Photo credit: Debbie Ruzzak and Steven Penman
Dream Team Behind the Seamster Vintage
By Elina Kobzar
18 April 2020
Wife and husband duo, Debbie Ruzzak and Steven Penman, opened the doors to the Seamster Vintage in 2014.
The store is based in the Southside of Glasgow and offers a range of vintage and upcycled accessories.
Debbie has a degree in Fashion and Textiles and worked in the fashion and costume industry for the last 12 years, while Steven had a background in small business.
The couple have always been interested in vintage clothing and were avid collectors of fun colours and prints.
They also believe that vintage creates a different mindset as it is impossible to walk into a vintage store and find something you are looking for, everyone has to be open-minded to avoid disappointment.
“One of the best things about vintage shops is the hidden gems you find, the complete individuality of what’s in there, it’s different than walking into a high street store, where everything is mass-produced and loads of other people have the same outfit as you. The best piece of advice we can offer is to try everything on! Clothing was made so differently even just 20-30 years ago and so the fit is different and what you think wouldn't suit you, you might find is perfect for you”.
Before opening Seamster, Debbie and Steven were aware of fast fashion and the general wasteful culture that has taken hold in the last couple of decades. Opening their own vintage clothing company seemed like the right idea for the couple. It was important for them to open a business that followed their goals such as reducing landfill waste.
At the beginning, Seamster was focusing on menswear only.
“When we started Seamster we had noticed that there was not much choice for men, outside the general option of retro football tops and military surplus often relegated to a couple of rails in the back, so we started by selling by mail order. The menswear was always popular with women, either buying for themselves or as a gift. The shop has grown and expanded over the years, we grew our women’s section and started producing our line of accessories made from upcycled vintage fabrics”.
Unlike some of the vintage shops who focus on evening wear, Debbie and Steven work hard to provide everyday vintage at their store.
“However, one of the challenges with everyday wear is that it suffers more damage, like missing buttons and broken zips and this is why it is thrown out. This is where we were able to change the market slightly as we launder and fix everything in house, which enables us to provide a top-quality vintage garment”.
Photo credit: Debbie Ruzzak and Steven Penman
Photo credit: Debbie Ruzzak and Steven Penman
Sustainable fashion has always been a key focus in what the couple does. Although the couple tries to fix all the damaged clothing, Debbie mentioned that: “there was the occasional shirt or jacket that was beyond what we could fix, so we would put it on the side”.
As the business expanded the couple was processing more and more clothes every day, the pile grew and they had to come up with the solution to keep the clothes out of the landfill. This is where Debbie’s skills came in handy as she started to produce handmade accessories and occasionally employing friends from the industry to help at busier times.
“We looked at what we had and how we could reuse it, we developed some complementary accessories that would work alongside our menswear, so the bowtie was the first. Afterwards, we moved into wallets, wash bags, hats, shopping and tote bags. ”.
Not only clothes but Seamster fixtures and fittings are upcycled by the couple. Debbie and Steve use reclaimed or second-hand furniture which they rejigger to fit the shop look.
“We also use recycled paper and card for all our shop bags and tags and in store promo materials”.
At the moment the shop is temporarily closed due to COVID-19. It is a challenging and worrying time for small businesses at the moment. Debbie and Steven have two children so family is a top priority for the Seamster owners at the moment but even so, they still try to sell online and communicate with customers at times like this.
“Thankfully we are fortunate enough to be flexible in our work and as we started Seamster online. We have always taken internet orders for delivery so while the bricks and mortar shop is in lockdown we can still run our online shop with reduced shipping days to maximize social distancing, whilst reaching out to our customers and community via social media”.
