Singer & Clark - The Unlikely Partnership

(Originally published in SCHMETZ Inspired to SEW #83, November 2020. Written by Rita Farro.) There are very few examples of a brand that is so well known, the NAME of the brand replaces the actual thing the brand represents. Still today, 150+ years after the patent was registered, the name “Singer” is synonymous with “sewing machine.” In many ways, the story of the Singer brand reads like science fiction, it is simply unbelievable on many levels. But, at its core, it is about an unlikely partnership between two very different men, Isaac Merritt Singer and Edward Cabot Clark. Together, they changed the world we live in. But, as partners, they were not well-suited. Instead of a complimentary pairing, like salt and pepper, Singer and Clark operated much more like oil and water. Isaac Merritt Singer was a free-spirited man who marched to his own drummer. Lucky for us, he was a creative thinker, but there is no question he was one of the most uncouth men in the history of business. He was equal parts con man and inventor. His personal life was scandalous, to say the least. Because Singer became so rich and incredibly famous, stories about his early life have taken on a mythical quality. Like Buffalo Bill or Davy Crockett, it's hard to know what's true and what was fictionalized by Singer’s public relations team. Click HERE to read the whole story of Singer & Clark.