On and off the beaten path: Who doesn’t adore a good love story?
“I want the good people of Oxford to know that I am incredibly skilled in a variety of mending techniques and I want to rescue their clothing.”
Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Alyssa, who learned to sew under the careful tutelage of her seamstress mother and grandmother, during the era of homemade, quality clothing and the emergence of disposable, ready-to-wear clothes brought to you from some do-it-cheap factory in who-knows-where.
A little background: Alyssa’s great-grandfather owned a glove factory where her grandmother honed the skill she dutifully passed along to Alyssa. She describes her own beginnings as humble. While living in a second story apartment of her grandparents’ home on Long Island, she learned to be frugal, thrifty and creative.
Having her own child brought a new focus. Creating doll clothes developed confidence while making sewing fun. She joined an 18th century sewing group on Facebook where she learned to craft accurate, historical clothing by hand.
There were no machines to secure the stitches, nor electricity to light the detailed work. The quality of sewing had to be durable enough to pass the garments down from child to child, then finally braided into rugs to warm the floors. “Waste not, want not,” was a way of life.
When Jason Combs, an 18th century reenactor, noticed a Facebook post featuring a historical gown that Alyssa had made for her daughter, was prompted to share photos with her of the reproductions he had made for his three sons using skills his mother taught him as he was growing up.
They bonded through Facebook chats for four years.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Alyssa took on a magnanimous sewing project of a haute couture, striped silk ensemble that included a pierrot jacket, petticoat, hat and a muff, inspired by a 1780’s print, French Mourning, as seen in the March 1789 Magasin des Modes Nouvelles.
One sunny day in late August, Alyssa and a friend were doing a photo shoot of the French Mourning reproduction in a nearby park.
Alyssa describes noticing a dark figure lurking in the woods, “As it came closer, I began to recognize that it was Jason – in full 18th century dress. And all of a sudden there were people on the bridge above us taking videos as he bent down on one knee and asked me to marry him!”
Alyssa and Jason got married and, to this day, continue to expand their expertise individually as well as together.
Jason created the Historic Stony Hollow, based on his favorite movie, from which Alyssa made one of his favorite outfits. Together, they sell historical reproduction clothing and shoes, travel to historic sites and give historical demonstrations such as cannon fire, naval battles with our historic boats and land battles with muskets.
Alyssa is expanding her career in a much-needed service as Your Local Stitch Witch, where she uses her passion for mending clothing and keeping it out of landfills.
“I want the good people of Oxford to know that I am incredibly skilled in a variety of mending techniques and I want to rescue their clothing,” she said. “Mending is a revolution and I want to be part of it – saving the planet one piece of clothing at a time. Mending clothing with my hands is healing and healing is love.”
Gini Maddocks is a local holistic practitioner, an author and owner of Snazzy Boutique and Gifts in Oxford, Ohio.
