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About Sewing Machines Direct

Sewing Machines Direct (SMD) is a small friendly business that has supplied sewing machines and associated products since 1960.

In 1988 Russell Forrester joined the company he started the online business as you have all come to know and love as Sewing Machines Direct. By following the same principles and values that were used when he was employed by Singer, SMD has placed itself at the very forefront of online sewing machine sales. Our straightforward and "no-nonsense" approach, in which every machine is clearly priced with no hidden charges, provides our customers with the very best customer service. We constantly review our service to our customers and whenever we do get it wrong, we will do everything we can to correct the situation and provide staff training if necessary.

Russell was joined by David in 2010 where he managed the construction of the new warehouse in Llay Industrial Estate. The new unit has a floor area of 999 square meters (over 10,000 sq ft) which is more than double the size of our previous available storage area. Improving customer service, both internet and retail have been our primary objective in the initial planning and design stages and a new layout together with implementing new methods and systems means that processing Goods In and Goods Out is now much more efficient and order processing has become more streamlined. New infrastructure and machinery are now used to process container deliveries onto pallets which are then transported directly into storage. Pre-palletised shipments are now unloaded, processed and storage space pre-allocated so products can be picked and despatched almost immediately. As you can appreciate, David’s role as General Manager means he is kept very busy maintaining & managing the unit, keeping track of stock and packaging and dispatching all orders. David also heads up our servicing & repairs department and he also demonstrates machines to our customers in the showroom.

Russell was joined in the business by Karen in 2012. Karen brought with her administration and marketing experience from her time spent at Orange Retail and Gelert. Karen has helped the business break into the world of Facebook and Twitter and she has been working closely with our new web designers and our SEO advisor. Karen has gained a vast amount of knowledge of the machines and digitizing software. Karen is often found chatting away on the website answering customers queries and trying to help customers pick the right machine to suit their needs. Karen takes a lot of pride in knowing that customers are given as much information as possible to help them in their purchase as in most cases buying a machine can be a considered purchase.

Amy joined the team in 2014 to assist in the office with administrative duties. Amy also processes online and telephone orders and is always on hand to help out and answer the phones, when everyone is busy helping customers. Over the years Amy's product knowledge has grown and she can now help customers more by advising on machines to suit their sewing needs.

Kathy joined the team in 2016 to assist in the showroom and on social media. Kathy was a customer of SMD for many years and one day she heard that we were looking to get more staff and with her experience in sewing, quilting, digitizing, overlocking and machine embroidery, she fitted in with what we were looking for. Kathy also has knitting and crochet experience and she now splits her time between our sister company SMD Knitting and her sewing duties at SMD.

As the company expanded and we added a chat facility on our website, we had to expand our team even further. Freddie is one of our chat agents and is one of our newest recruits as he joined the team last year in 2018. He has a vast knowledge of machines and enjoys talking to customers on chat advising on the right machine to suit their needs. He loves chatting to people and sending lots of emojis on the chats.

As well as accepting orders online and by telephone, we also have our showroom which you're welcome to visit. Our showroom displays a comprehensive range of sewing machines, overlockers, ironing presses, and sewing cabinets. Come and have a play on the machines you are interested in, bring along a sample of the material you are stitching out on and test it out. We always have the kettle on for a night hot coffee, tea or hot chocolate. If you need advice on machines just ask us and we will help guide you to the right machine for you. Here we'll also be able to accept your old machine, ironing press, etc for "green disposal" under The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive.

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