A local drapery shop has hired me to do several boxed cusions. One set is for an outdoor chaise lounger, a second set for an old wooden chair and a third set for a built in banquette. The shop is providing the fabric and they are stuffing the cushions themselves. I am only cutting and sewing them. All are corded with zippers. The only supplies I'm providing are thread, cording and zippers.
I have no idea what to charge. Do I charge per cushion or by the yard? I forget the measurements for the chaise lounger cushions but the ones for the wooden chair are around 22" X 24" and the banquette are approx 17" X 82".
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Jeremy
Basic corded/boxed cushions in the 24" X 24" range, I get $75 each for. But that price includes me doing the stuffing.
I'm really not to terribly keen on letting someone else stuff them. I would want to stuff at least 1 of each size to make sure there aren't any problems before I crank out any more.
You say that it's a local drapery shop, so they probably know what they're doing. And they'll be able to make any necessary adjustments such as extra batting if they don't fill out properly.
I certainly wouldn't sew covers for just any knucklehead to stuff on their own.
Thanks, Doc. That helps a lot. And yes, the lady that makes the drapes knows how to stuff cushions. I've seen her make boxed cushions before and they were nice. I think she doesn't like to make them and would rather pay me. I'll gladly take her money and sew her cushions. Besides, I like to keep my box cushion making skills sharp.
I only charge 50 for them and do the stuffing. If your going to just sew them up I pay my seamstress 40% of that to do what your going to do. Thats 20 bucks.
My experience working for other shops in the trade is they want you to do the work for wholesale price so they can mark it up to retail price and make some money too. I'm not saying their trying to rip you off but you have to figure they are doing all of the leg work and handing the job over to you. You don't have to deal with the customer. Could turn out to be a good relationship if you need the work but whole sale price will be about half (maybe a little more) of Sofas price.
One of my very first jobs was for a seamstress. When I gave her my quote for six dinning chair pads she said she could do it herself for that price. Which is completely absurd. Of course she could. But I lowered my price and kicked myself the whole time I was doing them. Taught myself an important lesson.
When asked for an "off the top of my head" price I figure 3 hrs. per cushion at my hourly rate. That's cut, pattern match, fully welt, assemble, and cutting/wrapping foam. Soup to nuts, as it were. Supplies/notions in addition (generally minimal, but I make money on everything I sell!).
This formula covers "walk-ins" with their own "supplies". It also spells it out clearly for decorators/designers who're looking for a discount. I use my formula to differentiate myself from the "backroom wannabes". Once I have had consistent "repeat business" from someone I am more willing to "discount" my labor; because I have better knowledge of the circumstances. But make "deals" right out of the box? forget it!
It's a brutal way to cull the herd, and I likely "lose" a lot of business, but I'm as busy as I want to be.
Quoteand I likely "lose" a lot of business,
Falls right in there with the "give me a good deal and I'll bring you lots of business"----to loose money on!??
I don't believe anybody can cut and sew a 24X24 boxed, welted, zippered cushion under 1 1/2 h if you only do 1 cushion. If you have 3 or more I probably can bring it down close to 1 hour. But only if the stars align perfect and the fabric is easy to work with and has minimal pattern to match. Anybody who thinks he can do it quicker on a regular basis is lying to himself and his bottom line.
My wife can sew a boxed cushion in 1/2 hour. Then figure patterning, cutting, time spent with the customer, pick-up and delivery and interruptions answering the phone and such. Yeah, it all adds up.