Messages

It can be nasty and dirty with more then a dash of salt :-)  We take apart most of the cushions out side to keep the creepy crawlers out of the shop.  You never know what is going to come out when you start taking out the staples!  Depending on how old the cushions are we tell the customer we are replacing the foam and don't give them an option.

John

I think there are a number of different ways to look at this market and the ability to be profitable. I am sure I don't have all the answers, but I am looking to apply the logic I have learned throughout my career in the IT industry around technical sales, marketing, and demand generation.  Basically breaking down really big numbers in smaller ones and selling somethings to make the big number.
I agree hand down that you can get as much stuff out of China as you want, but we all know you get what you pay for.  I believe there is a large enough customer base to be successful selling a quality product at a reasonable price to be profitable and make a living. I also believe that you need to have multiple revenue streams that complement each other to be successful.
Going down this path we have also looked at technology, which is great but you quickly realize it is not useful without the skill of a craftsman who can do it by hand to envision the outcome.  Which is about the other reason why we are involved in this, teaching would be next generation of craftsman how do to this stuff.  Without that this is no future and everyone could just expect to by stuff from China.

We are building a business from the ground up. For us, this is the what comes next part of our lives as
professional careers head off into the sunset.  It is also driven by volunteerism, which as we get deeper into this understand that it is a craft that is going away because it's not taught in too many places if at all.  We will be doing a combination of re-upholstery work and marine canvas fabrication both outside and inside the boat.  My wife with a life times worth of sewing experience started re-upholstering furniture 2 yrs ago, and I have the type of day job that allows me to work on my skills.  Through our volunteer work, we have access to a shop to work in and boats in need of canvas and fabric repair that could last a lifetime.  Building skills is the biggest frustration, we have taken one class and are looking at signing up for others.  It's an interesting journey but sure beats sitting behind a desk everyday.