ne
Custom
seaming
A Stitch
in Time
For more than 30 years,
Joanne Mills, owner of Miles
River Sewing in Danvers, has
created pleasing backdrops for
many a North Shore home.
By Meg Quinn
while well-done window treatments are a pleasant sight, there's a lot
more to draperies than meets the eye. No
one on the North Shore knows that better
than Joanne Mills, owner of Miles River
Sewing in Danvers.
Since founding the company in 1975,
Mills has been responsible for bringing
character and charm to the windows of
many homes on the North Shore, ranging
from small houses to large estates, and even
a famous landmark. "Early on, about 25 years
ago, we did the swags in the living room of
The House of Seven Gables," she says.
Whether for a large or small space,
draperies fulfill both a practical and an
aesthetic need. "They [provide] privacy,
light [when open], insulation, safety, and
a whole list of things that they are required to fulfill and at the end of that list
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Pattern Play
After nearly 40 years of
working with fabrics, Mills
is at the top of her field.
is their design," says Mills. "The design
should successfully take care of the light
and insulation needs, but also contribute to the design of the room. Draperies
should be lovely contributions to the
whole space." Her inventive and unique
works have done just that.
Mills is still hard at it. Her workroom
is responsible for elaborate window
treatments for homes in Maine, Vermont,
and Connecticut, and she will soon travel
to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, for a
large job.
With a proven knack for handling
complex requests, Mills is queen of her
craft and at the top of many designers'
lists when it comes to creating custom
draperies. "Our work has been featured in
photographs by damien gaudet
1/15/14 2:52 PM
