Pictured: One of the services offered by several fix-it shops in the county is sewing machine repair.
David Goldstein
They don’t make em as well as they used to. This applies not only to manufactured goods but also to people such as Huey Young who ran the Fix-It Shop Ventura for over five decades.
Mr. Young died on Jan. 31. He was 86 years old on January 7, and much to his frustration, the man who had spent his entire life fixing things knew his body could not be repaired.
He had fallen nearly 30ft while repairing a flagpole on Solimar Beach in 2016. In 2016, he was back from the brink. He suffered major head injuries, including a broken rib on his left side, punctured his lung, a fractured pelvis, and a punctured lung. He was able to reopen Fix-It Shop months later and continue to prolong the lives of the community’s most prized possessions.
He repaired vacuum cleaners, sewing machines and restaurant equipment, he told me when he was first interviewed for this article, after the accident.
Huey used take on the most difficult repair jobs, according to Walt Stallings of Pops One Stop Repair Shop, Camarillo. He could fix anything metal with welding that no one else would try, including cars and bicycles.
Stallings is one of the last of his kind. He is a fix-it specialist whose shop has been at the Camarillo plaza across from the Post Office since 1972. Stallings repairs lamps, vacuum cleaners, fans, and small appliances such as mixers, toasters, sewing machines, and mixers like Young.
He said that you don’t see new junk made in China come in for repairs. It might come with a five-year warranty. But it may not last that long. Then, three months later, it breaks. It is the old stuff that people want to fix, such as your mothers sewing machine.
Stallings increased his customer base by adding leather repair to his repair repertoire. He hired an assistant who specializes in belt and shoe repair. He can even sew a lining on the back of a belt made of crocodile and lizard skins.
Stallings stated, “Now that I’m retired, I only work five days per week.” He has also trained the next generation to pick up the pieces. His son is also involved in the business. Stallings stated that he is discouraged at the availability of cheap electronics but encouraged by promising trends for the future. He said that he noticed the most with ladies purses. People are spending more initially on high-quality items, but then they save money in the end.
One type of repair shop is a specialized one that has attracted young businesses and employees who are interested in a technical but highly-demanded form of repair. Every city has a shop that deals with cell phone repairs. These shops usually have young staff who follow clear instructions to repair a limited range of problems, such replacing screens or batteries. These shops can be described as a hybrid of a repair shop for cell phones that employs technicians and an old-fashioned fix-it shop. William Shifflet (28-year-old owner) of Gizmo Wizards Oak View repairs many parts of cell phones as well as other Apple devices.
Omega Cellular’s owner, Sam Alahakoon explained why repairs are more complicated and less applicable to fewer products. He stated that manufacturers are making repairs more difficult. He pointed out that manufacturers use a variety of tricks to make repairs more difficult. One example is the threat of a voided warrant for third-party repairs. These repairs are often the most affordable for parts not covered by a warranty. He can repair some cell phones, but he will not provide warranty service for iPhones.
Crystal Young, Huey Youngs’ niece, learned some of his tricks from her uncle. She uses items from Facebook Marketplace to make lamps and sell them. She also plans on preserving another legacy from her uncle. She plans to keep her 1938 Chevy coupe in good condition and drive it up the coast.
David Goldstein, an Environmental Resource Analyst at the Ventura County Public Works Agency can be reached at [email protected]or 805-658-4322.