Behind the Scenes/Planning for 2014
This time of year, I often have people ask me how business is going and my current answer is “slow but busy”. Meaning: slow sales but busy behind the scenes. Like most people in retail sales, the majority of my sales happen in November and December which leaves a whole lot of year left to cash flow.
Rosette Capelet Fall/Winter 2014
What to make?
For several reasons, deciding on plans for 2014 has put me in a bit of a conundrum. Because my products don’t sell year round (mostly due to being cashmere and wool), I am often asked why don’t I come up with a product that sells in the warmer season? It seems like the perfect solution, but putting it into practice is more difficult than it sounds. I’ve expanded my business beyond a hobby type business and the demands on my home, time, and physical stamina are already quite high. I’m already going through 1000+ sweaters a year so carving out more space, time and stamina for another raw material is near impossible. Thus, I have concluded that a summer product line isn’t going to happen this year.
I’m really not going anywhere with this except to give you a bit of the behind-the-scenes of a mom-run home based business. :)
Another factor that plays into designing for 2014 is that we are thinking of moving in the coming months. Moving 300+ bulky pillows would be silly so I’m phasing out the pre-made pillows and working toward custom order pillows.
Placing my typical order of 1000 wool/cashmere sweaters doesn’t make sense if a move is coming up so I’m focusing on smaller products in 2014. Thankfully, this plays well with my current raw materials. I have mountains of scraps piled up from last year’s products. Win-win.
And finally, because we are a little up in the air regarding our location, I decided not to employ help this year. Which makes me very sad because I’ve loved working with my seamstresses. It didn’t seem right to employ someone knowing that I might not supply work for much of the year. I’m excited about the new products shown in the photos of this post. They are among some of the small run products I’ll be making. Watch for variations of them soon appearing on the website!
So to sum it up, at Old Made New this year you will find:
1) specialty products done in small numbers (unique afghans, capelets, purses, etc)
2) small products which will include some past products (scarves, coin purses, hair accessories, hat, mittens etc) and new products to be announced
3) all items made by me!
4) all items will continue to be made of recycled wool and cashmere sweaters
