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Messages - otlass

1
General Discussion / Re: Acrylic coated polyester fabrics
December 11, 2015, 06:31:18 am
Wow this is a lot of great information Chris. The funny thing about it is my old Boss is actually in Austria. I am not sure why he has his heart set on that stuff. I guess grass is greener on the other side.
2
General Discussion / Re: Acrylic coated polyester fabrics
December 10, 2015, 12:50:17 pm
Thank you Chris,
I am not sure if it is actually manufactured in Italy or if they are just the distributor I am trying to find it for my old Boss in Austria who likes to use it, and he has been told that LLi Giovanardi is not carrying it anymore because of low sales. But he is saying it is manufactured in the US. I called Glen Raven but they are clueless about it. Are there any other producers besides Glen Raven in the US? I read your very informative post from earlier on that subject, so I don`t think so.
3
General Discussion / Acrylic coated polyester fabrics
December 09, 2015, 03:47:12 pm
Hello awning guys,
Who are producers of acrylic coated polyester fabrics in the US. I am looking for the manufacturer of a fabric sold under the "Texout" name in Europe and distributed by Giovanardi in Europe. The fabric is supposedly manufactured in the US. I have been googling around for an hour now and do not get anywhere.
Are there any other producers besides Glen Raven in the US? Thank you for any information!
4
General Discussion / Re: Pricing for cushions
June 25, 2015, 06:54:03 am
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.
5
Oh man, Since relocating to Florida it seems every piece has at minimum a regular skirt, but more than half of them are waterfall skirts. In Montana every piece had decorative nails, I don't do a lot of nails in Florida.
6
I got confused here, I meant Formica not Masonite.
7
I staple masonite on the top and replace it if it gets bad after a while. It is cheap, smooth for cutting with the foam saw and easy to clean.
8
Looks like a nice machine. If I buy a new machine again I make sure that the people I buy it from set it up and make sure it works. When I bought my double needle it was a great price, but they shipped it straight to me without taking the machine out of the box. After I set the machine up I could not get the oil pump to work, and had to send it back to have it worked on.
9
I saw a few on Craigslist, nothing spectacular. From my knowledge Adler and Pfaff use different feet, most of the other brands use "Singer type" feet so they should be exchangeable. As for using a double-needle, the only way to use it would be to only thread one needle. I am not sure that I would like to sew like this on a daily base.
I have not bought anything from them, but have a look at Miami  sewing's Website.
If you ever make it down to Tampa lets have a drink together!
10
General Discussion / Re: Slip cover question.
March 19, 2015, 04:25:13 pm
Do me it sounds like he wants a cover for when he is not using the furniture.
11
Interesting Questions you raised Doyle and I like to share my opinions on that topic.
I know there is a market for high quality custom upholstered furniture out there, and I think it is bigger than a lot of people think.


There are also quite a few companies who serve that market. (Jonas, Michael Smith, Edward Ferrell, Lewis Mittmann, Ralph Lauren come to mind, even Kravet builds decent stuff)
Right now I have a 10 year old English arm sofa here which is done all the traditional way with hand-tied springs all horse hair padding and down cushions, not a piece of foam in the whole sofa. I am sure that sofa retailed for $15 000.-

Skill shortage, this is a tough one for me to assess. I think there are still a lot of skilled upholsterers out there doing very nice work, but they are busy enough doing what they are doing and do not have the need to go after the market or self promotion is not their nature, and they get tuned out by some loud mouth who fails to deliver and hurts everyone.

If you think about it, the cost of star up for your own upholstery Business is very low. All you need is a sewing machine, a staple gun an air compressor and a few hand tools and a garage or basement to get going. Then you go out and charge 40% less than the established shop (because he charges what he charges to pay for his Bentley) turn out crappy work for 6 months realize it is not that easy and you disappear again. Leaving behind a customer with a crappy piece of furniture and the opinion there are no decent affordable upholsterers around.

It is not easy to get into that market, it is almost exclusively served by interior designers and architects (the end user does not want to waste his valuable time buying a sofa or picking fabric)and word of mouth.

Before I relocated we did about 90% custom furniture in of all places Montana (population maybe 900 000 people). Now here in Florida I am staring at the bottom again, nut I have learned that market is here as well and I know a year from now at least 50% of my sales will be custom stuff.

So be true to your self look at your strengths and advantages instead of what the other guy charges and refuse to join the race to the bottom. There will always be somebody who does it cheaper.

If price is your only argument, maybe you are not ready yet for your own gig and you should keep learning from an experienced shop. No, will not make more out on your own!

So Doyle I don't think it is lost, it is only harder to find in all the fluff.
And this is the most I have written since high school!
12
The Business Of Upholstery / Re: Florida move
January 26, 2015, 02:13:56 pm
I am looking for somebody right now! A couple years seems long way out.














13
The Business Of Upholstery / Re: Bosch Foam Cutter
January 12, 2015, 01:50:50 pm
Look online, Bosch does have service centers here and there customer service is very good I have to say. I brought my saw to the local hardware store to have it repaired  and they send it off to a center. So when my rotary cutter had issues I thought send it to them myself. They also might send you new brushes.
Good luck
14
General Discussion / Re: awesome furniture upholstery
December 22, 2014, 08:38:51 am
Very Impressive!
15
General Discussion / Re: Spring-tying
November 10, 2014, 06:15:17 am
Very interesting responses, I really like Kodydogs idea of attaching the edge wire after you to your first run to get the springs set. This way I do not have to fight the tension of more or less the whole front row of springs. Hopefully it goes as easy as it sounds right now. I will post some pic when I get going. Thanks for all of your input!