Virtual sewing machine service training for the home sewist
How do you learn to service and restore sewing machines?
Are you curious about sewing machine service and repair? Ever wondered how people learn these skills, either to take of their own machines or to break into the industry with a side business or retirement income? You've come to the right place.
Hi, my name is Andi Barney, and I am a professional service technician and restorationist, and I closed my professional service shop of 15 years to teach my skills to those that need them and want them. I started this journey exactly where you are right now - with a sense of curiosity!
We were already facing a severe shortage of skilled technicians before Covid, but burnout and exhaustion during the pandemic forced many to close their doors for good and retire early. So we've reached a place where many people do not have access to a service shop or technician without driving several hours each way. The time to be more self-sufficient is now.
​
Our programs are unique in that they are all only offered virtually - we do not teach any programs or classes in person at this time. Why would we choose to teach virtually? There are one or two one-off programs you can attend in the US, but, those programs run between $1,000 and $5,000, plus travel and expenses. Not only that, you only get 1-5 days of guided instruction and learning. That's a very short amount of time to absorb all the different aspects of sewing machine service and repair. Our programs are designed to support you and offer assistance long term.
Our program costs range from $99 to $199 for individual programs, or join our Full Maintenance Program for less than $450 - that's a ONE-TIME payment for LIFETIME access and includes continued guidance from expert instructors. This allows you to learn from anywhere, at your own pace, on a schedule that works for you. Not only that, you don't have to invest all at once - you can pick and choose the programs that fit your current financial and time limitations.
​
The most important part is, you'll always have a live human to help you
when you hit roadblocks - that's something YouTube videos can't do.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
The Sewing Doc Academy has three major goals:
​
1. To help as many people as possible become self-sufficient in troubleshooting, maintaining, and making minor repairs to their sewing machines. We love to help you avoid paying service fees for routine maintenance, driving several hours to a service shop, and eliminating the down time while waiting for your machine to be ready.
2. To replenish the number of skilled folks that can offer their services to their community, either through paid services, such as service business, or through volunteering services, such as supporting a maker space or senior center with machine maintenance. To be of help to your community, you do NOT need to open up a full-blown service shop. I ran my business for the first 6 years from my kitchen table and basement.
3. To contribute to our communities. One of my biggest personal interests is to offer opportunities to those that have a hard time securing and managing stable income. This means people that are previous incarcerated and struggle to find suitable income and discrimination, and for those with disabilities that face similar struggles.
No one has ever offered programs like this before, so we understand that it is a lot to take in. We invite you to attend one of our live open house events, where you'll meet me live, virtually of course, and to understand how our programs will help you, how they work, what's included, and what they cost. Also, we discount our programs significantly during our Open House event!
Even if you can't attend live, or if you miss any of it, the replay video will be sent to you later that evening to view at your leisure, and you'll still have plenty of time to ask questions and benefit from the discounts applied to the programs.
Are you curious about the ways you can earn money in sewing machine servcie and restoration without having to open up a full blown service shop?
Getting into sewing machine services doesn't requite a huge investment, a retail space, or even a huge time committment!
We are putting together a special, live program to show you how we teach people in our programs to earn a little side money, retirement income, or start a business using sewing machine service skills. Join as we give you a peek behind the curtains at how this is possible!
​
This will be an INFORMATIONAL live event. If you are curious about any aspect of machine service and restoration, we highly suggest attending the Open House event above.
​
We do not yet have a date/time set for this event, so join the wait list and you'll be the first to see the announcement!