Vinyl remnants

[sofadoc]

I've amassed a lot of remnants over the years, both cloth and vinyl.

Recently, I gathered all my vinyl remnant rolls, and placed them in my front store window. They've been steadily selling, 2 or 3 rolls a week.

Today, a man came in and ordered 70 vinyl bags to store American flags in. 44" X 25" with one end open. He pointed to the rolls in my window, and told me to make the bags out of them......mix any color.

Sweet. That'll just about use them all up. Wish I'd thought of it years ago.

[gene]

What a great idea, sofaD.

I've seen pictures of old upholstery shops that have hundreds of rolls of fabric collected from 30 or 40 yearsof business. I do not want my studio to look like that, so I try to give away the stuff or I eventually throw it away.

I do have a customer who is part of a sewing group at her church. They have quilting bees. They sew quilts, pray over the quilts, then give the quilts to families in need. I give her any fabrics that have interesting designs.

gene

[Rich]

Last year, I got fed up with the odd pieces of fabric hanging around my shop in colors few ever ask for and I dumped them. No regrets there, but there are still customers (dentists) who will ask me to recover their chairs in a mauve or orange b/c it coordinates with everything else in the room. So, if it's available, I have to order it for their job. But at least I don't have to store it forever!
Rich

[sofadoc]

I've seen pictures of old upholstery shops that have hundreds of rolls of fabric collected from 30 or 40 yearsof business.

I went to an estate sale of a deceased upholsterer a few years ago. He had a really nice 30 X 50 shop. But his remnant table spanned one entire 50 foot wall. He also had several non-working sewing machines taking up valuable space. His actual work area was cramped, just because of all the stuff that he wouldn't part with. 

IMO hoarding is the downfall of many an upholsterer. If you have to trip over it for 20 years, it isn't worth hanging on to.

I use up most of my cloth remnants by tacking them over springs, or lining the insides of furniture. This is as full as my remnant rack has ever got:

[gene]

I use up most of my cloth remnants by tacking them over springs, or lining the insides of furniture.

I do the same thing with fabric that is tightly woven.


I did a chair a few months ago. The customer got her fabric for $12.00 per yard. It was from a fabric warehouse and it was an OK fabric for upholstery.

The fabric I used for the webbing, or lining, on the sides and back of the chair was left over from another job and that fabric was $70.00 wholesale. LOL

gene

[sofadoc]

The fabric I used for the webbing, or lining, on the sides and back of the chair was left over from another job and that fabric was $70.00 wholesale. LOL

I've pulled that stunt a time or 2 myself.
Once, a lady came in and caught me using her $100 yd. scraps to line someone else's chair with. >:(

[Mojo]

I give all my small stuff to my wife's school for their art department. The bigger stuff - 47 " - I hold on to. My plan is when I get some free time I want to use the canvas to make dog / cat beds for the local Humane Society. I am a huge animal lover and many of these shelters are so grateful for these kind of things. My problem ??? Getting the free time to do the dog / cat beds........:(

Art departments at schools are also extremely grateful for materials. When the budget ax falls the art departments always get hit the hardest.

Chris

[sofadoc]

Art departments at schools are also extremely grateful for materials.

WAY different around here. I know a maintenance man that works for the local ISD. He says their dumpsters are full of stuff that was "donated" to the art dept.

Teachers will sometimes ask me to save scraps for their art class. I save them............they pile up........and up............no one ever comes for them...........I eventually throw them away.

I used to save tapestry remnants for a group of ladies that made purses. The proceeds from the sale of those purses went to various charities.
They finally stopped, when they realized that if it weren't for the donated tapestry, they would be losing money on each sale.

[gene]

Once, a lady came in and caught me using her $100 yd. scraps to line someone else's chair with.

That's funny. Thanks for the chuckle.

Have you noticed that "chuckle" is not a word that is used very often any more? Similar to the not too common use of the word "howdy".

When someone uses the word "gay", I like to ask, "Do you mean gay as in "happy" or gay as in if given a choice to look at a picture of a naked person of the same sex or opposite sex, they would choose the same sex?" I think this is funny. My son said no one has used the word "gay" to mean "funny" since the 1950's. LOL

I had a customer (Interior Designer) start to get angry because I was cutting "her" fabric from a chair I did for her the previous week. She said if I had that much fabric left over I should give it back to her. I showed her the tag on the bolt. It was the exact same fabric from another customer. LOL

And finally, I once told an ID I needed 20 yards of fabric. She bought 32 yards and told me she did not want the excess fabric and to not say anything about it to the homeowner.

gene

[sofadoc]

My son said no one has used the word "gay" to mean "funny" since the 1950's.

Or maybe even longer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCymsoQL49c

[baileyuph]

Dilemma, for sure.  Organizations try to do charitable things but most items, hopefully not all, can be bought made in Asia for so little.

The most valuable pieces to save around the shop are small amounts of original auto seating cloth/vinyl.  Especially for those cars that are collectable or of special interest in their out years.

Wish I had rolls of some Camaro cloth (in particular) left over. 

Doyle

[seatbuilder]

I take all of my remnants to our local high school. They use them in the sewing classes. I have even seen some of the results. The kids get very imaginative.