Messages

Looks like a fun project.

Nice looking chair.  It is true that a lot goes into making a chair sit well, as much as look good.

Good going Cruiser, happy to hear it worked out.

Hay Karen! Nice to see you around.  Sure hope you can spare a little of that sunshine for a while. ;D

Was the customer with the bag of weed the same one as the envelope of small bills ? LOL

LOL Boy Darren you gave me thoughts of changing carriers there for a moment :D  Actually the two were years apart.  But the potato chips between fabric layers reminded me of a banana peel I found between layers :o

I had a woman leave an antique sofa with me for reupholstery.  I finished the job and called her, she came in only to pay a partial payment, then I never heard from her.  I called and left many messages, sometimes she pretended she was someone else.  I finally wrote her a very official sounding letter requiring a signature as proof she received it, threatening to auction off the sofa on ebay if I did not receive a response, in the letter I happened to mention that I was willing to take payments.  She called right up and apologized and made regular payments until the balance was paid, and she offered to pay extra for storage.

Hey, I'm reminded of an old story about a guy who is rummaging around in the attic and finds his old army uniform. Wondering if it still fits, he tries it on. As he's standing at the mirror, he puts his hand in the pocket and pulls out an old shoe repair ticket. So, now he's wondering if that repair shop might still be in business since it's in a part of town he hasn't been to in many years. He drives over, only to find that it's actually still there! He can't resist the urge to play a little joke, so he goes in and hands the ticket to the little old man behind the counter without saying a word. The little old man takes the ticket, puts on his glasses, looks at it and says "I'll be right back". A few minutes later, he comes out from the back room and says "your shoes will be ready next Tuesday"

This reminds me of a real life story that happened to me.  A young private in the army came into my shop one day and asked me to recover a motorcycle seat.  He paid in full up front because he did not know when he would be back in town.  About 20 years go's buy and one day a Cournal shows up, he is in town for his wedding and was wondering if I could sew some fancy looking wings on to his hat.  I had to explain to him that my sewing machine would not take the shape of his hat and I had to send him to a guy who does shoe repair.  I ask him to wait for a moment, I go out into the shop and come back with the bike seat he left with me for recovering all those years ago.  He just about fell over :o  Come to find out he still has the bike ;D

How many beer's does it take to go on vacation without going anywhere?

1 old bee hive (huge)
1 bag of pot
1 old hamburger from Carols, Carols was Carols before it became Burger King, at least here.
1 used con#$%
millions of little brown worms
3 porn mag's.
1,500 dollars in small bills (customer came looking for that one)
many combs
some subway tokens

That's always been a sore subject between my wife and I.  She feel's if a piece is not picked up right away that storage fees should be assessed.  I tend to give the customer time, more than I should probably.  I think if storage fees are going to be charged it should be stated in writing on the original estimate, work order, or whatever you give the customer. I do not have that listed on the paper work I give the customer, so have been reluctant to charge for it.  Most of the time work is picked up in a timely manner, but some times it feels like I am being used for free storage.  I have a snowmobile seat that I repaired last Feb. the customer has paid half the bill, but I know he will not pick it up until snow starts to fly.  I have charged $5.00 a day on customers who have waited over thirty days to pick up their stuff, but that was only after I notified them in writing that they would be charged after a certain date.

I am always nervous when it comes to installing premade headliners. The old cars where not all identical even within the same model and year and the new premade headliners are not quite the same as the originals.  It can be nerve wracking to snip back the listing, just go a little at a time.  I have had to pull the headliner and use rivets, or screws to hold the fabric in places where there was no other way to attach it, as long as the fastener is covered when finished.  In some cases I have had to blind stitch the excess fabric into a bow seam, this method works best on a fabric headlining.

The debt cant be paid by raising taxes because the interest was never created.  When the Fed lends our gov money that it creates out of thin air, the interest that must be paid back is never made, it does not exist, therefore our gov keeps getting deeper into debt.  Its a ponzi scheme and we are witnessing it collapse.  The only solution I know of is the return to constitutional money that the gov creates and spends into the economy.  It is important to understand that the Fed is a private bank and about as federal as Federal Express.  It is not needed.  Sorry for the downer, but I hope everyone had a nice holiday.  This post is not intended for any one specific person and is just generally my spouting off.   ;D

If it really has to be reversible maybe a zipper placard made form fabric would help?

I grew up in a business, my father ran a service station for years.  He has changed the business over the years and today it is a convenience store and he rents the mechanic bays out.  My grandmother and grandfather ran a deli and a restaurant, they where able to retire in there 40's.  My father is still working at 65 and has been trying to retire for the last 5.  He owns over a million in business property, but it is doing him no good because he cannot sell it in this economy.    When I first went into business I tried running my shop like a "real" business, I even have a business degree, but I almost lost everything.  I regrouped and have been operating the business out of my home, keeping expenses and over head as low as possible, my business is dept free.  I live in a small state with no major metropolitan areas, unless you want to call Burlington Vermont a major metropolitan! and I am still 2 hours away from there.  What I have learned is upholstery, and handcrafted furniture are business's that fill a nitch.  They will never be major players in the economy. If someones only drive for working is to make as much money as they possible can than upholstery is the wrong field for them.  But if someone is an artist and takes pride in there work, has a need for a creative outlet, them upholstery may be a good fit.  Unfortunately we as upholsters and most small business's in general have been fighting a shrinking economy for most of our professional lives.  My grandparents retired in there 40"s, my father is 65 but cant retire until he sells his business, or at least the property it sits on.  I don't think I will be able to retire, I own no were near the property my father does because my business will not support it.

Stitcher guy:  I really hope you will reconsider, you have added so much to this board, your posts have helped me through many ordeals and many others, I am sure.  If you do not come back this board will not be the same without you.

The guys over at the bus conversion forum all agree to get the old fiberglass insulation out of there.  They recommend installing spray in expanding foam, the best solution and also the most expensive.  The second alternative is blue or pink board, harder to install with less R value, but half the price.  They also said that the bus roof is not air tight enough to worry about adding ventilation.   This is that stage of the project where going back and changing things later is not an option, so it looks like the old fiberglass is going to have to come out.