Wednesday, December 17, 2008

33.........weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Some of you may recall that I donated some silk yardage to our church's youth's auction last Spring. The yardage was designated for a kimono styled jacket, one of which I had sewn as a model to be displayed at the auction. A friend of mine ended up making the winning bid on the jacket fabric, which thrilled me to no end! I did not want to be responsible for the jacket construction and had contacted an Atlanta seamstress friend who agreed to construct the jacket. However, my friend (the silk purchaser) wanted to wait a while to have the jacket made, as she had had some health issues and wanted to regain some weight before being fitted for the jacket. When she was ready, my Atlanta seamstress begged off! I couldn't believe it!!! I was really upset and didn't know what to do. In the middle of the night, I woke up and remembered that I had taken Swedish lessons (yes Swedish: my family is Swedish and I had wanted to be able to converse with them in their native tongue!) from a delightful little woman here in my home town AND she was a seamstress. I dropped by her charming little Swedish shop and she agreed to take on the job! Well, that was months ago..........maybe September? There were lots of roadblocks (she had other clients, she misplaced the pattern, yada, yada, yada), but she, the seamstress, FINALLY called me last weekend and said that the jacket was ready!! WooHoo!!!



Can I tell you that there's nothing better than seeing someone else's fantabulous interpretation of a piece of complex cloth that you have created....and seeing it oh so much better than you ever dreamed possible!!!
I almost cried!!!!

It had been a long and extremely nerve-wracking haul, but we all had finally gotten there! And I was so pleased!! I am so in love with this piece!

Here is my friend modeling her new jacket:



My Swedish seamstress friend and I are considering a partnership where I produce the silk and she produces the jacket. She has a client who wants to sell our product. So, ok my friends: comments?????????? What do you think? I feel that I need to be paid for the silk I produce when it leaves my hands. Right? If you agree, what price per yardage???

PEACE!!!

11 comments:

Gerrie said...

That is drop dead gorgeous. You have a gift for creating the fabric. I think you should go for it, but get what it is worth - which is a pretty penny, if you ask me!! I would definitely buy one of these.

Jeannie said...

Gorgeous is right! That is a beautiful jacket and shows off your yardage so well. I have priced hand dyed silk on websites and they ran $26/yd and up. However, they were not complex cloth and I would expect to get a higher price given the amount of labor involved.I'm with Gerrie - go for it! I am so excited for you!

Eva said...

This is so great!(*clap hands*) And visibly one of a kind. Yes, I'm sure this will succeed, and if I was near, I'd have mine done. Don't give it away too cheap, you suggest a value by suggesting a price.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely beautiful!
K

Joyce said...

The jacket is gorgeous. I would say go for the deal as long as it doesn't get to be a job where you have deadlines thus making the process no fun anymore. Pricing is always the hard part. Maybe your seamstress friend will have some ideas.

Karoda said...

yes the jacket is gorgeous but i'm also thinking how wonderful it all happened...you not wanting to make the fabric, your friend wanting to wait, your first seamtress backing out and so on...now you're on your way to being a famous designer and you didn't even have to suffer that Tim guy from Project Runway! :)

Anonymous said...

Considering everthing you have invested time-wise ane equipment-wise to make this beautiful cloth, I'd say ask for the price that you paid for the silk and add $30 per hour to the time you put into designing it. Then have the seamstress add her price... The jacket is beautiful and easily worth more than $100. xxoo Carol

Jane LaFazio said...

gorgeous jacket! of course, it's ALL about the cloth! Seriously, beautiful and the perfect pattern for you cloth. Yup, I think you should go for it. The person picks out the cloth from you, then the swedish lady makes the jacket. 1/2 down for the first payment, balance due when the jacket is done. Look at what you charge per yard, or what Jane Dunnewald charges and what the swede charges and bump the price up from there.
xo

Beverly said...

Judy, your fabric is stunning (and all the other adjectives used), and the jacket shows off your work and the lovely hand of the fabric. It is definitely gorgeous, and worth more than a pretty penny. I hope this new partnership works out for you, without becoming a drag or overly time consuming!

Barbara said...

Wow Judy this is so exciting! Your silks are always so beautiful. I have no idea how much you should charge, but I do like the $30 per hour plus the cost of the material idea. You are so worth it!

Peace!

Margarita Korioth said...

It is absolutely stunning dear Judy! Jane wrote a while ago that a 10 dollars per process per yard of fabric is a good starting point to know how much to charge per yard of complex cloth. Good luck!!