An Adventure with Dollard Baker Sew & Vac

By PATRICIA A. HARRIS
There’s something excitingly creative about a new sewing machine.
Oh the endless possibilities, from a dashing down vest to a flowing long skirt, to festive holiday stockings. Sort of the ovarian equivalent to a new power drill, I would imagine. Though, don’t get me wrong, I love a new power drill.
New sewing machines even do simple embroidery, including letters and intriguing design swirls. And don’t let me get started on the endless possibilities of an embroidery machine — a nirvana of ingenuity. Vacuum cleaners, not so much.
When I stopped by Dollard Baker Sew & Vac, I was on a mission, exploring my options for expressing myself now that I was on the road to retirement. Which of my many interests would I choose to round out my next 30 years?
Owner John Dollard is exceptionally knowledgeable about all things that vacuum and most things that sew. He is amazingly able to take apart these machines and put them back together so that they purr like the well-oiled machines they are, probably with one hand tied behind his back.
If I bought a complicated six thread model, would he be able to repair it for me should the need arise? In a word, yes!
As I tested the waters of my new found freedom, John and I became friends. He is a friendly guy and I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like him.
When he asked me to help him at the store, I began to spend my Saturdays at Dollard Baker Sew & Vac. I visualized playing with all the wondrous sergers, sewing machines and embroiderers, teaching myself how to create incredible works of fabric art. This was not to be.
Most of the traffic that enters the store consists of people in need of a high quality, big suction, light on its wheels vacuum cleaner. Don’t get me wrong. I love vacuum cleaners. The idea of pulling dirt and debris out of my home, off my floors and fixtures, and trapping it in an easily reached, removed and discarded spot, thrills me.
Lightweight, easy to maneuver and quiet are fine qualities for every vacuum, and John carries the best. Sebo, Electrolux, Dyson, Miele, are names I have come to know and trust.
John demonstrates the features of the machines and explains their differences to people with a true need for clean. I am convinced; I love them.
But fun? Inspiring? Eye popping? Thrilling? Stimulating?
Perhaps they are merely electrifying.