Rossy the Seamstress in Ajijic

That's always been one of the most unfathomable things in Mexico for me. Businesses suddenly close, without any sign anywhere saying that they have moved to another location, and where, or that they have closed for good.

I don't have a propane dryer or any dryer. I hang my clothes up on a clothesline, I thought it was the sun. I therefore conclude that Mexico kills elastic, I don't know why.

ferret wrote:LOL! Good to know. It's a mystery why this only happens in Mexico.

UV exposure increases 6 to 10% with every 1000 ft of altitude.

I would imagine that most time when people claim someone charges "gringo prices" they have no idea what that person charges their Mexican customers. They just think it should somehow be cheaper, because they have no idea how long how complicated what they want done will be, nor what any materials for their project will cost.

I do upholstery and once after I had made some built-in-bench cushions for a friend of mine, she asked, "How come you're so much more expensive than Sammy?" (the Mexican upholsterer in the next town)

I was taken aback and asked her what she meant. She said other friends of hers had just gotten cushions made by him and they paid a lot less. I asked her if the cushions were the same dimensions, and she said she had no idea. Well, if they were a foot shorter and 6 inches narrower and only 4cm thick instead of 8, then of course they would be cheaper. If you need 5 sq. meters of foam, dacron batting, and Sunbrella fabric (which greatly varies in price depending on color, texture and pattern), obviously that's going to cost a lot less than if you need 8 sq.meters.
I also do much more finished work than that other upholsterer. I serge off all the inside seams so they don't fray in the wash, stringing off and getting caught in the zipper, for instance. I'm not cheap with thread and use tighter stitches, so the seams don't rip out.

In fact, I have had customers come to me for work, who said Sammy has gotten too expensive- he is not actually cheaper than me at all. And people have to wait around all day for him to come measure, or deliver their projects, because of course he never shows up when he says he will, and doesn't bother to call to say he'll be late.

So I don't put much stock in ex-pats claiming they are charged a gringo price. That may be true when quoted some ridiculous price by a silver jewelry middleman on the beach, or some car washer in a parking lot who thinks you aren't aware of the going rate, but most business people who provide services have standard rates that are fair.

Sewist. Now that's a new word. Female sewers are usually called seamstresses, although now that so many words are gender-neutral, maybe sewer is the correct term.
In Spanish, called a costurera.

“According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the correct term for anyone who engages in needlework is “sewer”. Some modern writers have also started using the catchy, new term “sewist”, which combines the words “artist” and “sewer”. There are plenty of sewing terms to choose from.”

ferret wrote:There are those who know "the price of everything and the value of nothing" (Oscar Wilde).

Exactly. Also most people don't know how to check for quality when something is new. Almost everything looks good when it's new- it's how it holds up over time that counts and is what consitutes value.

I had a friend whose husband was cheap and he insisted on going to some upholsterer in PV who he had no recommendations for, he just walked into whatever shop he saw. The fabric he and she chose was a cotton blend, and the upholsterer never thought to wash it and dry it before making the cushion cover, or tell them to. So the first time they washed it, it shrunk up 8 inches in length and of course would never fit again.

But another friend, who I first met when she came to me to make bench cushions and covers, and who has done alot of sewing herself, told me a couple years later, "I never told you this before, because I didn't know you well and didn't know if you'd be offended, but the first thing I did when I got those new cushions home was remove the cover and turn it inside out to see how well it was constructed, if the seams were finished off nicely, if the zipper was sewn in well, that the stitching looked good and with the proper tension, and that nothing would fray away. "