SEWabilities

Our History

   Our business began in the roots of Quality Sewing, Inc. of Longmont, Colorado, a town of 75,000 at its inception in 1999.  Owner and operator Joan, along with her husband Ed, purchased the existing business called The Service Center in which Joan was an employee.  Being an older store in existence since the 1970s and residing inside an old log cabin-type building on the corner of 15th and Main street, the taking on of the business was no small undertaking.  The business was more of a repair shop than a machine sales business, but Joan saw the potential.  The sales figures of the prior years certainly didn’t promise much.  Joan didn’t let that thwart her vision for the little shop. After a lot of prayers and much needed interior remodeling, she and Ed turned an ugly, green carpet, dark, musky smelling little business into a rock star sewing machine store that brought customers from all over a tri-state area.  

Quality Sewing’s first customer through the doors was just the beginning of almost 20 years of an evolving store that saw the major brands of Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff and then Baby Lock become their strong foundations for sales for these many years.  Though the business advanced over time with the introduction of new product advancement and technologies, the business became a go-to location for its customers for all types of sewing needs, fabrics and classes that taught them the ins and outs of their evermore capable machines.  Quality Sewing’s biggest passion was education and having every customer love their machine as much as they do.  Because of this passion, they were able to build and retain customers that last a lifetime.  

When Ed retired from IBM in the early 2000s, his part time repair job became a full time repair job at the shop developing lasting relationships with customers as well as building trust with them that lasted decades.   His technical expertise brought customers from all over a tri-state area for his service, knowing they could trust his work and most importantly --his word. His meticulous nature and thoughtful consideration of every machine that he services is evident to his customers and keeps them coming back year after year.  Ed was known also for his Saturday breakfasts at the shop complete with donuts, fruit, coffee and more-- which not only their customers enjoyed-- but also their loved ones they shopped with, too. He was also known for his spread of food tables for events and classes, never skimping on the details that made everyone feel loved and cared for, like family. 

Ed and Joan made a great team.  Joan has a knack for knowing her customers so well that every customer that came in the store, not only did she know which machine or machines they have or did have, but also all about them as her friend.  Her familiar voice calling out to her customers by name as they came into the shop is something her Quality Sewing customers/friends still commend her with, knowing that she cared enough to really know them as a person.  Joan has a gift of knowing what machine her customer is looking for and matching that up with their needs and going above and beyond their expectations.  She is knowledgeable in all facets of the sewing industry and there isn’t any question she doesn’t know or for which she can’t find the answer.  

Like most mom and pop type businesses, Quality Sewing became a family affair. Even before day one, their daughter Michelle became a part of the business on the accounting, business consulting and tax side of things.  Over time, she became more intrinsically involved in the day to day operations of the business doing many different tasks like setting up store displays, making samples, teaching classes, purchasing/receiving in addition to her accounting and tax duties as the in-house CPA.  

When the time came for Ed and Joan to retire, they decided to move to Las Vegas, Nevada after many cold winters in Colorado. (Not that you can retire from this business that becomes a labor of love--- as it always lives on inside of you.) However, because Michelle wanted to follow along to the desert, Joan and Ed sold their beautiful Longmont store to a new owner with future plans and full knowledge that Michelle would start her own version of what they started, but in the Las Vegas Valley, with Ed and Joan at her side.  Now, that dream has become a reality as SEWabilities opens its doors to a new market and new customers. 

SEWabilities hopes for the Las Vegas and the surrounding communities to experience:

• Joan’s passion for customers becoming her friends, 

• Ed’s skill for cleaning and repairing machines from the best brand in the industry, and

• Michelle’s heart-felt desire to bring sewing to life for every person of every skill level in the many years to come. 

Quality Sewing’s first customer was still there on their last day-- because of Joan and Ed’s care and vision. 

That same vision is OUR vision--to be the shop that everyone wants to come to for their sewing needs because we know their name and because we care about them after the sale---- as friends.  It is the legacy Joan and Ed have built, and Michelle wants that legacy to become her legacy, too. Come on in!    

See you at the shop, Friends!