 WHAT,
YOU MAY WONDER, do a Polish fiddler, Kevin McHale,
Ethan Allen, a ‘car bra’ and a 120 foot schooner in Bermuda
have in common? Enter Dan Blajda. A tailor by trade, Dan’s
story - as you will now see - is what gave rise to the name
Ocean Tailors.
(Note: Dan Blajda is the master craftsman at Ocean
Tailors.)
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I ~ Like father, like son
One place to pick up the thread of the story is in 1971 when,
at age 14, Dan Blajda first apprenticed as a tailor with his
father, who himself had tailored all his life. Over
the next fifteen years, Dan mastered the various arts of
fitting, pattern-making, machine and hand-sewing techniques.
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II ~ Reaching new heights (6 feet 10 inches)
The years of mastering the tailoring art culminated in a rare
opportunity for Dan: to tailor for an exceptionally unique and
well-known human frame… that of Kevin McHale, the Boston
Celtic legend (1980-81 to 1991-92)… for whom Dan created
various garments, including a full-length double-breasted
peaked lapel cashmere overcoat.
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III ~ The master upholsterer
Setting sleeves in leisure suits in 1976, creating
patterns at the famous ‘Pandora’ sweater factory... Dan even had
a ‘hands on’ role in creating a line of patterns for Brevardi’s popular ‘car bra’ in the 80s. The next move was to
Ethan Allen, in Bedford, New Hampshire, where Dan spent ten
years as their in-house upholsterer, developing a flair for
restoring antique furnishings and creating original designs.
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IV ~ A tailor at sea
It was on the sea coast of New Hampshire that Dan Blajda first
ran his own marine canvas business, before taking the
plunge... with a move from New England to Bermuda. There, the
quality of his tailoring soon earmarked him as a sought-after
craftsman, providing fine solutions for yacht-owners from all
around the world, from France to the Caribbean.
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V ~ A fiddler on the side
They say you can always tell the true quality of a tailor by
how well he plays the fiddle. Really? No, but the moment you
hear Dan’s Blajda’s musical skills, it’s likely to stir your
imagination… and maybe prompt you to wonder how your own yacht
might benefit from the same artistry, inside or out. |
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