Has anyone ever heard of Necchi??????
05-11-2011, 01:26 PM
#61
Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: DFW Texas
Posts: 53
I inherited my mother's Necchi. She was a professional seamstress and used it for about 20+ years before I got it. I used it for over 10 years, and still use it as a back-up when my Bernina goes for its regular maintenance. The model name was "Nora". Not a lot of fancy stitches, but ooh was a workhorse. Grab it while you can.
05-11-2011, 02:01 PM
#62
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Stockton, NJ
Posts: 1,324
Originally Posted by earthwalker
I know Necchi are a good reliable machine, not sure about the Fleetwood. I don't own a Necchi but my husband's family has had them.
I bought a Necchi years ago and it lasted a VERY long time it sits now because I like the option of embroidery. Mine probably needs to be tuned up but I won't get rid of it!!! Sorry not sure of the model. But it was a school order left over
05-11-2011, 02:07 PM
#63
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Olympia,Washington
Posts: 638
I bought one at a G. S for 12.00 took all the stuff out of the cabinet . couldn't figure out how to use it so I resold for 25.00. I hope he think he got a good deal. to confusing and that was 12 years ago, didn't know what I know now. I still don't understand how they work.
05-11-2011, 04:43 PM
#66
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 2,943
I have a Necchi I bought when my kids were little. I made snowmobile suits for them to play in the snow. And ... back then that material was really bulky.
I made fitted Herculon upholstery pieces for a couch and chair we were given waaaaay back when.
That machine is still going stong!
However, I now use my Pfaff's and FW as they are much lighter. Well, not the CV, but it is stationary in my studio and doesn't travel!
ali
I made fitted Herculon upholstery pieces for a couch and chair we were given waaaaay back when.
That machine is still going stong!
However, I now use my Pfaff's and FW as they are much lighter. Well, not the CV, but it is stationary in my studio and doesn't travel!
ali
05-11-2011, 06:39 PM
#68
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Posts: 416
I know this will be long but I thought you all would like to learn more about the Necchi machines. I was told by a man who sells them here that when the original owner sold out to Allyn International the machines were then built in other countries and were not nearly as good. So hope this is not too long:
Necchi Sewing Machines
Necchi had been in business in Pavia Italy since the 1830's. They were a foundry and manufactured many different items over the years. After serving on the front lines in WW 1, Vittorio Necchi came home and had the idea that they should start to manufacture sewing machines after his wife wanted him to buy her one!. They made simple machines to start but had engineer's working on developing machines with more features. In the 1930's they came up with the model BU. The first household sewing machine with a built in zig-zag stitch. It was very well received.
Necchi mainly distributed their machines in Europe until after WW 2 when Leon Jolson who had been a Necchi dealer in Poland before the war, emigrated to the US and set up to distribute Necchi's here in the US. At first they brought in BF (straight stitch) and BU's (ZZ). Necchi in Italy shipped the machines here without motors or lights. With the different voltage requirements they probably did not want to retool and make US voltage motors until they saw how they would sell. Jolson fitted them with motors and lights made here. That is why if a machine has an original motor on it it says "Made in New York". But sell they did. In the early 1950's Necchi came out with the first of the Supernova series. This machine took cam's and greatly increased the versatility of the machine.
Generations of Necchi sewing machines have served well generations of families. Other Necchi industrial sewing machines had a meaningful role in the success of thousands of users, not only in the clothing filed, but also in shoe-making, in home furnishing and even in sail-making. Of course, it has been a gradual change. When in 1927 the BD (Domestic Spool) was introduced, it was seen as a revolution in the field. Innovations marked the production in the '30s: the BDA (Articulated Domestic Spool) increased the speed of stitching, offering new opportunities in new foreign markets. The new feature of zig-zag sewing was made possible by the BDU series. Yhe widespread usage of electric motor eliminated the pedal; the incorporated light lit up the work area. At the same time, because of an ever increasing market demand for more efficient machines, the production of industrial sewing machines significantly increased. Clothes manufacturing was the first area became industrialized: with Necchi it found immediately the technological support to get out the handcraft dimension.
Leon Jolson arrived in the United States with his wife Ann after World War II in 1947. He escaped from Nazi concentration camps and worked in the underground intercepting Nazi radio transmissions.
The Jolsons now faced the problem of earning a living in a new country. Leon Jolson turned to the one thing he knew -- sewing machines. In Poland Jolson's family were agents for the Necchi and Italian brand sewing machines. At first he went door to door offering his services to repair sewing machines. During the war, parts were impossible to obtain, therefore many sewing machines were not operational. Jolson set up a sewing machine repair service at his apartment in the Bronx with a loan from the United States Service for New Americans. None of his customers could have guessed that when he was 25, before the war, Jolson had been in charge of Necchi Corporation's Eastern European sales organization, and had an integral role in the development of the all-purpose Necchi unit. This coupled with the realization that American sewing machines couldn't perform like the Necchi which could do up to 20 sewing operations usually done by hand -- monogram, embroider, darning, buttonholes blind stitch hems overcastted, etc. -- without attachments. America was an untapped market for the Necchi sewing machine. Inspired, Jolson contacted the Italian factory, and asked for a trial assignment of machines. Several weeks passed before a reply came. No machines would be shipped unless Jolson could prove the demand for the machines with substantial orders. However, a few demonstration models would be sent when available. The cost of a sales campaign was beyond his means. The proceeds of his repair business were not enough. So Jolson acquired another $2000 loan from the United States Service for New Americans. With these funds and a strong belief in the Necchi, Jolson hounded New York's leading distributors of sewing machines with sales brochures and requested interviews. Strangely, the response was unproductive.
Enthusiastic about the possibilities of the Necchi sewing machine in the United States, two businessmen, Ben Krisiloff and Milton Heimlich invested $50,000. The next step was convince Vittorio Necchi, the inventor of the machine. So Jolson and Krisiloff went to Pavia and talked to the “Old Man.” Arousing Necchi's interest in the American market, a total of 135 machines were invested. Jolson and Krisiloff sent letters to possible outlets for sewing machines, inviting inquiries and orders. Within one week, orders arrived for 3500 machines, and the next week brought a total of 7000. Jolson offered Krisiloff and Heimlich a partnership. They didn't hesitate. Together, they opened an office and warehouse, notified the dealers when the machines arrived from Italy, and sales took off, grossing some $25,000,000 a year in the sewing machine field. By 1952, promotion alone, amounted to $2,500,000. In the same year, Necchi represented ten percent of the sewing machine business in the United States.
Jolson also negotiated the rights to distribute Elna sewing machines in the United States. Elna’s free arm cam machines with numerous decorative and stretch stitches and Necchi’s machines became very popular with U.S. sewers because of their versatility. Following the popularity of the Elna machine, Jolson contracted with a manufacturer to have his own brand of sewing machine private labeled. This machine combined the best features of both Necchi and Elna machines and Jolson called the new line NELCO. Shortly thereafter Jolson withdrew from the Necchi and Elna lines. Allyn International picked up the Necchi and Elna went to White.
Necchi Sewing Machines
Necchi had been in business in Pavia Italy since the 1830's. They were a foundry and manufactured many different items over the years. After serving on the front lines in WW 1, Vittorio Necchi came home and had the idea that they should start to manufacture sewing machines after his wife wanted him to buy her one!. They made simple machines to start but had engineer's working on developing machines with more features. In the 1930's they came up with the model BU. The first household sewing machine with a built in zig-zag stitch. It was very well received.
Necchi mainly distributed their machines in Europe until after WW 2 when Leon Jolson who had been a Necchi dealer in Poland before the war, emigrated to the US and set up to distribute Necchi's here in the US. At first they brought in BF (straight stitch) and BU's (ZZ). Necchi in Italy shipped the machines here without motors or lights. With the different voltage requirements they probably did not want to retool and make US voltage motors until they saw how they would sell. Jolson fitted them with motors and lights made here. That is why if a machine has an original motor on it it says "Made in New York". But sell they did. In the early 1950's Necchi came out with the first of the Supernova series. This machine took cam's and greatly increased the versatility of the machine.
Generations of Necchi sewing machines have served well generations of families. Other Necchi industrial sewing machines had a meaningful role in the success of thousands of users, not only in the clothing filed, but also in shoe-making, in home furnishing and even in sail-making. Of course, it has been a gradual change. When in 1927 the BD (Domestic Spool) was introduced, it was seen as a revolution in the field. Innovations marked the production in the '30s: the BDA (Articulated Domestic Spool) increased the speed of stitching, offering new opportunities in new foreign markets. The new feature of zig-zag sewing was made possible by the BDU series. Yhe widespread usage of electric motor eliminated the pedal; the incorporated light lit up the work area. At the same time, because of an ever increasing market demand for more efficient machines, the production of industrial sewing machines significantly increased. Clothes manufacturing was the first area became industrialized: with Necchi it found immediately the technological support to get out the handcraft dimension.
Leon Jolson arrived in the United States with his wife Ann after World War II in 1947. He escaped from Nazi concentration camps and worked in the underground intercepting Nazi radio transmissions.
The Jolsons now faced the problem of earning a living in a new country. Leon Jolson turned to the one thing he knew -- sewing machines. In Poland Jolson's family were agents for the Necchi and Italian brand sewing machines. At first he went door to door offering his services to repair sewing machines. During the war, parts were impossible to obtain, therefore many sewing machines were not operational. Jolson set up a sewing machine repair service at his apartment in the Bronx with a loan from the United States Service for New Americans. None of his customers could have guessed that when he was 25, before the war, Jolson had been in charge of Necchi Corporation's Eastern European sales organization, and had an integral role in the development of the all-purpose Necchi unit. This coupled with the realization that American sewing machines couldn't perform like the Necchi which could do up to 20 sewing operations usually done by hand -- monogram, embroider, darning, buttonholes blind stitch hems overcastted, etc. -- without attachments. America was an untapped market for the Necchi sewing machine. Inspired, Jolson contacted the Italian factory, and asked for a trial assignment of machines. Several weeks passed before a reply came. No machines would be shipped unless Jolson could prove the demand for the machines with substantial orders. However, a few demonstration models would be sent when available. The cost of a sales campaign was beyond his means. The proceeds of his repair business were not enough. So Jolson acquired another $2000 loan from the United States Service for New Americans. With these funds and a strong belief in the Necchi, Jolson hounded New York's leading distributors of sewing machines with sales brochures and requested interviews. Strangely, the response was unproductive.
Enthusiastic about the possibilities of the Necchi sewing machine in the United States, two businessmen, Ben Krisiloff and Milton Heimlich invested $50,000. The next step was convince Vittorio Necchi, the inventor of the machine. So Jolson and Krisiloff went to Pavia and talked to the “Old Man.” Arousing Necchi's interest in the American market, a total of 135 machines were invested. Jolson and Krisiloff sent letters to possible outlets for sewing machines, inviting inquiries and orders. Within one week, orders arrived for 3500 machines, and the next week brought a total of 7000. Jolson offered Krisiloff and Heimlich a partnership. They didn't hesitate. Together, they opened an office and warehouse, notified the dealers when the machines arrived from Italy, and sales took off, grossing some $25,000,000 a year in the sewing machine field. By 1952, promotion alone, amounted to $2,500,000. In the same year, Necchi represented ten percent of the sewing machine business in the United States.
Jolson also negotiated the rights to distribute Elna sewing machines in the United States. Elna’s free arm cam machines with numerous decorative and stretch stitches and Necchi’s machines became very popular with U.S. sewers because of their versatility. Following the popularity of the Elna machine, Jolson contracted with a manufacturer to have his own brand of sewing machine private labeled. This machine combined the best features of both Necchi and Elna machines and Jolson called the new line NELCO. Shortly thereafter Jolson withdrew from the Necchi and Elna lines. Allyn International picked up the Necchi and Elna went to White.
05-11-2011, 07:25 PM
#69
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,183
Originally Posted by fishnlady
I know this will be long but I thought you all would like to learn more about the Necchi machines. I was told by a man who sells them here that when the original owner sold out to Allyn International the machines were then built in other countries and were not nearly as good. So hope this is not too long:
05-11-2011, 08:29 PM
#70
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posts: 1,978
I had a Necchi and it worked beautifully. Stupid me thought it was an old machine and not worth it and so bought a new one and trashed the Necchi....if only I had known that 30 years later, I would wish I had kept it.
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