Elaine the Tailor

Elaine Maepioh, mother of three comes from Sobiro Village, Ghatokae Island of Marovo Lagoon in Western Province. Elaine sews clothes not only for a living but out of passion. She owns Vae Tailor Shop which is located in the centre of Honiara. Elaine spoke to us about her business, the challenges she has faced and her motivation for sewing.

Vae Tailor makes women’s clothing, men’s shirts, wedding gowns, school and work uniforms, choir robes, curtains and cushion covers. It also provides a mending service. The shop stocks ready-made garments imported from Fiji. Elaine employs three full time staff, and a number of part time family members. Elaine plans to expand her business.

Elaine faces a number of challenges in running the business, including finding good quality fabrics in Honiara. “The quality of materials is not nice here. You can be a skilled tailor but when you are working with fabric that is low quality, it is a challenge,” she said. And she has difficulty in finding good quality sewing machines to purchase, “I have two good sewing machines which I bought second hand in Australia. Getting brand new sewing machines would be a lot more expensive. Money is an issue and access to finance is a challenge for small operators like me,” Elaine continued. Elaine is looking for the opportunity to train on the different use or functions of the machines, especially the latest version of the Brother sewing machine. “It is useless to have a new sewing machine if one doesn’t know how well to use it,” she said.

Elaine learned to sew when she as five from her mother, the wife of a missionary. She first started by sewing together different pieces of cloths into bed covers. At 10, Elaine had cut and sewed her first dress. Elaine got married at the age of 16 and became a fulltime house wife. Sewing was a way of putting her time at home to good use. With only one sewing machine, Elaine sewed clothes for herself, her husband and children.

Before long, news about her spread throughout Honiara and some of her friends suggested that she open up a tailoring business, hence, Vae Tailor Shop was born.

Vae Tailor operated throughout the ethnic tension period. There was very little business activity in those times and the business was running into arrears in rental and bills. Despite getting demands and threats from armed militants for her to give them money, Elaine was one of the few people in Honiara whose business remained opened during those difficult times.

In 2005, Vae Tailor Shop moved to NPF Plaza building at Point Cruz where it operates today. Opening hours are from 8 am to 4.30pm, weekdays. Elaine welcomes people to drop by the shop, or call on 677 22166.