About the workshop
Hem & Harbor Alterations alters garments customers already own, in Portland, Maine.
The workshop takes in trousers, jackets, dresses and formalwear and changes their fit. Work is done on the premises, on the machines shown on the gallery page, and the person who pins a garment is generally the person who alters it.
Every job begins with the garment on the customer rather than with a price list. What the cloth will allow, what the seam allowance leaves to work with and what the customer actually wants are settled in that order, and the figure follows from them.
Three operating principles
-
The price is agreed before the work
A from price is a starting figure. The figure that matters is confirmed at the fitting, and it does not move afterwards without the customer being asked.
-
The garment decides what is possible
Seam allowance, cloth and construction set the limit. Where a requested change would not survive the garment, the workshop says so rather than attempting it.
-
One person, start to finish
The alteration is not passed down a line. Whoever marks the garment carries it through, so nothing is lost between the fitting room and the machine.
What happens, in four steps
-
Step 1
Get in touch
Send the garment and the result wanted through the contact form. The reply says what to bring and when the bench can see it.
-
Step 2
Come in for a fitting
The garment is pinned and marked on the customer. This is where the price and the result are agreed.
-
Step 3
The alteration is made
Work is done at the bench. A rush assessment, where it applies, is agreed at the fitting and not afterwards.
-
Step 4
Collect and check
The garment is tried on again at collection. An adjustment within the agreed result is part of the same job.
What the workshop does not do
Hem & Harbor Alterations alters existing garments. It does not make garments from scratch, does not undertake invisible mending or reweaving, and does not alter leather or fur. Where a garment needs one of those, the workshop says so at the fitting rather than taking the job on.
Ask about a garment
A description of the garment and the result wanted is enough to start. The workshop replies with the times a fitting can be held.