How to know how much of a seam to rip
As I'm always willing to share my own stupidity so others don't make the same mistake, here's a good one for you, but you might need to read it carefully. 🤨
I was replacing the batting inside the dog's bed yesterday, after ordering and cutting a piece of 4" foam. It is a round bed with a removable cover, so I removed the cover and prepared to rip the seam on the batting filled liner. I was surprised at just how well the liner had been sewn together.
There were two separate rows of heavy interlocking stitches and the edge had been overlocked. I stood in the cold garage for twenty or thirty minutes picking stitches. Again these weren't stitches you could pop on one side and pull out the thread on the other; it took time and focus.
So, at what point did I know I'd ripped enough of…
Insightful as always Reza, and you made a lot of important points. In the US, a company isn't based on the number of employees or production size, all you need is a board of directors. Companies here exist as seudo individuals that (not who) can be sued and prevent those people working for the company from being personally or financially responsible for what the company does. Essentially, a company can go bankrupt without dragging employees down with it. Anyway...
The business knowledge and skills you mentioned sounded right on target. As I was reading them, it reminded me of Gordon Ramsey's "Kitchen Nightmares." I've watched all of them at least twice (UK & US), and every episode hit on the same problems you mentioned. Lack of leadership was most common, but having no business sense, education, or experience in the industry was right up there as well. My father always says, "when in charge, take charge," but you really need to know how.
Turnover is one specific problem you pointed out in the course as well in the conversation videos. To become a tailor, it sounded like a student goes to tailoring school, then works as an apprentice, and is either hired by the shop in which they apprentice, in a different shop, or work for an off-the-rack producer. Again, I'm not a tailor, but I can certainly understand a tailor's shop being apprehensive and reluctant to essentially train a future competitor. I'm assuming a tailor's shop wants an apprentice who knows the essentials and who will work for less than an experienced tailor, but the owner has to wonder how much business this person is going to take from the shop in the future.
Marketing bespoke tailoring services seems like a difficult job to me. There are obviously plenty of wealthy people in the world who want to look sharp in a great looking suit that fits them perfectly, but when someone like Steve Jobs walks onto the corporate stage in a black turtleneck, that's got to be a kick in the nuts for tailors who put a lot of time and effort to make someone look like a million bucks. Here in the States, there's a State senator in Washington DC who wears a damn hoodie to work! It's disrespectful of the position, but also a reflection of the amount of respect he has for himself. Not a political commentary, just an illustration of the need for tailors. It also seems to me to be a real marketing hurdle to get over.
Your calculator sounds like a great idea. As mentioned before, the sale price must be difficult to calculate, particularly if you don't know how many fittings will be needed and how many hours of work it will take. Throw in the different hourly rates for employees, balanced against speed, skill, and experience, and putting a profitable price on a garment must induce no end of anxiety.
Lastly, what you said about freelancers got me thinking about tailors who enjoy and excel at one or two things. A tailor's guild or COOP (cooperative) could be City wide or regional with members who register as accepting certain work, like collars or padding or pockets. A delivery person could drive the route twice a day to drop off and pick up work. As you said in your training, different houses have different rules and methods, but that could be a "selling" point for freelancers..."I'm familiar with the tailoring methods of shops X, Y, and Z. The guild would simplify scalability and speed up production on an as-needed basis.
Just some thoughts. The tailoring world, especially Reza and all of you, continually give me things to think about, I just hope I don't talk too much. If I am/do, please let me know.😁