Seamstress Yuka Kennedy has opened Uptown Tailoring, located at 18 N. College St., offering clients general alterations and custom work.
The perfect clothing purchase might not come with the perfect fit. Uptown Tailoring can fix that.
The shop, 18 N. College St., is owned by Yuka Kennedy. Her hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and Saturdays by appointment.
“I opened Uptown Tailoring because I have worked in the sewing trade for many years and always wanted to go out on my own so I can do things more my own way, like offering quality work at affordable prices and in a very timely manner,” said Kennedy. “Having my own shop lets me offer my customers a little more. ... My customers can come to me with a wide variety of sewing projects outside of general tailoring and most of the time I can get it done.”
The new tailor shop is located on the second floor of the United Campus Ministry.
“UCM owns our building at 18 N. College Street and rents office space to a few local organizations including Appalachian Peace and Justice Network, and the Sexual Assault Prevention Program,” said Melissa Wales, the executive director at UCM. “We have a small office space on the second floor that Uptown Tailoring decided would be ideal for this small business.”
Kennedy’s services include general alterations, tailoring, and clothing repair such as hemming, zipper replacement and sizing. She can also do custom draperies, as well as repair or size your existing draperies. Her customization varies from dresses to pillows, bibs to quilts.
The typical cost for these repairs can vary. For hemming pants, dresses, shirts and coats, the prices can be anywhere from $8-20. Sleeves on shirts and coats can be $8-15. Fixing the waist on pants and skirts as well as taking in sides on shirts, coats, and dresses can be about $10 and up.
“Not only the students of Athens but the residents of Athens County need a seamstress,” Kennedy said. “I have served Athens for six years and have gotten to know the needs of students and locals alike. Many are finding they need to get the most out of their clothing and getting an item repaired gives more use for their money. A lot of employers, organizations, clubs find themselves looking for a seamstress to sew on patches, and size uniforms that doesn't fit just right.”
Kennedy said she was taught to to sew by her grandmother at a very young age while she was growing up in Japan. After attending college here in the United States, she got a job sewing in a men's dress pants factory and has continued sewing ever since.
“I have received excellent service every time that I have gone to Yuka since I started attending OU,” said Andrea Venn, a graduate student at Ohio University and one of Kennedy’s customers. “She does detailed, accurate work and she gets it done in a timely manner. The pricing is very reasonable, and I can tell because I always find someone to do alterations when I move to a new area.”
Venn also said she would definitely recommend Kennedy and Uptown Tailoring to other students because she does great work and is starting a true local business. She said students should take their clothes to Kennedy because she can hem, fit, and repair pretty much any article of clothing.
“Uptown Tailoring serves the community in a variety of tailoring and alteration work,” Wales said. “It's great resource for those of us wanting to repair or alter a piece of clothing rather than discarding it.”
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