Chore Coat Production at Sew Valley –
Sew Valley in the West End of Cincinnati is hard at work on its first batch of 100 chore coats in the new bull denim material, and so I crossed the Ohio River this afternoon to take a quick look at the process.
Sew Valley is located in the floor below The National Flag Co., which has been in business for more than 140 years. It’s a gorgeous brick factory with expansive windows and lots of room for machines and cutting tables.
Founded by Rosie Kovacs (above) and Shailah Maynard, Sew Valley seeks to nurture industry in this area by bringing back sewing skills. So short production runs, such as our chore coat, is part of what the company does.
Today production was in full swing on the chore coats, with components neatly laid out and labeled all over the shop. And four people (including Rosie) were setting up machines (both old and new) to assemble the coats.
As always with production, there is a fire somewhere. Today Rosie informed me that she had been shipped only about 40 buttons for the 100 coats. Hmmm. Probably not enough. A text to Tom Bonamici, our designer, got her an answer. The buttons were on their way from New York.
I don’t have a date as to when the coats will be ready. But when they are, I think you’ll be pleased. The sample that Sew Valley made for us is excellent. And even though we’re using a small contract shop, we’re going to be able to keep the price at $185, a small miracle that is the result of both the low overhead and the work ethic at Sew Valley.
— Christopher Schwarz
