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 with bells every morning and evening. Stepping inside is like stepping through a door of time to return to the land of memories. A narrow, nostalgic space filled with old items.
Small wooden chairs with peeling paint, some almost dented whetstones, old ammunition boxes used to store 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 the golden age of tailoring, when a sewing machine was a fortune and fabric scissors were considered the tailor's "treasure".
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 tailors began to appear in the urban area, my father quickly grasped the situation and opened a shop to repair all kinds of machines for 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.”
Mr. andMrs. Nguyen Luc-Tran Thi Thanh, owner of Dong Tan Tailor Shop (186 Hung Vuong, Pleiku Ward) said that 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. Bar.
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 to keep 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 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 city
Mr. Hoang's family has 15 children, but only he and a younger brother have succeeded their father. He has been a master craftsman since 1986.
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; tailoring 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 recalled: “I remember the golden years of the profession, when my father had to work all day long. 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.”
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 thoughtfully.
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 happen to pass by also slowing 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.
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 professions will lose part of its memories and 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
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