Garwood's Sew and Show Reopens Under New Ownership

A long-time symbol of Garwood business, Sew and Show has re-opened this month under new ownership.

After 60 years in the town, the North Avenue business was set to close its doors because its owner, Maria Delucia, decided to retire to spend more time with her family and caring for her grandchildren. Unable to find a buyer, Delucia, 74, was forced to plan for the store’s closure, until she met Amelia Laferrara.

For Laferrara, a Clark resident, it was “one button that started the whole thing.” Her daughter, an equestrian at Watchung Stables, recently won First Class Trooper, which carries with it a rope for the winner’s uniform, affixed with a button. Laferrara said she had hoped to find a horse button for her daughter, and Sew and Show came to mind because it had the “most incredible collection of buttons.”

She walked into the store and found the button she needed and the life-changing business venture she didn’t know she wanted.

New offerings

Delucia told her of the plan to close the store because of lack of a buyer, and “one thing led to another and I’m now the owner of Sew and Show,” Laferrara said.

She had a typical introduction to sewing, from her mother at a young age. She recently altered her daughter’s gown to her exact specifications, so that it essentially became a completely different design and converted the gown into a dress. It was a gown we purchased she liked but didn’t like it as a gown—cut it and made it into a dress. Brought it down three sizes and added straps.

Sew and Show mostly has catered to amateur seamstresses. Aside from maintaining its extensive offering of material and sewing supplies, she said she also now offers sewing lessons, and will elicit feedback from customers about other products and offerings they would like from the store.

The store’s new staff members are far from amateur, however, in the design industry. The new manager, Sharon Shiraga, graduated from design school and previously worked in the Garment District of Manhattan. Amy also hired a European-trained dressmaker to work at the shop on an as-needed basis for complex and intricate alterations.

Practical recycling

Throughout Union County, many small businesses like Sew and Show haven’t been lucky enough to find new buyers, and have had to close their doors for good. That is a sad reality, Laferrara told Patch, because of how important small business owners are to the community.

“With the economy, it’s probably the worst time in the world to be opening up a business, when so many are closing,” she said.

But the most important thing small businesses can do now is teach people a skill, Laferrara said, so they can take something old and make it new. “Especially in this economy. Make it new, make it you,” she said. "Sewing is an opportunity to be creative as well as recycle. I really enjoy teaching people to sew and encourage them to be creative and make their own garments." 

Sew and Show’s current hours are Wednesday, Thursday Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. They are currently offering 40-percent off winter fabric.

Customers can send questions and feedback to sewandshow@verizon.net and visit the store's website at sewandshow.com.

Class and lesson pricing: private lessons (1.5 hours), $55; group classes (2 hours), $30; private mommy and me lessons (2 hours), $80; children's hand-sewing, $20; children's machine sewing, $22.