Your Inventory

[Mojo]

I am curious as to how much inventory many of you have on hand.

How do you decide what to keep ? Do you have a certain dimension ?

I keep a lot of materials ( fabric ) in storage under my cutting table. I do not have as much material as some of you I am sure. I have approximately 150 yards of different materials ( vinyl and cover material ) stored.

In regards to the small pieces I have a bag that those go into and then I donate them to the art class
at my wife's school. Bigger pieces I hold on to.

I am just curious as to how much inventory you keep on hand and what sways your decision
to throw out small pieces.

Chris

[JuneC]

The only fabrics I buy for stock by the roll are Sunbrella black and captain navy.  Of course, I have lots of leftover scraps from miscellaneous projects.  For vinyls, what I keep depends on the shape.  If it's a long strip, I usually keep it for welting and boxing.  Square(ish) pieces I only keep if the size/shape might make a top or bottom plate of a cushion.  For cover fabrics, I'll also keep long strips for enclosure binding or hem facing on covers.  Anything smaller than say 2 x 3 goes in the trash. 

Glen Raven has a Sunbrella recycling program, but I have to pay shipping to get the scraps back to them.  I'd love to be able to send them back my scraps, but the stuff is heavy, takes up room and would take my time to box it and deliver to UPS so I don't send my scraps back. 

June

[bobbin]

Next to nothing.   My customers supply their own fabric most of the time and if they need foam or batting I order it from a local supplier.  If I need acrylic or vinyl I order that for the job in question.   I do keep the following items on hand:
Drapery lining
Buckram
Drapery hooks
Zipper chain on a roll (presently vislon, white and black #5) and the proper sliders (need to add some brass, too)
Polyfoam welting (need to add some softer welting that is washable, suggestions?)
Assorted finished zippers for apparel
interfacings
elastic

[florida girl]

I guess it depends on your imagination, and how much of a pac rat you are!  I come from a long line....!

[Mike8560]

Ill keep larger left overs on the roll a yard or two of canvas and store it undr my table , now i store extras under the table out in my trailer vinly like June i there enough to make a decent size cusion. left over pipe cut ofs i keep for stand up legs and to make support poles for covers. foam i keep larger pieces ill glue them to make a cushion if i can.
ps i used to do a lot of enclosures and had a lot of zippers on hand now i dont see to many so i try to have a few of  different lenghts. same with top fitting now i order a few more hten h need when i have ot do some tops. snaps and fastners ill order a gross or to and dont have bins full at this time as i dont see topns of cockpit covers.

[sofadoc]

About 70% of my customers furnish their own fabric. They usually furnish too much. If they don't ask for it back, it goes into my remnant rack.
When people bring in a small job, such as a rocking chair, or small seat, I make them a price that includes labor, and ANY fabric from my remnant rack.
Of course, many of them don't find anything suitable in the remnant rack, but some do.
The small pieces, and the really ugly ones get used to tack over springs, or line the outsides of frames.
Besides remnants, I keep all the supply items necessary for re-covering furniture in stock.
Since gimp is cheaper by the bolt, I always order an entire bolt, even if I only need a few yards. This way, I usually have a color in stock that will work.
As for foam and batting, I keep a month's supply in stock (a delivery calls on me monthly).

[lruthb]

I used to save everything. Some came in handy every once and a while. Now I only save a little plain fabric and black vynal. The supplies on hand are every day items and supplies not sold by the yard / inch. I didn't find that keeping everything else was worth it. I don't make that extra that some do by buying in quanity then resale. I purchase what the customer wants and keep my shop clean.

I'm going to have to look into donating some of this stuff. I would like it if it could work out.

[Grebo]

I keep far to much  ::) I have a row of boxes with leftovers, only tiny bits get thrown straight away. I do 'try' to have a clear out once a year of all those bits I kept 'just in case'. I really should throw them out as in reality I almost never go though to find a bit the right size. It just takes to long, the odd time I do it usually there isn't the right bit  :( . I order most material per job & always over order a metre or two depending on the amount needed, in case I make a *alls up, so get left with odds & sods rolled up under the table, virtually all of it is standard sunbrella colours + bits of vinyl. I have only ever bought three whole rolls of sunbrella, pacific blue, dune & oyster as I had a few boats linned up with the same colours  ;). Ordered one roll of 2" fluted white vinyl from the UK as I get a few jobs that need the size & I can't get it here.
I am actually in the process of making up an inventory list of fittings etc  ???
Standard stock is, almond underlining, coversol ( soltis) in white & dark grey, pattern plastic, crystal clear on a roll Various rolls of zips, bindings, sizes of Velcro, piping cord, selection of zip lengths in black & white & a 4" roll of sail cloth.
Trouble is I make small bits & bobs when I have time, like phone cases that only need a small square of material so it's so hard to throw anything away  :'(

[Mojo]

I stay well stocked on hardware. Grommets, snaps, studs,  and sockets. I go through them fast and last year I got caught during a big job and got delayed while waiting for more to get shipped. It threw my entire schedule into kilter. Now I try and keep a minimum of 100 stainless fasteners on hand.

I also keep a lot of cover material on hand. Royal blue and burgundy seem to be the favorite colors in my neck of the woods. Rochford had a clearance on Pacifica and Surlast so I ordered some for stock.

If any of you are looking to get rid of scraps, check with your local schools art teachers to see if they can use them. I keep a bag in the corner of my shop and throw all the small scraps into it. I then have my wife take it to school for the art department. With school budgets being the way they are, many teachers appreciate them.

Despite my trying to keep some vinyl on hand I still on occasion run out. I just had to make a quick trip to Joanns on Sunday to pick up 5 yards of Nautolex black and 5 yards of Nautolex burgundy. I hate buying there but with my 50 % off coupon I got the vinyl for 7 bucks. :)

Chris

[mike802]

I do not keep anything less than a full yard cut.  I have a book that I keep a small swatch with a number, I store the corresponding fabric with a tag with the number, so selling and finding it is fairly easy.  I buy all my stock fabrics in bulk, burlap, cambric, denim, and muslin mostly 100 yard rolls.  Cotton by the bail, I get a much better price that way.

[bobbin]

I think that's a great idea, Mike.  So often sample swatches are too small for the inexperienced to really get a feel for the fabric's hand, keeping a a larger piece of it, clearly marked sounds really handy to me. 

I'm just beginning to build an inventory of snaps and frequently used hardware, but Mojo's thoughts on having plenty on hand is a good one.  Nothing is more frustrating than being unable to "bring it on home" for want a few snaps, huh??

Here is a small shot of my hard work in my own shop after having gone through a ton of stuff I've been carting around for nearly 20 yrs. now.  I threw out a lot of really old stuff (elastic that had lost its "pop", snippets of trim, etc.) and have sorted, categorized, and labelled the storage boxes:
<IMG SRC="http://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL889/1214523/9107531/394935680.jpg"; border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
<IMG SRC="http://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL889/1214523/9107531/394935681.jpg"; border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">

[Mojo]

Bobbin:

I buy my hardware in 100 piece lots. I only buy stainless fasteners as Florida is horrible for steel / nickel plated anything.

Post some pics of your entire shop when you get a chance. We haven't seen it since it has been finished.

Chris

[rustyeod]

I save pieces that would be large enough for panel facing, etc.  Had a large bag and had to dig to find what I was looking for.  One day while throwing away a strata tube/drum I had to cut it in half to fit it in the dumpster.  IDEA!  Now I cut the drums into 2 foot sections an d stack them on a table I have and place the rolled scraps in these tubes and separate dark and light colors as well as vinyls from acrylics.  Sorry but I dont have a picture.

[JuneC]

Rusty, when SailRite had their retail store in Ft. Lauderdale, that's how they stored all their fabrics/vinyls in the shop.  They had dozens of Strataglass tubes stacked up (screwed together) and all their rolls in the tubes.  Makes it easy to pull out a particular roll because there's never more than 3 or 4 on top of the one you want.  Good idea, though - cutting them up for small pieces.  I like it.

June

[Grebo]

I save pieces that would be large enough for panel facing, etc.  Had a large bag and had to dig to find what I was looking for.  One day while throwing away a strata tube/drum I had to cut it in half to fit it in the dumpster.  IDEA!  Now I cut the drums into 2 foot sections an d stack them on a table I have and place the rolled scraps in these tubes and separate dark and light colors as well as vinyls from acrylics.  Sorry but I dont have a picture.

Great idea,  8)

Any thoughts on those really thick, stiff cardboard tubes that come in the middle of the heavier fabrics, not the normally flimsy tubes but the meaty one's. They must have another good use.  ::)