About Us
"Us" Is Ray & Sherri Elkins and...
...we love old sewing machines, yours as well as ours! They have pretty much taken over the house, we lost count around a hundred but really, does it matter? We live for what we love to do and we surround ourselves with what interests us. With Sherri by his side, Ray will walk you through the steps of restoring your machine and "never be whupped by a piece of machinery!"
Collecting sewing machines for over 10 years and with 35+ years of restoration/preservation experience under his belt, working with everything from Model T Fords to his daughter's antique cast-iron stapler collection, Ray decided to start sharing the tips and tricks used to bring their old machines back to life. Whether designing and fabricating manufacturing machinery,
working as everything from a machinist, woodworker, carpenter, electrician, laser printer technician, computer software instructor, firefighter/EMT, diesel mechanic, welder, and yes even a Southern Rock drummer, his experience in a wide variety of fields and diversity in understanding the intricacies of machines and problem solving is all there for you.
About Us
Our goal is to not only help you along in making your machine, whether it be a rescue or a family heirloom, look her best and sew as she was meant to do, but spark a deeper interest that not only makes you want to restore and preserve these remarkable pieces of history but share that enthusiasm with others.
Our wish too is to bring people together who all share a common interest and see them have a good time, not only in the restoration of the machines but making new friends. The experience of spending a weekend with a group of people passionate about these machines is something one must experience because there is no description!
We know you'll enjoy our workshops and take away not only a clean and shiny machine but also the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm to start searching the barns and yard sales for more machines to rescue and clean up. Let's preserve history together!