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Think of all the money you could make!



http://i.imgur.com/M2DAVLj.jpg
_{[click on link for larger version]}

[good]

Virginia's post reminded me of another tactic I encountered.  A man called and began the conversation with a cheery voice like we were ol' buddies, something like "It's your friendly pen guy again!  Ready to place that order now?"  He was good, he absolutely had me wondering if I had agreed to buy something, but I turned him down politely.  The next time I was on to him.  A different man called the next time, with the same exact greeting, but he lacked the same cheery confidence -- he sounded a little defeated and hollow.

A woman from my WCAA group actually bought some personalized pens from them, after thinking she had already committed to buying them (she's smart with an excellent head for business -- like I said, the guy was good).  Nice pens, but still.

Yeah, the Do Not Call list is working swell...

Can you point out the fact that you ARE experienced?    Like (for example) "Quality work since 19__"

Cute slogans are, well... cute, but in my oh-so-humble-opinion they come off as just another crafty "I just love home projects!" blog.  Potential customers are looking for something a little more substantial -- again, just my opinion.


On preview... DB said it faster than I did!

If you right click >> View Image, you can see it in all its drool-worthy glory (something I learned here today!).

Just sent some samples to Hoover.  They're interested, and have a couple of ideas... *fingers crossed*

Paul, you will be receiving a couple of packages - one from me, one from Hoover.  The plot thickens...

*drool*

Your pic only shows the bottom side of the piece that Gene describes as a hockey puck...

That's it!  Your photo is taken at a much better angle, plus the whole right-side up thing.

(I think Gene only posted so he could work in the word "phallic").

Yes, because "phallic" is part of every good upholsterer's everyday vocabulary.

[too]

Paul... THANK YOU!  You are the Instructional Video Master!  Thank you so much for setting that up!

Gene, I initially thought it was a grommet hand set, but the concave surface threw me off.  I mean, they're supposed to be shaped to accommodate the grommet, but they appeared a little too rounded.

Maybe it's just the angle of the camera?  Anyway, thank you both for your help.

Don't know why the image is so small and I'm having trouble attaching a larger one.  See if you can view this:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5613/15359032299_aac03b2775_z.jpg

Customer sent me a photo from a huge haul o' button stuff.  This was part of it.  They're... hand sets, maybe?  For... ?



They would go in a Defiance machine, if they even goe in a machine.  Help?  What are they?

If wholesale suppliers don't want to cater to small businesses, then what is their target customer base?  Is there really enough large scale manufacturing left in the USA to accommodate all of them?  Not a rhetorical question; I'm genuinely curious.

Thanks, guys.  I love a good button mystery, but this one has me flummoxed.  All I can picture is my old cheapie ironing board cover that uses a metal "fold-over" clip to hold the casing string.  This isn't mine, but you get the idea:

Another button style that comes to mind, were the ones that look similar to the canvas back, except they had a shoelace-type string with a clip on the end. I mainly saw them in Tell City furniture. They used them to attach a tufted cushion to a finished Early American wood frame, such as a footstool. The clips were visible on the bottom of the footstool.

Do you remember if the clasp looked like this?


...or maybe this?

Yes dede they are canvas backs.

I can tell you what's going on with canvas backs!  Bad news, good news...

They were made in the USA up until the 1980s... until the machine broke (yes, seriously).  They were sold off until stock was depleted and the machine was finally sold for scrap in 2012.  The factory had hoped interest would rebound enough to justify the cost of repairing the machine, but it never did.

However... they are still popular in Europe, and a German factory is still making them.  Available only in aluminum, so they must be paired with aluminum shells -- if used in an American die, must be a low wall AL shell.  They are surprisingly strong, for aluminum.  I made woven Sunbrella samples that are holding up just fine, and a woman I know uses them with coat-weight wool.

To Chris (chrisberry12):  button parts, at least American button parts, are made in exactly the same way as they were when Virginia's chair was first made.  Victorian technology, baby!