Hillsborough Seamstress Reinvents Business After COVID Closure

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — The coronavirus pandemic may have closed Amwell Mall Dry Cleaners in Hillsborough, but it is not stopping Jae-Soon Lee from reinventing her business.

"Most of my business came from men's dress shirts and dress alterations. With COVID-19, we saw most people working from home and no social outings which eliminated the need to dress up. Therefore, I had significantly less people coming in to get their dressier clothes cleaned and altered," said Lee.

Lee had opened the store with her ex-husband at end of June 2006 at 450 Amwell Road, next to Bagel Bistro. After the divorce, she became the sole owner for the past 10 years. She officially closed the doors due to COVID-19 at the end of August.

Despite the closure, Lee still held onto her passion for sewing. She had learned sewing through home economic classes in high school and when she stayed home with her daughter, she would sew pillow covers and blankets as a hobby.

With almost 40 years of experience with seamstress work, Lee decided to transform her business to meet the needs during the pandemic. She is continuing to offer seamstress services, at-home pickup and delivery for no extra charge, and measurements at the customers' homes.

"This pivot came more out of necessity — if people weren't coming to me, how and what can I offer to reach my community again? I want to offer a convenient and reliable way for people to get their clothing care needs met in a way that's safe and comfortable for my customers," said Lee.

Lee's daughter Angela Kim helped create her website and Facebook page called Jae-Sewn using a phonetic play on words and Lee's name. For more information visit Jae-Sewn or jaesewn.com.

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