NO! We DON'T Have a Catalog!

Satin Stitches | Nov 12, 2008 | 0

You won't find true custom designs in any huge pile of catalogs!

Custom dance costume designs are not for every one. I received a call today, asking if Satin Stitches had a catalog. We get this request too often.

I really thought that all of our advertisements, our website, any of our promotional pieces, all really say that we are a CUSTOM costume manufacturer. Our ads say DISCOVER THE SATIN STITCHES DIFFERENCE and the second sentence on our home page says that we do not have a catalog. Hmmm.

I thought I was being clear. But, again today, someone asked for us to send them our catalog. Oh well. I told them we do not have one, because we are all custom.  I was asked, well, then how do we know what to order?  After explaining the custom concept, I then simply said that I guess we are just not the right company for them.

OK, I get it. Dance studios are geared for receiving piles of the latest and greatest dance recital costume catalogs. Look, pick and order.  Is it the right color, the right size, the right theme? There is not a lot of creative thinking involved. And we ARE unusual, being a TRUE custom company.

Satin Stitches is for when you DO NOT find the right color in the right size, with the right theme. But especially when you want something really special. We know we are not for everyone. We know that we have a niche business. We know that most people want to see options for what they are considering ordering.

Think of when you are looking for a wedding dress. You look at all the wedding gowns in magazines and at various wedding shops. Many styles, in many sizes, for all types of weddings. But you do not want to look like everyone else. You want your dress to be really special. And maybe you do not have a perfectly proportioned body. You want something just for you, for your special day, to fit you perfectly.

You find a designer or talented dressmaker to create your unique, one-of-a-kind dress. If your designer is a true professional, working from a professional location, your gown will generally be more expensive than any mass-produced dress you may have looked at and tried on.  

Why? Because creating something unique takes much more time than factory sewers cranking out dress after dress, with no regard for fitting. Fabrics and trims can also be more expensive, because your designer may be purchasing only the fabrics and trims for your dress, and buying retail, rather than factories ordering thousands of yards of the same exact white satin, for example, at a time.

I am constantly shocked as to why most people do not understand the additional costs involved with custom.  Many people actually think it can be cheaper, as they are used to hearing about and maybe working with, hobby sewers-women who sew for the fun of it, and do not have to earn a living by it, who therefore do not charge what their labor is really worth.  Then there is the concept of paying overhead when you have a real bricks and mortar business, along with the expenses of payroll, and all the other expenses that real businesses have. Think about what the hourly rate for plumbers, for example, might be.  It is not $10 per hour, is it?

One of my employees just mentioned today that someone offered to take her to lunch, as payment to sew a tailored coat for her. OMG. Do you have any idea how many hours it takes to cut and sew a tailored coat??? Yes, that employee was pretty much insulted, and will not be taken to lunch, any time soon.

What we need to realize, is that for anyone in the United States to earn a living wage, as a company, or as an individual, at a creative endeavor, items must be priced much higher than what we see on the tags at the department and discount stores.  We, in this country, have gotten used to the cheap prices that we pay for garments that have been made by people sewing overseas, for maybe 10 cents an hour.  The retailer is making plenty of money off these garments, but not the person that sewed them.

I started Satin Stitches over 30 years ago, with the custom concept for performance apparel. We continue to evolve what we do, but it is still true custom design. WITHOUT a catalog.

We are for people who dream. For people with ideas in their head, that are begging to come out and become really special, unique costumes. Satin Stitches can make these dreams a reality!

WITHOUT a catalog!

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Teacher, Enthusiast, Parent, Retailer, Studio, Costume Design, Costumes (all tags)