MANKATO — It was a downturn in farming that led Sarah Breitbarth to seek out sewing as a new occupation.
After stepping away from farming with her husband in rural Truman, she landed a job at what was then called Kayc Kline Alterations in Mankato, where she worked for a few years before taking over as owner with business partner Judy Marben.
The pair ran Pins and Needles Alterations on North Riverfront Drive for 15 years before Breitbarth bought out Marben.
She’s owned it by herself for the past 10 years. This week she is selling the business to one of her employees, Claire Zimprich. Breitbarth will continue to work part time at the shop.
“We do clothing alterations and repairs,” she said. “We do pretty much anything sewing related. We always joke that we’ll try anything once and if we don’t like it, we won’t do it again.”
Breitbarth has grown Pins and Needles from two sewers to seven and has seen her income grow as well. She said projects have included everything from hot tub covers to bridal and prom dresses. One of her specialties is sewing adaptive garments for handicapped people.
Another niche for Pins and Needles are memory bears, whereby seamstresses take meaningful fabric, cut it up and craft a teddy bear. “That’s been great too,” Breitbarth said. “I’m taking that part of the business with me. I’ll be doing that work from home.”
Her mother and grandma taught her to sew, putting a needle and thread in her hands at age 9. She remembers starting her sewing exploits with hand embroidery.
During her partial retirement, Breitbarth plans to enjoy some down time.
“I’ll relax a bit more than I have been,” she said. “We have property up north and we’ll spend more time up there. And I’ll still be sewing at home. I’m sure I’ll spend lots of hours sewing.”
She said she likes to make rag rugs and use her embroidery machine.
Zimprich has been working at Pins and Needles Alterations for about seven years. She said she started hoping for a short internship, but it “progressed into a more solid job and from there it’s kept snowballing and growing and becoming more wonderful.”
Her favorite projects are bustles on formal dresses and wedding dresses, she said.
“I’ve learned so much from Sarah and the other gals here,” she said. “I’ve been sewing since I was in my early teens and even before that, I was making stuff for dolls. There are a ton of tips and tricks that I’ve learned here, which have helped me enormously.”
Breitbarth and Zimprich first began talking about an ownership transfer years ago, but with Breitbarth hitting retirement age, the time finally seemed right to make the transition.
“We thought about how we wanted to do things and it just kind of came together this year,” Zimprich said. “We’re doing it. I feel pretty good about it. I’m excited for the future.”
She enjoys using problem-solving skills and having the opportunity to be creative in her work.
“It’s nice to be able to work with my hands,” she said. “I like making things, fixing things. It’s just a passion that’s turned into a career. I don’t see a lot of people who can say that about what they do every day. So I’m lucky that way.”
Zimprich is 39 years old and enjoys working with her colleagues, including a few in their 20s. “That’s wonderful,” she said. “I’m so glad to have them. They make the future bright.”
The Waseca resident anticipates keeping the business pretty much as is, she said. There will be no extreme changes.
“I’m just really grateful to Sarah and all the other employees here for being so patient and giving me this opportunity,” she said. “They’re on board with this, so it’s been good.”
Paula Wasmund, of Janesville, has been a seamstress at Pins and Needles Alterations for 11 years. She cherishes her time working with Breitbarth.
“It is amazing,” she said. “She is very down to earth and she cares about your family. She’s easy to work for and she helps you if you have any problems. She’s very open-minded. She lets you do it instead of watching her do it. She’s just a very caring individual.”
Wasmund said the camaraderie at Pins and Needles is what she likes best about her job.
“I love it here,” she said. “They’re like family. We all get along incredibly well. We’re like a bunch of sisters who are all working together and actually getting along together. It’s probably one of the coolest jobs that I’ve ever had.”
She said she’s happy for Breitbarth that she can retire and for Zimprich to be taking over.
Breitbarth also said she’s pleased with how things have turned out.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “I had no idea there would be young people who are able and willing to pick up this occupation and continue it into the future. It seemed like a dying art. So I’m excited to know there are young people who are excited about continuing the job.”
Sounds like a seamless transition.