Family business going strong at 45 thanks to Swiss sewing machine
As many small businesses struggle to compete with big box competitors, an Oklahoma sewing machine business has been a staple for the metro crafts community for more than four decades.
Bernina OKC offers sales and service of the Bernina brand sewing machines line, including sewing and embroidery machines, quilting machines and frames and software, in a 5,000-square-foot specialty store in north Oklahoma City.
Every day the store is abuzz with classes and customers trying out the latest machines and exploring new techniques. To longtime owner John Ramsey, that’s no surprise.
“It’s a craft that allows you to express yourself,” said Ramsey, who is leading the business today that his parents founded more 45 years ago.
The company started out in 1968 in Edmond as Ramsey’s Fabrics and picked up the BERNINA brand in 1971.
“My parents could have started an auto parts shop, or paid $50,000 for a turnkey McDonald’s franchise, but my mom knew how to sew,” Ramsey said. “They had a knowledge advantage and built the business on it.”
Soon the Ramseys discovered another business opportunity. Customers asked Ramsey’s father, who had a background in mechanics and was a machinist in the aircraft industry, to repair and service their sewing equipment. Thus the family added sewing machine sales and service, becoming Bernina.
They chose the brand, a family owned sewing machine manufacturer from Switzerland, because of quality and integrity.
“Take them for a test drive,” Ramsey said. “If you drive a Mercedes for a day, you don’t want to get back in your old car.”
In addition to classes and demonstrations, the store also hosts national “sewlebrities” at events on a regular basis. Alex Anderson, Ricky Tims, and Hans Peter Uelchi, owner of Bernina International, have made presentations.
At 45, the business has grown into a community crafting hub, and the third generation of Ramseys is helping to run the business. Ramsey’s daughter, Emily, is now a manager at the family shop, putting her mark on the business.
“We see more younger people than five years ago,” Ramsey said.
Emily loves vintage furniture and clothes. The originals are expensive, so she creates them for herself with the old sewing patterns that still exist, Ramsey said.
The DIY phenomenon or “maker movement” is flourishing among millennials thanks to the internet and the rise of websites such as Etsy and Instagram. Emily exemplifies this trend, Ramsey said.
“When you sew, it’s empowering knowing you can make anything you want. I can think of no better way to give of myself and get back even more.” Emily Ramsey said.
Economics experts have linked the resurgence of crafting among this age group to people wanting to save money during the 2008 financial crisis. Supported by the internet, it became chic.
Today, needlecraft and sewing books dominate best-sellers lists, classes and sewing blogs are flourishing, and Etsy, the online store where crafters sell their creations, reports 2.2 million users and counting every month in the U.S.
With the third generation of Ramseys now guiding young crafters and supplying them with sewing machines and other gear, it appears the future looks bright at Bernina OKC.
The store is located at 6817 N May Ave. in Oklahoma City.
This story sponsored by Bernina OKC.