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Photo by Daniel Lai
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Sew-Write owner Nancy Bihlmeyer sets her machine to begin sewing the letters of a customer's name onto a bag. Bihlmeyer said she never knows what to expect from daily customers.
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What started as a small one-woman business operating out of a residence in Manchester has turned into a blossoming business for area resident and Sew-Write owner Nancy Bihlmeyer.
Before opening her shop on Adrian Street downtown, Bihlmeyer operated a small embroidery business out of her home for 10 years.
Bihlmeyer, whose mother was a seamstress, said she has been around sewing all her life but the fire that drove her to open her own business came after a bad experience when ordering her daughter's high school letterman jacket.
"Years ago, kids who earned their letter jackets had to send out for them and the quality and wait time were just awful," she said. "For a large company, a town like Manchester is at the bottom of the radar, so they didn't really care how the jackets looked."
Bihlmeyer said after becoming increasingly frustrated, she decided to put her talents and knowledge to the test.
"The whole time I was working out of my home, kids would come over and try on their jackets and tell me what they wanted or how they wanted it to look and I would do it," she said. "It was an easy outreach for me because of my background."
Now in her third year in the downtown area, Bihlmeyer said her business has quickly become a personalized gift shop.
"We do personalized gifts, stuff for sports teams, varsity jackets, T-shirts, bags, hats, ties, baby clothes and quilts," she said. "Anything we can hoop we can usually do."
With her willingness to accommodate customers'
requests, Bihlmeyer said she has worked on several interesting projects over the years.
"I won't do anything raunchy so don't come asking me to embroider a naked woman on a T-shirt," she said with a laugh.
However, requests for monogrammed hearts on panties and personalized linings on caskets have been
done, she said.
"You never know who is going to come walking in and what they are going to ask for," she said. "It's a lot of fun. We do our best and pride ourselves in a crisp clean product."
Due to copyright purposes, she said she will also not reproduce an image or logo without the written consent of the agency or group that
owns the logo.
"I protect myself," she said. "I will not recreate a copyrighted image."
The effect, she said, has been positive.
"We've had some major accounts that have come through town specifically to request our service," she said. "There's not a whole lot of foot traffic. We're a destination spot. I bring people into town who want to see me."
Bihlmeyer said though there are other embroidery businesses in the area, a lot of her customers turn to her because they know she takes pride in the end product.
"Each product is different," she said. "Some may look the same, but there are so many options to choose from. It's up to the customer to tell us what they want and we try our best to give them exactly what they are looking for."
Recently the business has become a pick-up and drop-off spot for the Chelsea Dry Cleaners.
"Customers can drop off their clothes on Monday and expect them back on Friday without having to drive to Chelsea," she said. "That's important. It's definitely something the town needs."
Because the business has retained a regular flow of clientele, Bihlmeyer said she has grown accustomed to working long hours during the week.
"We're constantly doing something," she said. "I tell people it's a safe bet that we're here from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and we stay open later during the Farmer's Market on Thursdays. If I get here before 7:30 in the morning, I will open earlier."
The busiest time of year is the fall, as orders start rolling in for Christmas.
"If people want something done in time for Christmas, our cut off date is December 1," Bihlmeyer said. "They need to order now because it starts to get really busy when the summer ends."
Bihlmeyer said orders have already started to come in for secret Christmas presents.
"Our customers know that we are good at keeping secrets," she said. "If you are ordering something and you don't want someone to know, we will do our best to keep it a secret."
For more information on products and services, contact Sew-Write at 428-9630. Editor Daniel Lai cam be reached at 428-8173 or dlai@heritage.com.
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