By KATIE DE VERTEUIL
AFTER 40 years of dressing the community in elaborate gowns, shimmering coats and perfectly matched attire, Eumundi’s Elisabeth Esprester is selling her fabric collection.
Sadly, a number of strokes have forced her to put down her needle and thread for good.
The owner of Elisabeth’s Costume Hire first learnt to sew as a teenager back in the late 1940s.
Growing up in Munich, Germany following World War II, she was one of many young girls taught the art by nuns after the completion of secondary school.
“You couldn’t buy anything back then; clothes were very hard to come by so the women made them,” husband Gus said.
Elisabeth would knit and sew clothes for her husband and three sons for years before her children grew into teenagers and went their separate ways, resulting in less of a need for the home-sewn outfits.
The local seamstress’s skills were, however, still put to good use, this time in the form of costumes for local theatre groups in Noosa and eventually general hire.
“We’d often have people dropping round after work hours looking for costumes because they wanted something to go out to a party in,” Gus said.
“Our home became the go-to place before fancy dress celebrations and it just grew and grew, the fabrics taking over the house,” he said incredulously looking over at his wife, who smiled cheekily in agreement.
From cotton, silks, and chiffon, to faux, lace and everything in between, an invasion of poka dots, stripes and florals, scatter the rooms of their humble home.
Add a wide variety of trimmings including buttons, fill boxes and shelves.
Unfortunately in 2010 Elisabeth underwent open heart surgery.
In the years that followed she went on to suffer a number of strokes and has never fully recovered, leaving her concentration levels insufficient to continue with such a delicate, time-consuming artform.
With an incredible collection of materials going to waste, Elisabeth and her family feel it’s time for her fabrics to find a new home.
“She’s not improving and the fabrics and just collecting dust,” Gus said.
“For the last few years I’ve even had to buy my own shirts,” her husband joked to lighten the mood.
“Through this sale we are hoping the community will be able to get some use out of the high quality material that is now just taking up space here.”
The fabric sale will run out of the Esprester family home at 2 Dean Road, Eumundi every Wednesday to Saturday for the next three weeks.
Opening hours are from 10am-4pm. Prices range from $3 upwards, with a huge variety on offer. Special appointments can also be arranged by contacting Simon on 0455 269 542.
