Even though Justin has his own house, there is still a lot of his stuff here at our house. Whenever he stops in, I encourage him to take some of his stuff to his house. When he was here the other day I asked him about this wool, fleece-lined coat. He used to wear it a lot, but he said that the zipper was broken so I could take it to Goodwill. The whole slider tab was missing and I'm not very good at sewing in zippers, but I figured I could find someplace to get it replaced.
There is a tailor in town but several friends have had less-than-ideal experiences with him. Google gave me a listing for "Mary's Sewing and Alterations" so I thought I'd give her a try.
I went to the residential address that was given, and it looked like it might be the right place.
When you go through the door, you enter the breezeway. It has several lovely blooming plants and lots of bags that I assumed had repairs that were ready for customers to pick up.
I rang the doorbell and got to meet Mary. She's probably about 80 years old, and when I explained the zipper problem to her, she said that she was sure she could fix it. She took me to a back bedroom and showed me a large box full of zipper sliding tabs. She told me that when she had to replace a zipper, she took the tab off of the old zipper and saved it for future repairs. She thought she could find a new tab in her box, and if not, then she would replace the zipper. She would call me when it was done, and I could pick it up, and leave the money in the bunny.
It took me about 10 minutes to get home, and as I was walking in from my car, Mary called and said she was able to fix it with a new tab. I could pick up the jacket from the breezeway anytime.
When I went to get the jacket, there was no little piece of paper pinned on it saying how much she had charged. I rang the doorbell again and asked what I owed her. She told me that since it only took her 10 minutes she couldn't charge me anything. I tried to tell her that she had done something great and deserved to be paid for it, but she kept refusing.
Now Justin has a warm jacket that was fixed in record time, for free, and I found someone that does wonderful sewing and alterations. It's all sew great!
At a time when everything is costing more, it's so refreshing to hear about someone fixing something for free (though I would have been tempted to leave a little something in the bunny just because I love the idea of paying the bunny!).
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what I needed to read on this Monday that seems a bit dimmer with the weekends sad loss... I love that there is a person near you who is doing the very best thing she can for those in her neighborhood! (And I am in love with the Bunny!!)
ReplyDeleteThat bunny is great, Mary is great, butI really, really want a jacket like that! How wonderful that she fixed it so fast for for FREE!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect gift all around! A gift of a simple fix from Mary. A gift of a "brand new" and functional jacket for Justin. And a gift of a reliable seamstress for you. Win-win-win!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely lady! She reminds me of a dear family friend that I lost two years ago who also did alterations and repairs from her home. She loved working on wedding dresses.
ReplyDeleteYou made me laugh when you said that your son still has things in your house. I have three grown kids and my house is a museum of things they left behind. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a storage facility.
I'm glad I'm not the only one! It would only take an afternoon to pack up the stuff my older son still has here, but it might take a week or more for all of my younger son's crap.
DeleteThat was very kind of her. It's really nice that a good jacket could be saved so easily.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's so GREAT!! And I'm glad that jacket didn't go to Goodwill.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful story! I have a Mary, her name is Lois, and she's the best at this sort of thing, too!
ReplyDeletewhat a treasure trove of a place. I love these stories :) I have my kids stuff at my house still, but they won't take it - I bring it up all the time.
ReplyDeleteI think a nice baked good might be appreciated. She really did a nice thing.
ReplyDeleteMary sounds like a gem. The photos of her place are so charming. I think repair and alterations are getting to be a lost art. Although it is highly unlikely, I'd like to meet Mary someday.
ReplyDeleteok. this is a Wonderful Story and thank you for sharing it! Justin's coat looks like ready for another 10-20 years!!
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