Seven decades of sewing machine repair in Pleiku

Seven decades in the profession

Van Trinh Sewing Machine Repair Shop is located at the top of a small slope (42/2 Le Loi, Pleiku Ward, Gia Lai Province) overlooking the Ascension Church, which rings its bells morning and evening. Stepping inside is like stepping through a window of time to return to the land of memories. A narrow, nostalgic space filled with old items.

The chair where the craftsman sharpened scissors and other objects inside the shop are all stained with time. **Photo: Hoang Ngoc**

Small wooden chairs with peeling paint, a few almost dented whetstones, old ammunition boxes used to store spare parts and tools. Quietly in the corner of the house are machine stands, sewing machine heads, overlock machines of famous brands with hundreds of years of history such as: Singer from France, Mitsubishi from Japan, Merrow from America...

These objects tell the story of an old profession associated with a golden age of tailoring, when a sewing machine was a valuable asset and fabric scissors were considered the tailor's "treasure".

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang cherishes a French Singer locomotive manufactured more than 100 years ago. **Photo: Hoang Ngoc**

Mr. Nguyen Van Trinh (1933-2004) was the founder of the sewing machine repair shop in 1957. Not only was it the first shop in the mountain town at that time, but it is also the oldest shop that has existed in the heart of the highland urban area to this day. Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang, son of Mr. Van Trinh, recalled: “My parents were originally from the North and came to Pleiku to start a business in 1954 when the urban area was still quite sparsely populated. The small alley where the family lived was a typical red dirt road. When tailor shops began to appear in the urban area, my father quickly grasped the situation and opened a shop to repair all kinds of machines serving this profession. Thanks to that, he was not only able to support a large family but also built a spacious house in the middle of a poor neighborhood.”

The American Merrow overlock sewing machine is also kept by Mr. Hoang as a souvenir. **Photo: Hoang Ngoc**

Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Luc-Tran Thi Thanh, owners of Dong Tan tailor shop (186 Hung Vuong, Pleiku ward) said: In nearly half a century of working in the tailoring business, they have only trusted one sewing machine repair shop, Van Trinh. "Mr. Trinh is very skilled. He is very careful and meticulous, so we feel completely secure when we let him repair our sewing machines," said Ms. Thanh.

In 2020, Dong Tan Tailor Shop closed after 45 years of operation. Recently, the owner of this tailor shop brought the old locomotive to Van Trinh shop for repair and maintenance as a souvenir.

Mrs. Thanh said slowly: “The founder has passed away, but his children who continued their father’s profession are all dedicated workers with solid skills. All those years of working in the tailoring profession are also the same number of years we have considered Van Trinh shop as a part of our own memories - not only a place to repair machines, but also a place to preserve the soul of an old profession, still quietly living in our memories and in the flow of the city.”

Keep the memories of the street

Mr. Hoang's family has 15 children, but only he and a younger brother succeeded their father. He has been a master craftsman since 1986.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang is currently following his father's profession, preserving the family's traditional profession. **Photo: Hoang Ngoc**

In its more than 7 decades of existence, the old profession has also gone through ups and downs like human life. Mechanical machines have gradually been replaced by electronic machines; tailor shops have gradually shrunk due to the explosion of industrial fashion . The profession of sewing machine repair has also gradually receded amid the bustling life of the city in the transformation and modernization.

However, for Mr. Hoang, sewing machine repair is not only a way to make a living but also to preserve family traditions and memories. He reminisced: “I remember the golden years of the profession, when my father had to work at night to make ends meet during the day. There were days at the end of the year, lying in the small attic, I could still hear the sound of sharpening scissors until late at night and the image of my father always being careful in every small step when repairing the machine.”

Broken sewing machines and overlock machines can work smoothly in the hands of skilled workers. **Photo: Hoang Ngoc**

Keeping that memory, Mr. Hoang seems to continue the spirit of seriousness and dedication to the profession. Even when he was skilled, he still kept learning to keep up with modern electronic machines. "The income now is just enough to live on, it is no longer a profession that can make you rich, but I am still proud to keep the family's traditional profession" - he said solemnly.

Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong - Mr. Hoang's younger sister - also cherishes the memory of her father's shop. She said that many young people who love the nostalgic style often come to the shop to take photos and review. Many strangers who happen to pass by also slow down to look at the old house. For her, the shop is not only the family's private property but also lights up a vivid memory in the middle of the city.

Van Trinh sewing machine repair and scissor sharpening shop has existed for nearly 7 decades in the mountain town of Pleiku. **Photo: Hoang Ngoc**

Although slowing down in the hustle and bustle of life, the existence of shops like Van Trinh for decades reminds us that a city without its old people and old trades will lose a part of its memory, lose the warmth that makes up its soul. The heritage of a city will be thick from small things that are deeply rooted in the lives of many generations of citizens like that.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/bay-thap-ky-giu-nghe-sua-may-may-o-pleiku-post559763.html