Nice to meet you! I hope you come and visit me soon!
The story of the Scissor Bird'sname comes later.First a lesson on perspective as provided by Scissor Birdowner, a beam of sunshine named Marta.
She said this to me as I stood in her fitting room in my petite inseam pants that needed even more shortening, "But you are tall..."
At 5'4 and 1/4" (I add in the 1/4" because when one is short every little bit counts), I can't recall ever being called tall. As much as I have always wished I was that thing. But delightful Martais so petite that I am a tall person . She literally made me laugh along with her and in a very good way about her lesson in life perspective. And that's just one of the many things I enjoy in being Marta's customer.
At the top of the list of good things about being a Scissor Birdcustomer is the top notch quality of the work and the great customer service. Prices are not the least expensive in town (pant hemming is $16.50 as compared to about $13.00 at some others as example), but you get what you pay for, so this is an excellent value.
Turnaround for most things is about two weeks, a little more maybe this time of year when it appears Scissor Bird is bridal central for all the wedding dresses lined up for alteration in the shop. Martawill do rush orders if you have something so urgent you can't wait a couple of weeks and she usually, but not always, charges for rush turnarounds. Seems reasonable to me.
Marta is a smart businesswoman who realizes a key to delighting customers to under promise and over deliver. Which she just did for some things my hubby and I had taken in, having them back to us well before the promised completion date. Very nice!
Charmingly loquacious (and such fun to hear speak with the lovely accent from her native country of Brazil)Marta was happy to tell us the story of the Scissor Bird. This is a 20 plus year old, handcrafted, well used little "critter" containing tiny scissors and pins as put together by the previous owner of this business (Martabought it some years ago). Along with that shopworn little gem sitting on the counter is a charming oil painting of same on the wall, a gift to Marta from an artist friend.
The only shadow in this brightness is Marta's services are completely inaccessible to people who may use wheelchairs or have otherwise compromised mobility that makes climbing a step or two impossible.
But she does not own the old building, so access is the building owner's issue. And she was very helpful to me as I wobbled up the steps with my own set of balance and gait issues brought on by multiple sclerosis that has been one of my life companions since college. So thumbs up for Marta for doing what is possible for her to do in spite of the limitations of the building itself. And I bet if you are a person whose mobility makes it impossible to get into Marta's store, that if you talked to her she might make a visit to you to do the alteration measurements and meet you in her parking lot to have you pick up the finished product as alternate means of service delivery (using the ADAterm). If I'm unable to make it up the steps to get in to her biz at some point in the future, I'll ask her about that because I'd like to continue to give her my business and also enjoy her work.
Odd no Yelp reviews to have been posted as yet, but if you see reviews in other places, you'll see comments there of happy camper customers. We'll put ours here on Yelp.
A final tip: while you can walk in for minor alterations, like pant hemming, she is busy and particularly at summer wedding season "bride time". So if you have a tailoring alteration to be made, our advice would be to call ahead for a fitting appointment as she takes them. Michele R