Sew-N-Such closes after 40 years of business

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – After 40 years of business, sewing everything from wedding dresses to Junior Solheim Cup uniforms, the Owner of Sew-N-Such Mary Cianci is retiring this week.

The shop isn’t closing for lack of business; in fact, it’s bustling with customers. But Cianci said she’s ready for a new chapter.

“Some days, it’s a teary day. Some days, I’m happy. It’s pulling on my heartstrings. I really love the people. I love what I do,” Cianci said. “But, I’m getting old and the body is falling apart. I got to retire.”

Inside the business, which Cinaci has worked out of for 35 years (the first five were in her home), things are cluttered and cozy. The shop is filled with the humming of sewing machines and laughter.

“We have one guy that comes in; he looks just like our Aunt Bernie,” Cianci joked.

For the last four years, she’s worked alongside her cousin Ellen Schnapp.

“It’s a wild ride because Mary is…” Schnapp burst out laughing. “Mary is a very unique person.”

Cianci said a love of sewing runs in her family.

“Well, my great-grandmother was a tailor, my grandmother sewed and, when I was a kid, I was always sewing,” she said. “My mother’s best friend said, ‘She’s either going to be a surgeon or a seamstress.’ I took the seamstress.”

Cianci said she’s altered clothing for multiple generations of families over the years. She’s worked on items for weddings, funerals, vacations, proms, dance recitals and more.

“It’s definitely one of those staples in the community,” Maya Cummins, the store’s manager said. “I still get calls to this day of people who don’t know we’re shutting down, and they’re like ‘Hey, can you hem my dress?’”

Cianci said she had hoped to sell the business whole and let a new seamstress take up the Sew-N-Such mantle.

“But, it’s kind of a lost art,” she said.

Still, Cianci and Schnapp are encouraging others to pick up the craft.

“It’s a great hobby to have, even if you don’t do anything professionally with it,” Schnapp said. “It’s very satisfying to me to make something, create it, and say, ‘Oh, I did that.’”

While Cianci said she’s sad to say goodbye, she’s also excited.

“We call it fruit basket upset. Everything’s going to be different, which I like. It will give me something to look forward to,” Cianci said.

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