A low hum emanates from the “green machine” in the corner of the cluttered sewing room on Lynn Drive in Oxford. With the push of a pedal, the industrial Brother sewing machine comes to life in machine gun bursts, but instead of bullets, it releases sturdy stitches on green polyester. Two hands — ones that have been stabbed with needles and pins, cut with scissors and burnt on irons and lamps — push levers, pull and snip thread, rip seams and guide the fabric on their own, as their owner listens to the radio and thinks about the past.
“I go on auto-pilot,” said Cynthia Holyfield, 53, who has done alterations for the past 26 years and has sewed for nearly 40. “A lot of times I’ll sit up here and do alterations, and it’ll be done before I know it.”
Category Careers in Apparel, Designers | 0 Comments »Here in Portland, we’re used to our top-notch selection of local framebuilding talent, but how about some locally-made, custom clothes to wear on your locally-made, custom bike? And no, we’re not talking about tight hipster-jeans, or roadie lycra and spandex.
Enter Emily Horton, who is putting the finishing touches on the patterns and designs for her bike-specific, custom clothing. Horton is proprietor of M-Horton Clothing Designs, a one-woman custom-clothing and sewing house.
Emily Horton shows off her Cycling Trousers
As millions of people enter the job market and business owners struggle to entice consumers, Ryan Taylor may be better positioned than most to weather the economic crisis.
Taylor is a custom tailor who brings his showroom to clients’ homes and offices.
What began as a small loan has turned into 1,300 loyal clients. He averages close to $30,000 per month in revenue, and sales are down by only about 15 percent this year, he said.
