For 82-year-old Joe Camelia, Jr., the tailoring business is a family legacy

NUTLEY, N.J. — For decades, a New Jersey tailor has been in company, dressing some of the area’s most recognizable Tv figures and entertainers.

When the pandemic strike, company was bleak.

Now he is also operating to assure the upcoming of his family and of personalized-created garments.

As CBS2’s Astrid Martinez documented Wednesday, you could say the tailoring small business is in Joe Camelia’s blood.

“He opened up a retail outlet in individuals days, I actually do not bear in mind, it was the ’30’s or ’40’s. He put a critical in the doorway. There was no governing administration in those people times,” Camelia mentioned.

For generations, Joe Camelia, Jr., has continued a family members tradition that started in the 1800s in Newark, New Jersey. His father Joe Camelia, Sr., was brought in excess of from Italy to the U.S. at 11, and deserted.

It was his long run father-in-legislation who taught him the trade.

“Now I am going to get… now I will get emotional,” Camelia claimed. “I am very pleased of my father, simply because my grandfather taught him how to make fits. And of training course, the language was there. And of program, I inevitably fulfilled my mom and… Italian. Excuse me. In any case, which is how my father commenced. And then he was also emotional, compassionate.”

People characteristics were being crucial to helping the family grow to be a achievement, and they were being all passed down to Joe. For generations, the household has sewn satisfies for some of the country’s most recognizable entertainers.

“That is how I at first satisfied Ali, who was an absolute sweetheart,” Camelia said.

He has also aided costume some Tv set tricky men.

“Stevie Van Zandt, Stevie Schirripa, Stevie Buscemi, manufactured only a couple of satisfies for him. Castelluccio was in the beginning, he was beginning to fool all-around with Tony’s spouse, if you recall. Who else? Of course, the huge guy James [Gandolfini]. James, perfectly, James came simply because he preferred the way Stevie appears. He says ‘Well, you never needed to meet up with the male. You are heading to your fancy dude in New York and blah, blah, blah.’ And Jimmy and I hit it off correct off right off the bat, correct in this article in the retail store.”

The 82-calendar year-aged has also dressed some serious-daily life difficult guys.

“I hardly ever met John [Gotti]. I by no means fulfilled John, was often a diverse person that arrived in and picked up and regardless of what,” Camelia explained.

But when the COVID pandemic hit, persons have been doing work remotely, and in-man or woman functions were canceled, which remaining no need for tailoring.

“He’s the very best. He is the very best about – 82 a long time and he’s continue to likely potent,” reported shopper Harold Welsh.

The close friends Joe has designed in the course of the decades rallied all over him to aid the company keep open. He also been given some federal pandemic guidance and now with business opening back again up, Joe is ultimately seeing a constant circulation of customers. He is working on training a new technology.

“We introduced in folks from Ecuador, Dominican Republic. My major dude is from the Dominican republic. What are you gonna do? So I am going to try out to assist them,” Camelia explained.

To make guaranteed the craft, and the tailor-produced spouse and children legacy, is stitched into record.