In sewing machine world, repair technician ensures a seamless experience

Like pieces of fabric quilted together one by one to tell a story, so have the people and places come together in Samantha Leonard’s life to form who she is today.

It took a bit of time, fortune and an inquisitive mind for the 24-year-old Kalispell resident to arrive at the Quilt Gallery in Kalispell, where she repairs sewing machines and quilting machines.

Leonard remembers her first sewing experience back in kindergarten with her aunts, but, at a young age it wasn’t quite the decisive moment where she thought, “Yes, I’m going to be a quilter,” she said.

Growing up in Arlee, home economics played a large part in her education beginning in junior high, and sewing projects were part of that, but it wasn’t until high school where she said her love for sewing was sparked.

In high school, she was able to take electives within the home economics department where the focus was “sewing, crafting and creating.”

“And I really started to enjoy sewing in high school and then I graduated and floated for a year,” Leonard said, and moved to Washington.

“Oddly enough there was a quilt store right across the street where I moved, but I didn’t engage in it,” she said.

Homesick, she moved back to Montana roughly 10 months later.

Leonard’s future began taking shape the day her mother wanted to check out the Quilt Gallery before it moved to its current location at 84 Frontage Park.

“My mom, who isn’t a crafter, isn’t a sewer, isn’t a quilter, says ‘I want to go to this place’ and it’s the old Quilt Gallery on 93,” Leonard said.

Leonard was somewhat reluctant.

“I had a couple of interviews that day that obviously didn’t seal the deal for them. It turned out to be a tough morning. By noon we were done,” she said recalling the day vividly because it was also her mother’s birthday.

Yet, even before she stepped through the door, she had a feeling it was going to be a great place, which made her nervous and excited because it stirred up emotions of pastime she used to enjoy.

“I go in and immediately the old Quilt Gallery, it grabbed me. It was welcoming. I loved ev-ery-thing I saw. I knew at some point I would be coming back,” she said.

“I happened to ask ‘are you hiring,’ completely oblivious walking through the door, completely unaware of what’s in front of me,” Leonard said, when an employee she was conversing with pointed to a “help wanted” sign.

She said former owner Joan Hodgeboom hired her on the spot and Leonard’s mother left without her as she started her first day on the job.

“That was five years ago,” she said.

“And so sewing, hello, here I am,” Leonard said with a smile. “I love this place.”

In a back room of the Quilt Gallery Leonard works as a service technician repairing sewing machines. Opening the door, a sight unfolds that not everyone gets to see in person — the guts of a computerized sewing machine.

Leonard sat down in front of the machine where the outer case had been removed, revealing metal parts and a motherboard. She put on a wristband that had a cord attached.

“This machine I would never touch without a wristband on,” she said explaining that the wristband and a mat placed under the machine, remove static electricity, important when working on electronic equipment.

She likens being a service technician to being a doctor who sometimes makes house calls.

“I always joke about being a doctor,” she said, when it comes to diagnosing the issue and solving the problem.

“I believe that every machine is different. Every machine has their own personality,” she said, something she has to get to know before the issues are solved.

“I am a tough girl, but holy cow, I didn’t know how strong I’d have to be because it’s stressful. I’m taking care of somebody’s baby,” she said.

Each machine presents a case for her to solve. The challenge is, at times, exciting, stressful or repetitive.

“It’s something that every day I always come in ready for the day. And some days are good and some days are tougher and some days I do the same thing things five times over, six times, seven times over, and it feels like I’m not getting anywhere, but I’m learning something each time. I’m learning, well that theory worked and that didn’t work.”

The passion for her work is evident. Her smile seems to never wane as she talks about her work among a close-knit community of sewers and quilters. The satisfaction of getting a machine working properly again for customers to start sewing again is worth it.

“When the customer can see it and even feel that difference ... I know I’ve done my job right,” Leonard said.

Leonard became a service technician about three years ago when current Quilt Gallery owner Marianne Buller signed her up to take classes to become a certified technician for Handi Quilter, a brand of long-arm quilting machines in Salt Lake City. Leonard was quite familiar with quilting machines. She used s in high school, at home and was excited to learn more.

“The idea is if I love how it sews and how it works, why not love what makes it sew and makes it work,” Leonard said.

Her enthusiasm to learn more led her to Chicago, where she became certified in servicing Bernina brand machines in July.

Even as a technician, Leonard still gets to use the long-arm to finish quilts for customers.

Looking Back, Leonard just thought of quilting and sewing as a hobby. She didn’t think it could be, or lead to, a career.

As a youth she wrestled with deciding whether or not she should go to college.

“I was struggling at one point, do I go to college, or do I follow what makes me happy? And thank goodness I did what makes me happy. And yes, I could attempt to attend college courses and get things out of it to help, but it’s not something necessarily where a college course had to be acquired to do.”

“Some of the best advice that I got from someone once is you don’t have to have a job necessarily that stems from a college education you can find a job doing a trade kind of thing where it’s a talent. It’s a skill [that’s used].

She sees being a sewing machine repair technician as a career where she can broaden her skill set.

“There’s so many other machines out there that could be learned. That knowledge, this learning, is a stepping stone to something next,” she said.

And she voiced her appreciation for everyone who has been a part of her life along the way — teachers, coworkers, quilters, sewers and her family, which includes her child, 15-month-old Jaxtyn Gibson, and boyfriend Justin Gibson. She hopes to pass on a love of quilting to her child.

“Someday he will operate a long-arm, he’s already trying,” she said with a laugh, the kindness in her voice wrapping around the workroom like warm quilt.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.