December 4, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Stitching together a success at lower end of Hill
by PAULA M. RILEY

While most businesses on the Avenue (and almost everywhere else) are crying the blues because of the disastrous economy, Bruce Levin, owner of The Perfect Stitch, an upholstery store on the lower end of the Avenue at 8012 Germantown Ave., insists that “business is flourishing. It’s absolutely amazing!” (Photo by Paula Riley)

Bruce Levin, 60, owner of The Perfect Stitch, greets customers and passersby with a broad smile and an enthusiasm that is refreshing to see on the Avenue. A newcomer to Chestnut Hill, he opened his upholstery store earlier this year and has loved every minute on the Hill since then.

“I want to thank this neighborhood for being so good to me,” says Levin. “Since we opened, I have been swamped. I believe residents here are very loyal and committed to supporting local merchants.”

When Levin opened his retail store on the 8000 block of Germantown Avenue, he was warmly greeted by his neighboring merchants and proud to have established his business in ‘SoHa,’ where more than one naysayer told him there would be no traffic on the bottom of the hill. “They were so wrong,” he says, laughing.

Passersby are often drawn into the store by the pieces Levin displays on the sidewalk outside this store. “I was also told that I’d get no walk-ins.” This too, proved to be incorrect. Since he opened in July, Levin has already sold 10 pieces featured outside. Many cars stopped at the traffic light on Willow Grove Avenue seem to enjoy the view, and customers from the dry cleaners and Baker Street Bread often come in.

One of his earliest customers was Solaris Restaurant. The owners had an idea of what they wanted to do. Levin worked with them, reviewing many sample books and helping to guide them along the process. In just three weeks, Levin had reupholstered 140 chairs in the restaurant.

When visitors walk into the intimate space, the feel is that of a cozy living room. United Fabrics, Robert Allen and Carole Fabric are just a few of the fabric sample books available in his showroom. Plush colorful pillows, mixes of fabrics and antique and modern furniture greet guests who are encouraged to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee while Levin listens to their needs.

Scattered in the small show space are pieces that Levin has reupholstered. He explains the finely detailed process of stripping the mahogany down to the frame, carefully retying the springs, cutting new foam and applying the appropriate anti-bacterial materials on the carefully chosen fabric.

All work he completes on the pieces is performed at his Huntington Valley work room. He obtains furniture from many different sources — antique shows, estate sales and sometimes good street finds. In one illustration, he tells of his search for square nails that were missing from chairs in a customer’s set. “In this case, I relied on Google.”

Levin believes his customers appreciate his attention and especially appreciate his honesty. “I tell my customers the truth about everything. I won’t fix a chair or reupholster a piece unless it is worth it … I won’t do what I can’t do, and I won’t push someone to spend money they don’t have.”

Levin’s decades in the upholstery business included many medical office customers who did not pay upfront and required a quick turn around time. “We took their medical chairs and tables at 8 a.m. and needed to return them the next day by 8 a.m.”

Levin is serving on the Planning Committee of the Holiday House Tour and together with his life partner, Glenn Pitt of Culinary Designs in Ambler, volunteered to help find decorators and coordinate house assignments. This requires much time working with decorators and florists to ensure their skill sets and interests are a good match for the particular room they are assigned on the tour. He has also done the manual labor of selling tickets to the tour and hanging posters.