SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – It’s been three weeks since Hurricane Helen made landfall, and many people are still recovering. Not only were thousands of homes damaged, but so were many businesses, including the Port City Garment Factory in Savannah.
During the storm, part of the factory’s roof was torn off, allowing rain and wind to enter the building.
“Everything was wet,” said Mikhaila Robin, co-owner of Port City Sewing Factory and director of design and production at Satchel. The factory is a sister company to Satchel, a popular retail store on Liberty Street in downtown Savannah.
Port City is where the staff stores and produces most of their satchel products, but some of the material was destroyed when water entered. “Some of them are completely unusable,” Robin said.
That’s when Robin, along with Port City Sewing Factory co-owner and Satchel founder Elizabeth Seeger, decided to move into a temporary factory.
“Fortunately, the space we moved into was available for interior demos,” Robin said.
So, after tearing down some walls and moving all equipment to a new facility, they’re back in action for the first week since the storm. “I feel like it’s the first time I’ve really had a chance to breathe,” Seager said.
They said it’s a relief to be in a new field, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been major setbacks in production.
“Four weeks is optimistic, but six to eight weeks is more likely,” Robin said. “Anything that needs replacement typically has a turnaround time of three to six weeks.”
And all of these setbacks come at a time when Seger and Robin are typically trying to ramp up production in preparation for the holiday season. “We had a big wholesale order before Christmas and we needed a lot of leather for that,” Robin said.
But despite these setbacks, Seager said the situation could get much worse. “We’re really thankful that we found the space and were able to move easily and to everyone who offered to help in any way, shape or form,” Seger said.
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