New House of Alterations

There is a new clothing alteration service set up in Ballinasloe in the form of the ‘House of Alterations’. Proprietor Oksana Neviadomskaja who is a native of Lithuania, is bringing her area of expertise to the town in a new bespoke premises in Croffys Yard – Main St.  

Oksana who moved to Ireland 13 years ago has a wealth of experience in the industry , as a gifted seamstrees. She has been in the clothing and garment alteration trade for over 25 years. Having previously operated in Athlone and Tullamore she has decided to move here as part of her new business venture.

Having noticed a niche for a service of this type in the town, Oksana thought it was the perfect place to set up in: “A few of my friends had told me that there was no clothing alteration service in Ballinasloe, so it seemed a great option for me. It is a very busy town and a service like mine can be very useful for the locals.”

She too accepts the Pandemic Shopping patterns have forced a lot more clothes purchasers on line but very often the mid quality garment requires fixings or minor alterations and to send it back to its origin or shipping warehouse can be costly or take upto three weeks . “ Its really difficult try and fix a zip or extend a hem on a special occasion dress if the material used in manufacture can’t take a stich “, she explains.

“I provide a unisex, same day alteration service that can mend a wide variety of items. These include shortening/altering jeans, trousers, skirts or replacing zippers on them. I work on bridal, communion, and confirmation dresses, which I can shorten/alter or restyle all types of garments. From men’s and women’s jackets/coats I can alter their length and the sleeves.”, she states.
For those worried about exact lengths cuts and finishes – she has a fitting room on the premises. She also repairs and makes interior soft fittings – like curtains, cushion covers , throws and other fabric items including shortening, hemming, taping, or joining them.

Her fees are modest for the time and skills – all prices are negotiated at the start of job but the inflation on wordly goods and shipping costs has seen component costs of fastners buttons, clasps and zipps – rocket in the last few months – a plain small zip can cost about €4 to €6 to buy before installing.

Oksana expressed her excitement at starting her business here and she encourages other aspiring businesses to set up locally. “Ballinasloe is an ideal location to own a business. It is a very busy, vibrant, lively town with quite a large population. It is an ideal location between Athlone and Galway. The people are very friendly and it is an all-round very nice town. I would certainly encourage a business owner to set up here, “ states  Oksana

The shop officially opens on February 10, but Oksana is using these weeks as a testing period to see what the market is like. House of Alterations is situated in Unit 2, Croffy’s Yard and opening hours are 10am–6pm, Tuesday-Saturday.

Contact Oksana on 083 012 5463 for more information.