My husband and I made the drive this morning to Longview Sewing on the recommendation of a friend of mine. I knew the machine I wanted, wanted to give a mom-and-pop my business, and the only store I knew of with the machine I wanted was Montevilla Sewing in Portland (if you have an Oregon ID, purchases at Longview Sewing are tax-exempt!), which is a large business. The mom-and-pop I knew of didn't carry this line. Big bummer!
Finding the store was hard at first, since there is no name sign, just an hanging sign over the door with an outline of an old sewing machine. As soon as you park, you can tell it's a clean, well-laid out shop. We didn't need to get in the doors to see that!
Unfortunately the machine I wanted wasn't in stock, though I had been told yesterday that it was. My heart sank. Since my machine kicked the bucket thoroughly last night, I really had to get a new machine today to finish up a gown that's needed Friday, and I really didn't want a machine I didn't have time to thoroughly research. Brad offered to do one of two things, either which would be a great thing:
I could take the next model up's barely-used floor model (Baby Lock machines have stitch-counters, and I do more sewing in a couple hours than that machine had on it) for the price of the machine I wanted, or I could take that one as a loan, and he'd personally deliver the one I want when it gets in stock. I really had my heart set on the particular machine, really didn't want to deal with the pen and wouldn't use the laser, so opted for B, and he'll be delivering the machine I want.
Price-wise, he could meet Montevilla's price ($200 less with a sale they have going on), which would come with their warranty, or for the $200 more, which still has this machine $1,500 less than Montevilla and every other store I called in this state and the neighboring state, it would come with not only an extra couple years on the warranty, but all servicing. It's equivalent to the optional Gold Package from Baby Lock, but not for $699. SOLD. Dropping $3,500 really wasn't in my budget at the moment, though is a necessary business expense, and now that I'm home, I feel very good about it.
While waiting for my husband to get back from taking our munchkin to get something to nom on, Brad and I sat there shooting the breeze, and I was impressed he knew the sordid history of Singer (it has impacted federal trading laws, and the former head of Singer has been in prison since the 80's), and what's gone in with Viking and Pfaff as part of it. Almost no one I know has any clue about that stuff. So color me shocked and pleased to find someone who actually studies up on that stuff. It makes a massive difference in terms of product quality. That Singer from the 70's or that Viking you loved from 15 years ago aren't made by the same companies anymore. The names have been sold. So if you want someone knowledgable about more than just how to thread machines, Brad's your go-to guy. By the time you leave, you feel like you've made a new friend. And what's sweet is he pays attention to people, and very clearly remembered that friend of mine who hasn't been able to make it in in a couple years.
There is a connected fabric store, and it's gorgeous. Rather than having fabric draped over the tops of bolts, which never looks neat, no matter how much other stores may try, the bolts are folded so you can see the prints clearly, and they're wrapped around the bolts and tied up with gold cord. Wonderful presentation, and makes the fabrics look like a gift ready to be presented to you. It's all cottons, very high quality, very beautiful. I've never seen such a concentration of fabrics that I wanted. $11.99 was the price per yard on all the ones I looked at, which is phenomenal for the quality. It makes JoAnn's quilting cottons look...well, I don't think the censors on Yelp would allow those words.
Truly, this store would be worth an even farther drive than I made. This store. Go to it. read more