Michelle Elise, Zipper Repair Coach
Cafes: Esopus, Kingston, New Paltz, Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, Schenectady, Woodstock
We thought we'd start this new feature out by introducing Michelle Elise--our ONLY official Zipper Repair Coach. While many a textile or mechanical fixer has waxed open a stubborn zipper or replaced a broken pull tab, Michelle comes with a supply kit that looks more like it belongs in the jewelry arena than textiles. It turns out that most malfunctioning zippers can be fixed not by replacing the teeth throughout the whole garment but simply by replacing the actual slider body, or the small 'box' that is the part of the zipper that is actually responsible for, well, doing the zipping! She's armed with the right (vintage!) tools to pop off the top and bottom stop, allowing her to rethread a brand new, matching slider body from her well-stocked zipper parts kit onto the teeth, saving the whole item with one simple piece. I saw her save an entire tent at the Kingston Repair Cafe just by replacing the slider body--to keep such a huge item from going into the waste stream with something smaller than a quarter was honestly a little awe-inspiring (see photo above).
Michelle loves to attend cafes in a broad area when she's not working as a costume designer, costumer, tailor or wardrobe stylist for film or TV. She has worked on many projects filmed in the Hudson Valley including The Gilded Age (Troy) and The Whale (Newburgh), for which her team was nominated for an Oscar for their work on Brandon Fraser's prosthetics. Due to the historic double writers and actors strikes currently underway, Michelle may be at more cafes these next few months than usual so please don't hesitate to reach out to us to find out which cafes she'll be at next.
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