A hand-stitched legacy

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A hand-stitched legacy

Tuesdays and Fridays find Trevathan’s Sweep & Sew Shoppe bustling with the activity of a sewing workshop: whirring machines, the snipping of cloth, and the soft chatter of half a dozen women bent over their various projects.

Trevathan’s Sweep & Sew Shoppe is situated in downtown Hillsdale, Mich. on the corner of Broad and McCollum Street and has been serving the citizens of Hillsdale since 1948. This family business was started when Don Trevathan, a local minister and evangelist, began selling vacuums for extra income. Duane Trevathan, Don’s son, remembers the early days.

“My dad started this in ‘48,” Duane Trevathan said. “It was originally located on Union Street, past the post office, along the side of the fire dept.”

The late Don Trevathan had been struggling to support his family on the modest tithing provided by his church. Dissatisfaction with his side job among the congregation forced him to leave the ministry.

“They said ‘we don’t want our minister selling vacuums.’” Duane Trevathan said.

The opening of his vacuum store, however, did not keep him from continuing his work with the church. He would continue his evangelical work throughout his life.

“When he died, mother sold the second store in Jackson, but kept the one here,” Duane Trevathan said. He and his wife Patty Trevathan took over the business in 2002.

“I grew up with it and was involved in all the aspects of it. My sister took over at first. My sister and mother moved it down from the Union street location,” Duane Trevathan said.

Patty Trevathan has run a quilting workshop in the new location since 2005.

“It was something I thought would be interesting to do,” she said.

At first Patty Trevathan ran the workshop out of a small backroom. “We could fit 12 or 15 people in the classroom, but it was probably a fire hazard,” she said.

The Trevathans decided to expand, and where a garage once sat is now a large, open work area with work tables, a kitchen, a sample room, and a place for storage. Until recently, the Trevathans only occupied half of the current building, the other half was occupied by various tenants.

“We were really crunched,” Patty Trevathan said. “We needed room to expand.”

“The city didn’t want to be a landlord anymore,” Duane Trevathan said. “Before we came along the city had let it out to a succession of problematic tenants.”

The city allowed local business to submit proposals to bring the building up to code.

“We sent a very detailed proposal of 40 pages,” Duane Trevathan said.

The Trevathan’s proposal won out and they were allowed to buy the building from the city for a single dollar.

“There was a garage back there, an old Studebaker garage,” Duane Trevathan said. “We didn’t know what we were going to do with it. As an afterthought, we said ‘let’s turn it into a classroom.’”

The Trevathans blocked off the garage doors, put windows in, and installed a handicap bathroom.

The project took months to complete, during which a fire broke out, causing a setback due to smoke and water damage, but by April 2010 the store was back open, and the apartments were available for rent.

“The classroom is great because it’s designed specifically for this purpose,” Patty Trevathan said. “There’s plenty of light to sew in.There are no steps, which makes it easier for people to bring their forty-pound sewing machines in safely.”

The workshop allows the Trevathans to host potlucks occasionally, as well as several related clubs, such as an embroidery club.  Once a month some women come and work together from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on a project the Trevathans call the “Mystery Quilt.”

The many activities lend a sense of life to the shop, as well as draw more people downtown.

 

hsmith1@hillsdale.edu