Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Overwhelmed

  1. #1
    fixerupper Guest

    Default Overwhelmed

    I don't buy furniture often because I've made or refinished most of what's in my house and the few pieces I've bought were many years ago and were good enough quality that they still look good and work well.

    But, the Mrs. would like a new sofa. Fabric, not leather. Maybe it's just the places I've been looking, but it seems like nearly all the fabrics for the product lines are S-coded. Much of it is rayon. I professionally clean upholstery, so yes, I know much S-coded fabric can be water cleaned and rayon can water spot. But right now, I'd give anything for a fashionable WS fabric. I have even considered C.O.M., but even at the trade price, that is not cost effective.

    At the current moment, we are shopping for a sofa and I'm making and finishing two Morris chairs and ottomans that I will have custom upholstered by one of my associates.

    I'm about ready to start shopping estate sales looking for a nice old sofa and having it reupholstered in a fabric of my choice.

    Any suggestions?

  2. #2
    soster Guest

    Default

    Rayon seems to be in a lot of fabrics right now. I would consider COM. I don't know what cost effective means to you.... Does it mean paying more than you'd like to get something the way you'd like it? If so, consider yourself fortunate to be able to build your own furniture, and consider all the money you've saved will more than offset the cost of the COM fabric.

    I think its not "life effective" to deny yourself an occasional nice purchase if its simply on principal. I'm sure the Mrs would much prefer a new sofa to an old sofa that's been recovered. An old sofa, even with new fabric, will always look dated because the styles change over the years. Make her happy. A happy wife makes for a happy life...

  3. #3
    fixerupper Guest

    Default

    By "cost effective" I mean that I'd have to get upholstery fabric for less than $10 / yd. to make the final price competitive with most grades of non-COM fabric.

  4. #4
    soster Guest

    Default

    COM is never price competitve with factory stocked fabric. People often wonder why factories charge more for COM than for their stock fabric. While there are many reasons, I'll use this example.

    Imagine you made Morris chairs for a living. Of course, Morris chairs are made of qs oak, so that's all you keep in your shop. Suppose a customer came to you and said "I want mine made out of Maple. I'll send you enough Maple to do the job, and you'll just cut it and finish it like you normally do." Seems like an innocent enough request, right?

    Nope. Because what if you cut the Maple and find there's a piece with a defect that needs replacing? You can't just grab another piece from the wood pile. You can't let your junior employee make that chair, because if he makes a mistake, he can't just grab another piece from the wood pile and continue.

    You have to treat the customer supplied material like gold and have your most experienced (and most expensive) employee work with that material. There is simply no room for error.

    All that being said, I deal with a very well priced fabric source, they are very sharp, and they have NOTHING for under $10 a yard - and that's wholesale! Take the time to look around and see what fabrics cost, and then adjust your expectations accordingly. Good luck,

    Steve

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    15,890

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by fixerupper View Post
    By "cost effective" I mean that I'd have to get upholstery fabric for less than $10 / yd. to make the final price competitive with most grades of non-COM fabric.
    Thats going to be tough, $ 10 a yard? I don't see much worth using thats under $ 40 a yard.

    You can always try some discontinued bolts of fabric from mill end type shops, but be SURE to roll the whole bolt out (or at least as much as you are buying) and mark an 'X" though any blemishes you might find. One of the cautions in using seconds on fabrics is that the customers is responsible for the flaws. If the job calls for 10 yards, and you send the upholsterer 10 yards, then he's going to cover it right off the bolt, flaws and all. By marking around them, you will serve notice of the flaws and it lets you see if you need to add more material to the bolt.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

Similar Threads

  1. Overwhelmed....
    By drcollie in forum The Lobby
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 09-08-2010, 11:12 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •