Category: craft business

Bloom where you’re planted

June 5, 2016

There are many interpretations of the popular saying, but this one is my fave:

bloom

Trust me, if you’ve done everything you can to “bloom” at work – with the job itself or certain people at the job – it’s not you…it’s the environment. Do yourself a favor and quit trying to make a square peg fit in a round hole. Move on. 

Last night, Boomer and I attended the Summer Reading Celebration Kick-Off Party at the public library. One of my librarian colleagues hadn’t seen me for a few months and remarked how happy I looked. Same with a  R.E.A.D. family from our former library in West Cobb who stopped by to see us. What really made my heart happy was a pair of students from my former school who came up, gave me a hug and told me how much “many people at my former school really missed me”.  Believe me sweetie, there are many things I miss about my former school, but the new one has proven to be a much better fit.

I changed my environment and now I’M BLOOMING.

 

Should You Consider Buying Wholesale?

May 29, 2016

For me, the answer has quickly become a resounding, “YES” for 3 reasons:

  • My go-to Hancock Fabrics store near me is about to close.
  • Joann’s is consistently out of stock on bolts of SF101 when I need it for projects and online orders have meant Wonder-Under arriving at my doorstep instead of SF101. This is especially aggravating when it means approximately 1-1/2 hours of time wasted plus the gas to get to the store and back or time spent trying to educate the customer service rep on the difference between Shape Flex and Wonder Under.
  • When I reviewed my biz financials and saw the total I spent last year on supplies for t-shirt quilts, sewing camps/classes, and stitching club at school, I KNEW I could meet the annual minimums required by several wholesale sewing vendors.

Most wholesalers are geared toward retailers. However, if you look, you will find a handful of companies that cater to cottage businesses. EE Schenk and Checker Distributors are two that I suggest you try if you need a company that supplies a little bit of everything.  Should I decide to start vending sewing notions in my Etsy shop, it will be an easy transition for me as I already have a wholesale supplier set up.

Buying wholesale means you save on a per yard basis on the fabric you buy, but you are required to buy an entire bolt. That could be 10-15 yards of fabric, depending on the manufacturer.  That’s enough for  at least 2-3 quilts.

Will I buy wholesale for everything? Of course not!  My approach to fabric & notions purchasing will mimic how I spend the library budget at my day job. I often visit the local bookstore to preview unfamiliar titles before I commit to buying them with library money. I’ll likely by a yard or two of fabric from my LQS to see if it’s worth springing for the entire bolt.  Or I need a FQ of a particular college sports team to use in a baby quilt. Or I need a single spool of a particular color/brand of thread I don’t have on hand.  I’ll still support my LQS, but wholesale purchasing will allow me to be more profitable in terms of $$ spent on supplies and in time spent sourcing frequently used materials in my business.

 

 

 

 

T-Shirt Quilts – My Process FAQ

May 11, 2016

Yesterday, while waiting to have new tires installed on my SUV, I finalized the design of a t-shirt quilt and conducted an initial phone consult with another customer. Pleased to say that after 4 years in business, I finally received a local referral from someone completely unrelated to family, friends or school/work. The person’s name she gave as the one who gave her my contact information didn’t even ring a bell.  That made my day!

Basically, the process goes something like this:

  1. Decide which t-shirts you want to use in the quilt.
  2. Launder your t-shirts as usual, but do not use fabric softener.
  3. Indicate which side of the t-shirt you want used in the quilt.
  4. Think about colors you might want to use for borders & sashing. Most customers let me choose, but blue and gray are very popular.
  5. Make arrangements to get the t-shirts to me (local pickup or ship).
  6. Pay a $100 deposit.That’s all you have to do. I do the rest. 

    Lead times vary, depending on my day job and how busy I am with other quilts in the queue. I have completed a twin-size in as little as 3 weeks (around a full-time job). Lead times during busy season (like right now with graduation) might be 8-12 weeks.

    Final price depends on number of t-shirts, size of quilt, extended borders, photo blocks, pieced blocks, etc. I can give you an estimate when you first contact me; however, the final price will be determined once I see your items.

    I will send you updates periodically during the process. If you have a firm deadline, please communicate this at the very beginning. Once completed, I will send you a photo of the quilt and we will make delivery arrangements at that time.  Any balance due must be paid before I ship the quilt. Local customers can pay at pick-up.

    Then, enjoy your fabulous new quilt and wrap yourself up in memories!