Hello Everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I finally got my fabrics page on my website up and running again! So, now you can see what we have! However, I feel I must apologize for the shameful profusions of red fabric that exist on the site. All the same, I can partly blame it on the upholstery fabric industry. You see, I'm at the mercy of whatever is in vogue for home decorating, and apparently no one decorates in black and silver or purple (I'm sorry to the many customers who have requested those of late!). When I pick out my fabrics, I always first go for the quality, then appearance. I've sadly made corsets out of materials that I thought were beautiful but ended up being totally cheap (In other words, I don't care how pretty the chinese brocade fabric is at JoAnn. It DOES NOT hold up to body shaping!!) and perhaps that why I don't have as huge of a selection of colors as I might like. I have customers who sometimes get frustrated because I can't fill a "simple" request such as "black with purple stripes" but here's the thing. If you guys can go and online and FIND me a fabric store that sells that in an upholstery weight jacquard or chenille, then I will be MORE THAN GLAD to fill that request. However, I think the second you hop online to find that, you'll be yelling profanities at the complete lack of awesome fabrics. You can always find amazing stuff in quilting fabrics, and you can even find corset makers who use quilting fabrics, but the trust is-100% cotton just isn't built to take a beating.
My oldest brother always said, concerning business, that "You can be the cheapest or you can be the best, but you can't be both". I think it's painfully true. I could sell corsets that were $25, but they would all have plastic boning only in the front and be made out of floral calico that I bought off the $1.00 a yard rack at Wal-Mart (at least the ones that still carry fabric!) Honestly, I actually don't think I'm the cheapest OR the best. I want to give my customers a really well built product that they can afford that makes them look and feel like seductresses! (well..maybe not my little 13 and 14 year old customers. You guys can just feel "pretty") I know that there are corset makers out there that have 40 pieces of boning in their corsets and 100 grommets, but those also cost $600. Boning is NOT cheap, friends. Nor is the time that it takes to place all those pieces of boning in their channels. We tried to find a way arond that by putting boning in the crucial spots (front-flatten tummy, sides-flatten love handles, back-give good back support) and then we use two layers of very durable stiff upholstery fabric (3 layers in the front) that do amazing things as far as holding in the body and smoothing you out! I'm not lying when I say that at the Norman Medieval Fair this year, I had a customer come up that was wearing one of the super expensive, million pieces of boning corsets, and she liked my little sturdy $55 wench corsets just as much. What is more is that they did the exact same thing for her body. Both corsets gave her a beautiful hourglass shape, both were the exact same body length, and both gave a romantic appeal to her.
Holy Face! How did I get onto this subject? I only hopped on here to tell you guys that you could see my fabrics. Wow, sorry about that. I guess the jist of this blog is to say: "New fabric!" and "We really do make a good product. We're not necessarily the "best" but that's only because I realize that I'm 23 years old and have A LOT more to learn about corset making before I'm through. However, I'm very proud of what I've learned, and I LOVE having a job where I get to help women learn to love their reflection in the mirror!"
My oldest brother always said, concerning business, that "You can be the cheapest or you can be the best, but you can't be both". I think it's painfully true. I could sell corsets that were $25, but they would all have plastic boning only in the front and be made out of floral calico that I bought off the $1.00 a yard rack at Wal-Mart (at least the ones that still carry fabric!) Honestly, I actually don't think I'm the cheapest OR the best. I want to give my customers a really well built product that they can afford that makes them look and feel like seductresses! (well..maybe not my little 13 and 14 year old customers. You guys can just feel "pretty") I know that there are corset makers out there that have 40 pieces of boning in their corsets and 100 grommets, but those also cost $600. Boning is NOT cheap, friends. Nor is the time that it takes to place all those pieces of boning in their channels. We tried to find a way arond that by putting boning in the crucial spots (front-flatten tummy, sides-flatten love handles, back-give good back support) and then we use two layers of very durable stiff upholstery fabric (3 layers in the front) that do amazing things as far as holding in the body and smoothing you out! I'm not lying when I say that at the Norman Medieval Fair this year, I had a customer come up that was wearing one of the super expensive, million pieces of boning corsets, and she liked my little sturdy $55 wench corsets just as much. What is more is that they did the exact same thing for her body. Both corsets gave her a beautiful hourglass shape, both were the exact same body length, and both gave a romantic appeal to her.Holy Face! How did I get onto this subject? I only hopped on here to tell you guys that you could see my fabrics. Wow, sorry about that. I guess the jist of this blog is to say: "New fabric!" and "We really do make a good product. We're not necessarily the "best" but that's only because I realize that I'm 23 years old and have A LOT more to learn about corset making before I'm through. However, I'm very proud of what I've learned, and I LOVE having a job where I get to help women learn to love their reflection in the mirror!"
Maybe it's just me, but I'm unable to see anything other then the message saying to go to 800frabric.com or whatever the link was. Just thought I would let you know. :)
ReplyDeleteWoo! I can see the fabrics and I'm jealous!
ReplyDelete