Jan. 15—Enjoying exhausting in Montana means the inevitable put on and tear of sporting and outside gear. Backcountry Bobbin, a brand new stitching restore store in Kalispell, is aiming to maintain gear in fee for so long as doable.
Proprietor Perry Leysens initially realized how one can sew so as to salvage his personal gear. In his efforts to economize and observe sustainable residing, Leysens realized there was a necessity for Flathead Valley residents to lengthen the lifespan of their very own backcountry gear.
“I got an older sewing machine for my wife and I to fix our own materials. Once I realized that we had so many projects that we needed to fill for ourselves, I thought there would be enough opportunities around town too,” Leysens defined. “Then I got more interested in industrial sewing. I knew it would open up a lot of opportunities and you can do so many different materials with an industrial machine.”
Leysens opened Backcountry Bobbin in November of 2022, and he already has a number of purchasers in want of his area of interest stitching service. In response to Leysens, folks beforehand had to purchase new gear or ship their gear to be mounted as there are few locations that present particular backcountry gear restore within the Flathead Valley.
“I don’t know if people really had a place to bring their gear because I’ve had a couple of clients that came in and said they asked some seamstresses, but they said that they don’t work with that material.”
Leysens’ industrial machine permits him to work on outside clothes, marine covers and fabric, tents, rafting gear, waterproof supplies, leisure car awnings and fabric, bike covers and canvas baggage. Along with his restore providers, Leysens additionally gives customized fabrication for leisure car awnings and fabric, sports activities baggage and furnishings upholstery.
Leysens stated there are benefits to an industrial stitching machine.
“With your home sewing machine you can probably go through a max of four layers, but with your industrial machine you’ve got a big motor that’s underneath the table,” he stated. “It’s not attached to the machine itself so you have a lot more power and the needles are a lot heavier duty so you can get through that leather material or that canvas.”
By repairing supplies and utilizing eco-friendly fabric when doable, Leysens encourages the observe of sustainability inside his enterprise. He likens repairing outside gear to a car — when it breaks down the proprietor does not simply do away with it, they sometimes restore it.
“When I pick out my threads, I try to pick out more eco-friendly threads and I try to get more sustainable materials as well when I am ordering,” stated Leysens. “Our big thing is that we want to reuse the gear. When you get a tear in gear, you can repair it. It may cost you $40, but then you get to reuse that item and not put it in the garbage.”
Backcountry Bobbin is situated at 1436 fifth Ave E and on-line at backcountrybobbin.com. The store might be reached through telephone 515-707-1972 or electronic mail at service@backcountrybobbin.com.
Reporter Summer season Zalesky could also be reached at szalesky@dailyinterlake.com.
