What do you do?

TAILOR
John P. Meegan
Top Shelf

History in this line of work:
I’m a tailor. Sarto as they say in Italy. That’s the root of “sartorial,” a strong tailor reference. I’ve been at this for thirty-two years, all here at Top Shelf. I came to Minneapolis from Chicago because I’d seen the Mary Tyler Moore Show, and I liked that image of her throwing the hat. Mostly in Chicago you thought that Minneapolis was Rocky and Bullwinkle. I came here and worked and put myself through vocational school, and then I went to Juster’s to find work as a tailor. They offered me $3 an hour. My business partner, Sue, was making $2.50 an hour. I didn’t take the job—I told Sue that if she could match my own $500 investment, we’d go into business together. We moved into the Uptown neighborhood before Calhoun Square came in, and we’ve been at it ever since.

What drew him to this vocation:
When I first sat down at a sewing machine I felt what a painter must feel when he picks up his brush and knows intuitively that this will be his life’s vocation. I felt electricity run through me.

Health insurance benefits:
I pay for all the health benefits for myself, and all my employees have full health coverage.

Fringe benefits or perks:
You always look like a million bucks. This is a service business, and I love doing that type of work. We all have pride here, and I’m kept humbled daily by my mistakes. We’re not perfect.

Education and employment background:
Originally, I enrolled at the University of Illinois in pre-law. But I was just going through the motions. That’s what I believed—you go to high school, you go to college, then you get a white-collar job. But I went to the Minneapolis Vocational School. My friend Sue and I were voted “Least Likely To Succeed” by our instructors. One said, “You don’t make suits, you make clown suits!” Oddly enough, I think we’re the most successful graduates they’ve ever had.

Drawbacks, hassles, or hazards of the job:
It’s almost as perfect a life as I could have. You could say the drawbacks are the hours involved and I have two children. But my wife works here, and we made space in the shop for the kids to do their homework. I did fittings with kids strapped to my chest. So that hasn’t been a problem either.

Interests outside of work:
I’m crazy for Rollerblading. I’m happy to pay taxes for our wonderful trail system. At 6:30 in the morning I’m out blading, and I own every path in the Twin Cities. When I’m not working or Rollerblading, I like listening to music and smoking cigars. I’ve got over 40,000 songs on my iPod, playing in the shop at all times.

Family:
I’m married with two children.

Housing:
I live near the shop, just a few blocks south. I’m a huge booster of my neighborhood [the Lyn-Lake and Uptown areas of Minneapolis]—I’ve been on every urban revitalization program, a chair of the Uptown Art Fair, and so on.

Transportation:
I walk, but I also drive—I have a VW bug that’s got our advertising all over it. We have a strong marketing strategy: This isn’t your grandfather’s tailor.

What he wanted to be as a child:
I thought I was going to be a nuclear physicist. I was a nutcase. I read the biographies of the Curies, took trips to the Dresden nuclear power plant in Illinois … I was a nerd. I also enrolled in a seminary but never showed up. I discovered girls that same summer, which ended that.

What else, if anything, he’d rather be doing:
Nothing else.

Where he sees himself in five years:
I’ll be right here. There’s an old saying among tailors: “I plan to retire three years after I die.” You’re constantly learning—it keeps you vital.


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