- May 4, 2024
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Seated at her sewing machine with fabric in hand, Lucinda “Cindy” Keogh-Cope is in her element.
In her sewing room — her “sanctuary” — the 80-year-old designer and teacher is working on a new flowery nightgown, one of her many projects. The room, complete with sewing materials, embroidering and sewing machines, and walls adorned with family photographs, is where Keogh-Cope spends the entirety of her day.
“I come here and I recuperate,” she said.
Keogh-Cope, who has taught a creative sewing class at Flagler County Public Schools’ Adult and Community Education since 1996, has contributed to various Palm Coast organizations for more than 10 years.
She recently began recycling scraps of material to assemble dog beds for the Flagler Humane Society. When fabric pieces are too small or cannot be used, she turns them into animal bedding.
Even her students will save leftover materials for her to use.
“I believe in recycling,” Keogh-Cope said. “I don’t throw anything out.”
She also makes hats for cancer patients at Florida Hospital Flagler, and she pieces together teddy bears for children patients. She sews purses for women with breast cancer, and she makes toiletry bags for soldiers during the holidays.
“I like to give back something,” she said. “I always liked to sew. It’s relaxing. It’s creative. It’s a way of sharing and giving.”
Keogh-Cope has a long history in design. She was born in Trinidad, and she began sewing at 5 years old. She later moved to New York City, where she studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and she worked at London Fog as an assistant designer.
But she said the fashion industry hindered her creativity, so she left the world of dressmaking.
“It’s a business,” she said. “You have to do what they want you to do to make money. You weren’t allowed to be creative.”
She decided to study again, and she earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics from Queens College, and a master’s degree from New York University. She then worked at the World Trade Center for the New York State Department of Education as an auditor for 20 years.
Upon retiring, Keogh-Cope made her way to Palm Coast in 1991. Soon after, she was encouraged by a friend to begin teaching. She said it makes her happy when students come up with interesting ideas.
“When somebody has an idea, I just go for it,” she said. “I like challenges.”
Kim Young, who has been a student of Keogh-Cope for 16 years, said she admires her teacher’s constant willingness to assist students.
“She is so eager to help,” Young said. “She doesn’t hesitate. She’s not reluctant to help us. She’s a very giving person.”
Currently, she and her students are working to make puppy bandanas and cat hammocks for the Humane Society, their latest community contribution.
Keogh-Cope will resume teaching in the fall. She said that her class has been very rewarding, and her students are close to her.
“Teaching at adult education has been the most gratifying,” she said. “They’re my family.”
