Ophelia Adjemian - Seamstress

Ophelia Adjemian grew up in Yerevan, Armenia before immigrating to Niagara Falls, New York in 1996. Growing up in Armenia, Ophelia learned to sew and use different types of sewing machines and knitting machines, leading to the family selling some hand and machine-made clothing after the fall of the Soviet Union to support her family. After working at another alteration business in Niagara Falls called Perfect Stitch (based out of the now-closed Summit Park Mall), Ophelia Adjemian opened up her own alteration business - Alteration Station - in 2005.

Learn from Ophelia and her granddaughter Gayane about Ophelia’s life as a seamstress, memories of Gayane growing up at Alteration Station, working together with her daughter (Mary Movesian), and the meaningfulness of creating Armenian traditional dance dresses for Gayane.

Survive, Remember, Thrive: Armenian Traditions in Western New York is a documentary video series produced by the Folk Arts Program at the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University that celebrates local expressions of Armenian culture and heritage.

Survive, Remember, Thrive preserves the traditions, memories, and stories of the local Armenian community through a short film and video series highlighting Armenian churches, oral history and family narratives, food traditions, family owned businesses, artistic crafts, music, and more.

For more information about the documentary video series "Survive, Remember, Thrive: Armenian Traditions in Western New York", click here: https://castellaniartmuseum.org/folk-arts/armenian-traditions-in-western-new-york/

Survive, Remember, Thrive: Armenian Traditions in Western New York is made possible through the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, NYSCA Living Traditions, and Niagara University.