Joy Alterations is a wonderful small business. It is local so all the more reason to support it.
Parking can be a challenge especially during lunchtime because the smallish parking lot serves Cafe Rio and other popular restaurants nearby as well as a ton of other random shops. There is additional parking around back that is partially obscured.
The store's namesake, Joy, is a very pleasant lady who is always at the store and appears to do all the work herself. Joy seems to have multiple lifetimes of sewing experience. She is easygoing and professional. She always has a gentle smile. She is not into small talk except when comes to her dog-- an adorable Shih Tzu named Coco.
There is a hot mess of an almost bewildering variety of clothes and other accessories, many of which are bedazzled (i.e. studded with rhinestones), lining the walls, on top of tables, and inside display cases. These are all available for sale. Joy also offers to custom bedazzle, sequin, or deconstruct anything under the sun. The only limit is your imagination. Take care though before committing to consider Karl Lagerfeld's immortal koan: "Trendy is the last stage before tacky.
Joy has never turned down an alteration request. This is true even when my presentments has been quite tricky and unusual. It does seems to have helped tremendously to sketch out the alteration plan out on a piece of paper and give it to her alongside the item to be altered. She charges a premium for this sort of extra work-- complicated custom orders can be quite a bit pricier. Which makes sense.
The store itself is a little bit gloomy. Eeyore would probably enjoy napping in the corner though he would obviously deny it. Hope the savings in lighting bills are being passed through to the customers. That would make the somber ambiance worth it perhaps. There are two dressing rooms that are decently sized and clean. Next to them is an area with three angled mirrors mounted against a small step-stage to stand on while Joy measures your clothes for alteration. Joy makes measuring seem almost effortless and its over before you know it.
Even though she appears to handle everything herself she always has jobs completed on time. Of course, once in a while an alteration comes out not fitting quite right. But Joy always makes it right at no additional charge.
The candy dish near the register is a nifty touch-- I always satisfy my sweet tooth during drop offs and pick ups.
At Joys... life is but a seam! read more
