Sewing shop owners retire after 54 years

It is the year 1958 - Harold Macmillan is prime minister, Bolton Wanderers win the FA Cup and the UK's first motorway - the Preston bypass - opens.

It is also the year that a small family business put down its roots in Wolverhampton.

Brewers Sewing Machines Limited on Dudley Road began in an era when face-to-face service was critical.

Now, in 2026, when sewing machines have built-in computers and many sales are done online, its owners Alan and Kathleen Harvey - who took over from Kathleen's father in the 70s - are stepping down.

"It first started with my mum and dad," said Kathleen.

"My dad was a sewing machine mechanic - he was headhunted from Leeds, where we were brought up, down to Birmingham as a head mechanic.

"This was in 1956, and in 1958 he opened our first shop on Dudley Road."

"We've been in this shop since 1972 - running the business here," recalled Alan.

"It was a total family... we all worked together, selling domestic machines."

They worked with Kathleen's brother, John, who eventually made the move into the world of industrial sewing machines with local factories.

"They were doing anoraks, dresses, jeans... so the spanners were flying, building up the machinery to supply the factories around this area," Alan said.

"Over the years, things declined in the sewing area round here, and we ventured more into the domestic range sewing machines."

For Alan, the best part of the job has been heading in to the shop and meeting people.

"We've always worked as a team, I've helped him, he's helped me, it's like any marriage isn't it," said Kathleen of their partnership.

"We got married in 1965, and we're still married - there's not many people who can say that."

In an ever-changing world, their work has shifted over the years.

"We supply Wolverhampton University and service the machines there, Halesowen College and local schools around this area, Stafford College," Alan said.

"When we first started, we were reconditioning those old machines, then they converted them to electric with a motor and a pedal to make them a bit faster, and then they moved on to mechanical zig zag machines... then eventually, machines put in patterns cams in, and then later on progressed into computerised machines," he explained.

Kathleen added: "We've moved with the times, you have to keep changing with the technology.

"It's no good looking back at what it used to be, you've got to look forward.

"That's what we hope to do now when we're retired - we can look forward now to a new chapter and a new beginning."

As well as putting their feet up for a bit, the couple said they expected to catch up with friends and spend more time playing golf, as well as going to more football matches and the theatre.

"Going on life's adventures, more holidays," Alan added.

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