From Indian Valley Roots to a Sewing Shop in Weiser
Leslie Huey Boles, owner of the recently opened sewing shop The Savvy Seamstress in Weiser, traces her roots back to Indian Valley. The Huey family moved there in 1969, when Leslie was just nine years old. She attended the one-room schoolhouse, which at the time had only 15 students. Two years later, the little school closed its doors, and Leslie and her classmates transferred to Cambridge Schools. She graduated from Cambridge High School and married her high school sweetheart. After they were married, her husband joined the Coast Guard, and together they spent the next twenty years traveling with his service.
While her husband served in the Coast Guard, one of their duty stations took them to Duluth, Minnesota, where Leslie began sewing in a uniform shop and later at a high-end clothing store. In 1995, she started working in a bridal shop. During those years, she also earned her nursing degree, raised a family, and eventually settled in Weiser.
At a young age, Leslie and her sister Nola learned to sew from their mother, a talented seamstress who made most of the girls’ outfits throughout their childhood. By the time Leslie was in high school, she was sewing her own clothes and later went on to sew for her own children.
The inspiration to open her own business came while Leslie was working as a nurse. A co-worker who was planning her wedding shared that she had to make three separate trips to Boise for dress alterations and was still unhappy with the results. Hearing that story sparked the idea of Leslie opening her shop.
Later that summer, a woman from church asked if she would be willing to sew a bridal gown for a friend in Council, a gown created entirely from scratch. Soon after, another bride from Council came to her with the same request: a fully custom-designed wedding dress, created from the ground up.
Leslie hopes to connect with other brides-to-be who want a truly special dress made for their wedding day. She envisions drawing clients from all around the area. Leslie said brides who buy off the rack typically spend about $2,000 on a dress plus $500–$700 in alterations if it doesn’t fit. “My basic dresses start at $500,” she said. “Most cost under $1,000 and fit perfectly with no additional alterations.” Her process includes a mock-up, a fitting to refine the pattern, and then the final dress. Even with custom touches, prices usually top out around $1,000. Creating a custom dress from the ground up, she explained, requires a minimum of two months to complete.
Leslie’s real passion lies in creating custom bridal gowns. However, she also enjoys working on a variety of other sewing projects, from standard alterations to creating custom pieces. She shared a fun story about not putting zippers in down coats after a bad experience with feathers!
In addition to basic alterations, she does alterations on ready-made gowns to make sure each bride gets the perfect fit. Brides come from Boise and other communities where alteration schedules are booked up. Currently, she is altering dresses for a mom and grandma for their daughter’s and granddaughter’s wedding, as well as re-creating a favorite blouse for a local customer. If a bride is interested in having Leslie make dresses for the complete bridal party, this is something she would be delighted to do.
People may wonder why; after retiring from a 20-year nursing career, Leslie chose to open a sewing shop. When asked, she explained, “I love people, and even though I retired from nursing, I still wanted to be around people.” For more information, contact Leslie at (208) 741-8896 or by email at 20SeamsSewSavvy25@proton.me
