SALISBURY – Vibes, a creative arts incubator owned by Sabrina Harris, opened last month with a mission to provide a creative space for artists.

The new center, located at 1024 S. Fulton St., aims to provide a platform for spoken-word artists, fashion designers, graphic designers and more. Harris said she wants to create a space where artists can showcase their skills through painting, drawing, music, songwriting, poetry and photography.

Vibes also will welcome those interested in hosting events such as baby showers and luncheons, Harris said. The space includes a seamstress room, space for catering, a sewing room and additional events space.

“I aim at being a brand that people recognize and providing a space that embraces fine arts,” Harris said. “I want to be able to help people get their name out there and to provide a place where people can come and feel comfortable.”

En route to opening Vibes, Harris said she had to overcome multiple challenges in her life, but she didn’t allow that to stop her.

“I am completely deaf without my hearing aids, but with my hearing aids, I am only hard of hearing,“ she said.

Harris previously operated a seamstress business called Sabrina Bougie Styles, but she decided to take her business in a different direction and open the arts center after having a health scare.

“I was extremely tired (right around) prom season last year and had been in my previous location three years and in this business four years. I started thinking to myself, ‘It’s time for a change,’” she said. “I went to the doctor, and the doctor said I was overworking myself.

“So I took the summer off. I said to myself, ‘I’m not sewing anymore. I’m done. I’m over it. My back hurts, and my knees hurt.’”

After being advised by her doctor to control her stress level, Harris decided she would remodel her shop, instead of closing it, and adjust her goal for the business.

“Within 30 days of remodeling it, the owner of this location of where I am at now reached out to me,” she said. “I came into the space and immediately I felt good. It was ‘a vibe.’ I feel good when I’m around art, when I can see it, touch it. It just does something for me.”

She reflected on her journey as “amazing” and “amazingly tiring.”

“Originally, I was on South Main Street in a shopping center and I did fashion design and seamstress work,” she said. “I was having a hard time finding employees for the seamstress side of it and to complete alterations. Plenty of people wanted to do fashion design; that’s the glamorous part of it. But no one wanted to work as a seamstress.

“My goal of Vibes was to have a nice little incubator and a place where people can showcase their talent, whether they produce new music, a bridal shower, you name it,” she said.

Harris says she plans to host “Creatives Uncensored Social Night” every other Friday as a place for artists to freely express themselves.

Visitors can find many pieces of artwork in Vibes created by Bailey Wingler, who works in the department of fine and applied arts at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College .

For more information about upcoming events and to book a space at Vibes, go to www.vibesalisbury.com.