category is Creative Reuse Materials. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRALACAH, DIY Craft Kits & Project Kits Retail, with a secondary code of CRAOAMAE, Arts, Crafts & DIY Hobby Supplies Distribution. Its NAICS code is 459130 and its SIC code is 5961.