I had a customer come in today from a town 80 miles away.
He had gone to a shop in his own town that a local furniture had referred him to.
He was appalled by what he saw. The roof was about to cave in. Broken windows (some boarded up, some not). It was 105 degrees outside, and even hotter inside.
The upholsterer was sitting there in a pile of filth with a cigarette in one hand, and an oxygen mask in the other.
Any work that came out of this shop would no doubt reek of cigarette smoke, and be stained with 100+ degree sweat.
He said that my shop was a palace compared to the one he had visited the day before.
One good thing that comes from a diminishing number of upholstery shops, is that the ones who ARE surviving generally keep their places up pretty well.
As a kid, I remember there being at least 8-10 shops around my town. Most of them WERE dumps.
Many of you have posted pics of your shop here. The ones I've seen range from pretty nice to downright immaculate.
Do many of you see run-down shops in your area?
There are a few. I had several people tell me that a guy was working out of a garage that sounded a bit like what you described.
A very good upholsterer is in a very bad part of town and keeps boxes stacked in front of the windows so people cannot look in. He has several bullet holes in those windows. I think most of his work he picks up himself so customers tend not to go to his shop.
I have heard of, but have never met, an older upholsterer here in town who closes his shop in the summer and spends his summers in France. He probably has a nice looking shop.
I have a shop vac and an upright vacuum and a magnetic bar that I use at least once a day. I have a lot of interior designers come in and they often send their customers to my place so I try to keep it looking decent.
gene
Everyone knows I have a bad case of OCD. My shop gets cleaned as I go. I cannot stand clutter or dirt. It drives me nucking futs. :)
I had a buddy who was an upholsterer and I was in his shop once. Let me repeat that again....once........ It was a rat hole and a great place to dump some gas and throw a match.
I rarely have a customer in my shop so cleanliness only matters to me and I am very hard to please when it comes to cleanliness. :)
OK, now you guys are probably going to laugh your butts off and take up a collection for me to see a shrink but I have this habit of detailing everything I own. I just lately detailed my garden tractor and put a coat of ax on it as well as scrub the tires. I am actually thinking about putting a coat of wax on my two sewing machines.
I knew you guys would think I was crazy. ;D
Chris
Quote from: Mojo on August 24, 2011, 09:11:09 pm
I had a buddy who was an upholsterer and I was in his shop once. Let me repeat that again....once........ It was a rat hole and a great place to dump some gas and throw a match.
Yeah, I've seen a few of those too. Not only are they ratholes. But there isn't even enough room to turn around. I would think that if you have a small workplace, orderliness would be of even greater importance.
Please Chris , don't ever come around to look at my shed, as I only clean it if I am missing at least ten tools.
Yast place was a dump. It was a good visible location bit an old building. Landlord didn't care about it. It was low and everytime it rained it flood out. I had to block up they So didn't get wet. But the rent eas aceptable at first but went up. So I left.
Now my shop is small so I clean it as I go like chris before I get burried. It's harder to work but has a nice veiw
eventualy will look like bobbins place and I'll have some nice awnings ans some plants palms ect.
Spelling. Edit
Most of my customers are interior designers. I occasionally will have someone ask me if I ever get bugs in my shop, like bed bugs.
I never do. The homeowners who pay for interior designers never have bugs. If they do, they eradicate them (the bugs, not the designers).
I had thought of making a booth where I could offer a service of putting a piece of furniture in the booth and then spraying with a bug killer. But, I have never had a customer need that service and I didn't want my shop associated with bugs, even the killing of them.
gene
Most of the Upholstery shops that I've been in are dumps. Except for Gene's. My wife has said if she got the address and was about to pull into one of them, she'd probably just keep driving.
One of them is in a back building, or should I say, set of loosely coupled buildings. Another is in a storefront with paper over the windows and no sign of any sort. Bars on the windows. But apparently, the rent is cheap?
Thanks Keith for excluding me from the ''dumps".
Keith is one of a folks that I can ask if my shop smells OK. Yes, I even worry about how my shop smells.
I finished a wing back chair today. It took 9 hours. I used my two vacuums many times and I will go in early tomorrow to finish cleaning.
gene
I am proud of you Gene.
Let me know when you start using Maquiars NXT wax on your machines. When you hit that point then
I know you have " arrived ".
Arrived at a junction where you need help like me. :)
Chris
Only problem is, sometimes Gene needs to get dressed before he answers the door. 8)
Quote from: gene on August 25, 2011, 05:00:48 pm
Thanks Keith for excluding me from the ''dumps".
Keith is one of a folks that I can ask if my shop smells OK. Yes, I even worry about how my shop smells.
I finished a wing back chair today. It took 9 hours. I used my two vacuums many times and I will go in early tomorrow to finish cleaning.
gene
Aking of cleaning the shop I get allot of small pieces of canvas and theads ect I find thst alot do not sweep Verry well. And was thinking I need some sort of rake. Anyone else have this trouble and a fix
Last November I decided to throw in the towel and see if I could get a decent job working for someone else.
I wrote a resume and hit the streets of Jacksonville and St Augustine. I'd walk into some shops and wish I could just turn around and walk out.
One shop had 3 guys working in a 15 x 15 foot area.
Another had a maze to get to the upholstery room, stuff piled everywhere, fire hazard for sure. No AC. The owner said he wanted to retire but could use an upholsterer and he'd give me a call in a week or two. He never did.
I arrived at one shop, nice big windows in the front on a busy highway, you would think great place for a nice showroom. I peeked in the window, on one side furniture stacked to the ceiling, fabric strewn everywhere no attempt to show their handy work. The other side was the workroom. When I walked in everybody stopped working and just stared at me like deer in headlights.
One shop the show room looked really nice. I said to myself now hears a place I could work. The boss was gone so I gave my resume to the nice lady at the front desk. Two days later he calls and we talk awhile. He asks how much I need to make and when I tell him he says upholsterers here only make $10 to $12 an hour.
And then he says he talked to some of his Upholstery buddies and there's no room for any more upholstery businesses in St Augustine (if that's what I was thinking).
There was one business in Jacksonville I would love to work. Showroom bigger than most furniture stores, all custom stuff. Complete upholstery shop, clean, state of the art. And cabinet shop. I've worked on their pieces and nice tight frames, 8-way springs, good padding, really classy stuff. We've talked several times and he's waiting for things to pick up. Check out this web site.
http://hugointeriors.reachlocal.net/
I am still "workin' for the man" and the place I work is a cess pit. Convenient location and plenty of potential in spite of lolley columns that break up the floor space and make large layouts difficult, but the place is absolutely filthy. There is a layer of road dust on every horizontal surface that isn't used regularly and the windows are absolutely filthy. The front door is covered with decals, most of which are faded or cracked, and the grime on it doesn't send a good message to customers, IMO. There is no dumpster and the trash barrels are perpetually full, dump runs occur once a month! don't even get me started on the cardboard accumulated and awaiting a trip to the recycling station. My particular favorite, however, is the orderly line up of used coffee cups (complete with mold growing on the dregs) that populate the window sills. And yes, they periodically are blown off and hit the floor... . blech.
The shame of it is that the grime layer is largely due to the fact that no one (except me!) ever picks up after themselves upon completion of a project. I have suggested that we rearrange and set up work stations but that has been poo-pooed as too time consuming and the general attitude is, "if it ain't broke don't fix it". After 12+ yrs. wouldn't you think some changes might be in order? Anyway, when I walked into the shop after a week off earlier this summer I very nearly turned around and walked back out. I had had the pleasure of a full week in my own shop and had become accustomed to a comfortable level of cleanliness, no "hunting" for pcs. of equipment, and sewing machines that function properly. Imagine that?! Now, after another vacation filled with design and art I am truly dreading the return to Dante's Sewing Inferno. :'(
I do understand that if you're doing grimey marine/awning work the place doesn't have to be spotless, but if you're interested in currying favor/business with the interior design world, (or clothing alteration/construction) you really do have to present a well scrubbed and organized face. Being a slob has cost "the man" I work for a lot of that business and I've been only too happy to take them on in my own shop; I don't consider them "a pain in the ass" because they expect their work will be done in an environment that will protect against staining and damage to very expensive goods.
It doesn't take a lot of time to "clean up" if you make it part of every job and don't allow it to accumulate.
Bobbin, eeewwww! You need to get your own shop. Immediately. :o
I bought a 12x20 shed from a business that contracts Amish (Pennsylvania Dutch) carpenters. Exceptional quality, and it cost $4,000.
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1223.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fdd509%2Fstitchbiatch%2Fshed3.jpg&hash=1101e7b7caa533301249d6c8b1607aa7)
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1223.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fdd509%2Fstitchbiatch%2Fshed2.jpg&hash=238aad02a03bf9c9e3eecb04b45b8291)
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1223.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fdd509%2Fstitchbiatch%2Fshed.jpg&hash=ddba9a6be5180a8106bb3fdb391e2457)
I dug a trench from the house to the shed, and my brother-in-law who is a master electrician, installed the panel. I'm on my own as far as wiring the outlets and the lights.
After that I'm going to insulate and drywall. I need a propane heater, then I'll be ready for the winter. So the total cost is around $5,500. Not too bad.
In the meantime, I'm working in the basement.
Jojon that's what I've got here though mine is full of table
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi782.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy102%2FMike8560%2Fphoto-68.jpg&hash=334a1bacf0244cded572d3404a2e6cda)
just room to get around. D I kept
my
table to 5' wide with wings on a hindge to cTch the fabric comming out of the needle
First thing undid was insate and AC. I've got to oil up
wallboard but I'm thinking pegboard so I. A. B
hang stuff anywere I need I e got a holder for a roll of canvS behind me at the e d kf the table and a holder a ove me cot my bindings thst toll off as I sew.
I've been working on theboutside with some lsttce to hide underneath and landscaping
I e vot fours. Four foot double florecnti ght o. The celing
it a tight space but I've done some big boat enclosures in it
JoJo, I wired the ground fault outlets that surround the exterior of the barn that houses my shop. It wasn't very hard, but my BIL diagrammed how to do it and sat next to me while I did the first one (an electrician). I did 7 or 8 of them and it took me a fair piece of time (I was pretty fumbly) but it wasn't hard. When I was finished he came over and looked them over and we "fired that mother up". Everything worked like a charm (imagine that!). I'm good at repetitive "grunt work" (lol) and doing it doesn't bother me at all. It's a huge time (=money) saver.
I'm really impressed with your shed idea! we're big time DIYers and while it takes a long time to do it yourself the $ savings is huge. But more than that, I really like knowing how to do things for myself and I'm willing to put up with a longer time horizon to get things done. Sounds like you are, too.
Can't wait to see how your shop turns out; it will be such fun to move your business out there. I love being in my shop; I can't wait to get out here, frankly!