Interesting upholstery history

[CindysCustomInteriors]

I haven't posted on this board for a long time. I had forgotten my password, and the resetting did not seem very user friendly. I ended up creating an entire new profile because I couldn't seem to reset.
That being said, what motivated me to get back on was the strong desire to share this find:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/upholstery-business-zmaz74ndzraw.aspx
If you can't get the link to work; google Our family upholstery business, Mother Earth News.  It is from 1974 and lists all of the costs associated with starting an upholstery business at that time.  It also lists how much they charged for various projects.  Anyone care to tackle a comparison chart? Then compare to cost of living? Or compare dollar value 1974 vs 2014?

[sofadoc]

Glad you found your way back on here Cindy. From reading just 2 posts, I already enjoy your perspective.

Being in Texas, I remember Durotex supply very well. They went out of business about 10 years ago, but they used to call on me monthly.

Those 1974 labor rates are right in line with what my grandparents used to charge. Only they charged a whopping $75 for a "Hidey bed" (well, that's how THEY pronounced it).

Our family shop wasn't too much more impressive than the one in the story either. A small run-down shack for an upholstery shop was actually quite common back in the day.

And I remember "making do" with a woefully inadequate arsenal of basic tools and supplies. I spend more now in a month than my grandmother ever did in her best year.

She never threw ANYTHING away. She would have me rob springs off old couches all day in the hot sun just to avoid paying an outrageous .15 apiece for new ones. She saved every last scrap, and tied them up in bags that she had made from other scraps. Some bags just contained scraps to make scrap bags out of.

I guess we've all come a long way.   

[gene]

Thank you for the article.

And from Mother Earth News! Wow. I cancelled my subscription back in the early 1980's because I counted the FULL page ads and they totaled more than the pages with articles on them. And that did not include the 1/2 and 1/4 page ads. LOL I figured why pay for ads when I can get them free from TV and radio.

When I first got married I made a baked pumpkin from their magazine.  We invited friends over for dinner. Our apartment smelled awesome!!!

We all took one bite, looked at each other, and I got up and ordered pizza.  :o It was one of the most rank tasting things I've ever had.

gene

[gene]

byhammerandhand has a jar on his workshop shelf that is labeled "Threads too small to keep."

I think he might be a bit younger than your grandmother, though, sOfad.

gene

[Rich]

Thanks for the link Cindy. I didn't read the whole article, but I thought it was strange that back in '74 a can of silicone spray cost more than a sewing machine foot!
Rich

[byhammerandhand]

I blame it on my parents:
- Grew up in the Great Depression
- Their parents were subsistence farmers
- Scottish genes

Didn't have a chance.     Oh, and it s box, not a jar.   And it's "Pieces of string too short to save."

We had two family cows that we used for our milk.  I sometimes think of the economy of that.   My dad got up early every day to milk the cows before heading off to work (he was a school bus driver and farmer when I was very young, then a deliveryman while I was in school).   Milked them again before dinner.  Fed and watered them.  Bought grain for feed.  Cleaned the barn every Saturday morning in the "indoor season" and spread manure on the gardens.   By the time I was in Jr. High, the evening milking and feeding was transferred to me.   Cut, baled, and stored hay twice each summer.  Had them bred once a year or so, then raised the calves for veal.  All for 60 cents a gallon of milk?  Most of their friends were full time dairy farmers, we could have probably bought it at wholesale cost from any of them.


But I did learn a good work ethic at the business end of a hoe.

byhammerandhand has a jar on his workshop shelf that is labeled "Threads too small to keep."

I think he might be a bit younger than your grandmother, though, sOfad.

gene