We have posted the amounts of incoming inventory on the site now, and also posted private and pre-orders. So, everything is available for purchase now.
Today the tracking report on the re=stocking order shows that the shipment is physically only a two hour drive away from me as I type. Very exciting, but oh, so far, too! Today it is scheduled to go through Customs where they open random boxes in hopes of finding something illegal. I always laugh to think what the Customs officials think of all that white yarn!
If all goes according to my plans ... and why would I say such a thing! ... then the shipment will arrive at the studio door tomorrow, and we will begin to ship on Friday. If it arrives on Friday, though, we will start shipping on Monday.
Thanks, all, for your patience. The wait is part of the process!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
More stock ...
... at the end of the week! Glad to find that our next shipment will actually arrive by the end of the week. With UPS taking the shipment from the mill to my door, on a couple of continents, we have had a few learning episodes. Long story made short, though, is that while there was one fairly substantial glitch in the process which cost us 8 days of waiting, UPS does learn from their mistakes! They have assigned a person to my orders, and even provided me their name! Now, that is a gutsy move on their part, if you ask me.
This time, we are bringing in much larger numbers than before, and have broken delivery into two parts. In another two weeks there will be more, more, more!
Here is what is expected at the end of this week ... skeins, all, except as noted:
Bamboo Two-Step, Butterfly Lace, Cash Sock, Cash DK, Platinum Sock, Sheila's Gold, Sheila's Sock, Silk Sock 50/50, Silk DK 50/50 Tweed (on cones) and W2D4 Merino DK-SW.
Two of these yarns are coming smaller quantities than half of what I ordered, if this makes sense. Platinum Sock and W2D4 Merino DK-SW are just appearing in minimal numbers this week, but arrive in force in two weeks' time, I am happy to report.
The delays and errors that happen along the way are a part of ordering the manufacture of a product from a foreign country where your influence is minimal, and in the day-to-day operations, non-existent. For the most part, my customers have learned to wait a bit, but there are those who continue to try to exact a committed date which can be held as gospel truth. Such things just don't happen in the international manufacturing, shipping, business. Then, there are those who have looked at the site and have not seen the new stock, and figure that they must have missed the shipment entirely! I do not know why they suddenly think I have stopped communicating, or jumped to the conclusion that they missed the re-stocking shipment. Too, I don't know why they didn't write to me two weeks ago to ask about it instead of jumping to conclusions. And, I've never really understood how radio waves work, so there are the mysteries of business and commerce all wrapped up neatly!
Hold on and stay tuned! More yarn is on the way!
This time, we are bringing in much larger numbers than before, and have broken delivery into two parts. In another two weeks there will be more, more, more!
Here is what is expected at the end of this week ... skeins, all, except as noted:
Bamboo Two-Step, Butterfly Lace, Cash Sock, Cash DK, Platinum Sock, Sheila's Gold, Sheila's Sock, Silk Sock 50/50, Silk DK 50/50 Tweed (on cones) and W2D4 Merino DK-SW.
Two of these yarns are coming smaller quantities than half of what I ordered, if this makes sense. Platinum Sock and W2D4 Merino DK-SW are just appearing in minimal numbers this week, but arrive in force in two weeks' time, I am happy to report.
The delays and errors that happen along the way are a part of ordering the manufacture of a product from a foreign country where your influence is minimal, and in the day-to-day operations, non-existent. For the most part, my customers have learned to wait a bit, but there are those who continue to try to exact a committed date which can be held as gospel truth. Such things just don't happen in the international manufacturing, shipping, business. Then, there are those who have looked at the site and have not seen the new stock, and figure that they must have missed the shipment entirely! I do not know why they suddenly think I have stopped communicating, or jumped to the conclusion that they missed the re-stocking shipment. Too, I don't know why they didn't write to me two weeks ago to ask about it instead of jumping to conclusions. And, I've never really understood how radio waves work, so there are the mysteries of business and commerce all wrapped up neatly!
Hold on and stay tuned! More yarn is on the way!
Monday, May 10, 2010
The next shipment has moved ...
... but then stalled, so we are doing a little waiting on this one at the early stages. The reason this is important is that I am trying out a new shipper. Well, 'new' in the sense that they have not yet taken over the entire shipment from South America to Virginia yet. We do have to give them the benefit of the doubt, though. The responsibilities for each segment of the trip lie with a different office, and the reason we look forward to a successful trip this time, is because we hope that communication within one company will lessen the chances of things which could go wrong and will.
We shall see! I am rooting for their success. After all, what can I do about it at this point, but wait?
We shall see! I am rooting for their success. After all, what can I do about it at this point, but wait?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Our World is Getting Smaller ...
Something to think about ..
Recent volcanic activity in Iceland has affected trans-Atlantic flights, and will probably have an impact on the delivery schedules of our British yarns.
In the past we have been lucky to take advatage of our British Wool supplier's overnight FedEx delivery by air. Now, we may see some periods of low stock on the Bluefaced leicester yarns, Lux SuperChunky, and Falkland Buily yarns, as well as the British spinning fibers.
Please do be aware that if any of these yarns goes into an Out-of-Stock situation, it is probably due to delayed air travel across the north Atlantic. We ask for your patience and understanding through the next few months.
Sheila Trunzo Mahone
Posted: April 21, 2010
Recent volcanic activity in Iceland has affected trans-Atlantic flights, and will probably have an impact on the delivery schedules of our British yarns.
In the past we have been lucky to take advatage of our British Wool supplier's overnight FedEx delivery by air. Now, we may see some periods of low stock on the Bluefaced leicester yarns, Lux SuperChunky, and Falkland Buily yarns, as well as the British spinning fibers.
Please do be aware that if any of these yarns goes into an Out-of-Stock situation, it is probably due to delayed air travel across the north Atlantic. We ask for your patience and understanding through the next few months.
Sheila Trunzo Mahone
Posted: April 21, 2010
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
The new Customs Broker is Magic Man!
Amazing! The new Customs Broker called today to say he'd put together the documents, found my bond, and was searching for the best way to deliver to me ... maybe tomorrow! Such different customer service, I assure you, from the Big Guys. I can never remember a telephone call from them in the entire time they moved my shipments.
I am a happy woman! Now, just have to stop a moment and consider working hard in this early flash of humid Virginia heat. Hmmm. We can do it!
I am a happy woman! Now, just have to stop a moment and consider working hard in this early flash of humid Virginia heat. Hmmm. We can do it!
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
The Wait is On for a Change ...
... in shippers. There is a part of me which feels like I have been a prisoner in the land of international importers. For some reason, I have stuck with the same importer/broker for the past four years, even though they torture me with lack of communication, overcharging, and agents who do not speak English as a First Language. Not that I have prejudices in this area, believe me, because at one time, I had a successful textbook distributorship selling books in English as a Second Language in California. But I digress ...
I want to complain, and rarely do it in public; however, today is the day for maybe just a little rant, nothing major at all because people have actually been calling me and helping me. I just want my yarn, that's all. Here I sit, awaiting the largest re-stocking order we have yet to receive, and I know that my wool is just a two-hour drive from here yet can do nothing to grab it up. Even so, I am not unhappy with the importer because we are trying out a new shipper and so far, they have been 1000 times more communicative than the one who held me prisoner in the past for far too long. Could I have escaped, I now dare to ask myself? Hmmmm....
They are so nice! They call me with concern over the missing paperwork (not their fault!), and they have guided me along the way to secure a new broker for this shipper. That guy is so nice, too, and he's Italian! ... by way of New Jersey, but then I am Italian by way of Pennsylvania and Virginia, so we are even there. I have never had such wonderful customer service in the import activities as I've had with these people.
Still, I do not have my shipment and have been watching the developments on three continents, as others in the food chain push and prod to get the right papers into the right hands. But, I can forgive them because, well, they are all so darned nice! and, I am going through a sort of new classroom in importing. I think I got complacent over the past four years in knowing the order of what paperwork was expected at which point. It got to the point, though, that no one bothered to notify me when the shipment would arrive, and I was left guessing most of the time. Try to imagine what I is like keeping my customer base informed when I, myself, am not in complete control of the info!
Now, will my customers be equally forgiving to me? Cannot answer that one, but I will admit that I have given myself a little pad of time in discussing the arrival date of this order. The begging is only now beginning to trickle in, nothing major yet. Hope they will all have the spring spirit and think I am just as nice as I think these new import folk are, too! How I wish there were no begging at all, and I had all the yarn at hand when anyone wanted anything. One of these days ... That is my goal!
I want to complain, and rarely do it in public; however, today is the day for maybe just a little rant, nothing major at all because people have actually been calling me and helping me. I just want my yarn, that's all. Here I sit, awaiting the largest re-stocking order we have yet to receive, and I know that my wool is just a two-hour drive from here yet can do nothing to grab it up. Even so, I am not unhappy with the importer because we are trying out a new shipper and so far, they have been 1000 times more communicative than the one who held me prisoner in the past for far too long. Could I have escaped, I now dare to ask myself? Hmmmm....
They are so nice! They call me with concern over the missing paperwork (not their fault!), and they have guided me along the way to secure a new broker for this shipper. That guy is so nice, too, and he's Italian! ... by way of New Jersey, but then I am Italian by way of Pennsylvania and Virginia, so we are even there. I have never had such wonderful customer service in the import activities as I've had with these people.
Still, I do not have my shipment and have been watching the developments on three continents, as others in the food chain push and prod to get the right papers into the right hands. But, I can forgive them because, well, they are all so darned nice! and, I am going through a sort of new classroom in importing. I think I got complacent over the past four years in knowing the order of what paperwork was expected at which point. It got to the point, though, that no one bothered to notify me when the shipment would arrive, and I was left guessing most of the time. Try to imagine what I is like keeping my customer base informed when I, myself, am not in complete control of the info!
Now, will my customers be equally forgiving to me? Cannot answer that one, but I will admit that I have given myself a little pad of time in discussing the arrival date of this order. The begging is only now beginning to trickle in, nothing major yet. Hope they will all have the spring spirit and think I am just as nice as I think these new import folk are, too! How I wish there were no begging at all, and I had all the yarn at hand when anyone wanted anything. One of these days ... That is my goal!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Knitting Bags from Haiti
Knowing how we all want to help fellow crafters and artists in Haiti, I want to suggest this site might be a good place to start. This site sells handmade burlap bags, made by a co-op of Haitian women. It is overseen by a group of American volunteers who have put together a list of products which are made by hand by Haitian women. The volunteers are a faith-based group who have created a program designed to educate women about health and nutrition for families.
If you are interested, please follow this link:
http://haitiancreations.com
If you are interested, please follow this link:
http://haitiancreations.com
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Restocking today at Wool2Dye4
Today we received another big shipment, and again it was bigger than any previous shipment. Seems that every months I say that, and every month I mean that! This is what we are currently processing -- labelling, breaking down into smaller packs, putting onto the shelves and into the bins.
Another stock order is due in just a few short weeks, perhaps end-of-the-month or early April. That order will bring two new yarns: Cash DK (our MCN yarn in DK weight), and Silk DK 50/50. Both DK yarns will have the typical yardage of our Merino DK-SW yarn and will be priced as their companion Cash Sock and Silk Sock 50/50.
The shipment will bring:
Surino, by the way, is one of the yarns we bring in a few times during the year, and is a lovely luxury yarn. It is 50/50 blend of Suri Alpaca with superfine Merino. Very nice.
- Cash Sock skeins and cones
- Sheila's Aran cones
- Sheila's Sock skeins and cones
- Silk Sock 50/50 skeins
- W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW skeins and cones
- W2D4 Merino DK-SW skeins and cones
- Private orders for springtime clubs and events
Another stock order is due in just a few short weeks, perhaps end-of-the-month or early April. That order will bring two new yarns: Cash DK (our MCN yarn in DK weight), and Silk DK 50/50. Both DK yarns will have the typical yardage of our Merino DK-SW yarn and will be priced as their companion Cash Sock and Silk Sock 50/50.
The shipment will bring:
- Angel Lace Skeins
- Angel Sock Sport skeins
- Bamboo TwoStep Skeins
- Cash Sock skeins and cones
- Cash DK (new)
- Platinum Sock skeins and cones
- Sheila's Aran skeins
- Sheila's Sock skeins and cones
- Silk Sock 50/50 skeins
- Silk DK 50/50 (new)
- Surino
- Ultra Merino 3-Ply skeins and cones
- W2D4 Merino Worsted skeins and cones
- W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW skeins and cones
- W2D4 Merino DK-SW skeins cones
Surino, by the way, is one of the yarns we bring in a few times during the year, and is a lovely luxury yarn. It is 50/50 blend of Suri Alpaca with superfine Merino. Very nice.
Friday, March 05, 2010
Good news on the new price structure
Looking at the new pricelist, I see that several yarns will not be going up in price. These are the yarns which will not have a price increase on May 1, 2010...
- Cash Sock
- Cash DK
- Angel Lace
- Angel Sport Sock
- Angel Delight Fingering
- Butterfly Lace
- Surino
- Bamboo TwoStep
The new pricelist will sent to wholesale customers by eMail within the next few weeks.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
After four years, we must raise prices just a little...
We just heard last night that our spinner has scheduled a price increase on the cost of fibers, something that they had expected to do last year at this time, but kindly held off doing. We all knew that the economy was about to take a turn, and decided to absorb increases in all the costs associated with getting the yarns through the steps of the process and through foreign countries.
What Wool2Dye4 will do is hold off raising our prices until after the arrival of the end-of-April order, so we ask our loyal customers to consider their own inventory and schedules of upcoming events ... festivals, conventions, vendor opportunities, clubs, restocking your wholesalers, etc.
All yarn prices did not go up, and the new prices will go into effect May 1, 2010. We have not raised prices in four years, and while I am sorry to do it now, I must say that I have absorbed increased costs at my end including shipper's prices, gasoline surcharges, and other operating expenses. The price increase will take effect in May of this year, 2010. Current pricing structure will hold through the following three orders:
1. Early March (due end of this week or early next week)
2. Late March/Early April (already ordered, but you may still request pre-orders for 10 kilos or more)
3. Late April (not yet ordered!) I will issue a Call for Pre-Orders when we send out the newsletter in the next day or so. This will be the last opportunity to receive current pricing on our yarns and after the arrival of the Late April order, the new pricing structure will go into effect.
Now is definitely the time to adopt the Plan Ahead campaign!
What Wool2Dye4 will do is hold off raising our prices until after the arrival of the end-of-April order, so we ask our loyal customers to consider their own inventory and schedules of upcoming events ... festivals, conventions, vendor opportunities, clubs, restocking your wholesalers, etc.
All yarn prices did not go up, and the new prices will go into effect May 1, 2010. We have not raised prices in four years, and while I am sorry to do it now, I must say that I have absorbed increased costs at my end including shipper's prices, gasoline surcharges, and other operating expenses. The price increase will take effect in May of this year, 2010. Current pricing structure will hold through the following three orders:
1. Early March (due end of this week or early next week)
2. Late March/Early April (already ordered, but you may still request pre-orders for 10 kilos or more)
3. Late April (not yet ordered!) I will issue a Call for Pre-Orders when we send out the newsletter in the next day or so. This will be the last opportunity to receive current pricing on our yarns and after the arrival of the Late April order, the new pricing structure will go into effect.
Now is definitely the time to adopt the Plan Ahead campaign!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Noro Sock Yarns - Sekku and Silk Garden Sock
From time to time I mention my second website, Uptown Stitches, which is a site where our Wool2Dye4 yarns are sold as handdyes. We have several guest dye artists... FyberSpates, Knit Witch, Handwerks, Lazy Perry Ranch, Yummee Yarns, and Zen Yarn Garden. We also carry some commercial yarns ... the Almerino Rooster yarns, Kraemer Yarns, Polar Knit.
Today, we added NORO to the UptownStitches.com site! Very exciting stuff! To go with sock yarn theme, we are now carrying Noro's new SEKKU (50% cotton with wool, nylon, mohair) and SILK GARDEN SOCK.
Here is the link: http://www.uptownstitches.com/shop/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=18
Friday, February 12, 2010
Knitting through the Olympics
Tonight is the opening ceremony of the Olympics. There is a fun little knit-along that we started in the Friends of Wool2Dye4 Group on Ravelry.com. We are offering prizes, too! If you are on Ravelry.com, please check out our two-week knit-along.
We will be casting on a project during the opening ceremony and knitting to completion over the next two weeks and the idea is to have the project finished by the closing ceremonies. Ravelry has official teams, but we were too late to join. Instead, we are offering our own prizes within our group. Everyone who enters on Ravelry will receive a skein of our exclusive quality yarns from Wool2Dye4, and the lucky winner receives a kilo of yarn! Nice prize, huh?
There are still several hours for signing up and searching out your project. The project must use Wool2Dye4 yarn and must be cast on during opening ceremony tonight. If you are interested, hop onto Ravelry.com and join in. Look for the sign-up in the index of topics. (It's near the top of the sheet.)
We will be casting on a project during the opening ceremony and knitting to completion over the next two weeks and the idea is to have the project finished by the closing ceremonies. Ravelry has official teams, but we were too late to join. Instead, we are offering our own prizes within our group. Everyone who enters on Ravelry will receive a skein of our exclusive quality yarns from Wool2Dye4, and the lucky winner receives a kilo of yarn! Nice prize, huh?
There are still several hours for signing up and searching out your project. The project must use Wool2Dye4 yarn and must be cast on during opening ceremony tonight. If you are interested, hop onto Ravelry.com and join in. Look for the sign-up in the index of topics. (It's near the top of the sheet.)
I am knitting a pair of fingerless gloves, and using handdyed yarn from UptownStitches, the sister site to Wool2Dye4. The yarn is W2D4 Merino DK-Superwash, handdyed by Zen Yarn Gaden in two colors, Midnight Grape and Rosebud. The pattern is Flower Market Gloves, which really has two patterns in one. One pattern uses the Feather and Fan ruffly motif, and the other is a mini-mock cable using a twisted stitch and ribbing. It is designed by Dolce Handknits, and is one of their lovely, feminine designs.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
A little bit of wooly history
My sister wrote me the following amusing note today ..
"I was re-reading an excellent book with particularly lively writing, The Discovery of France by Graham Robb, and came across this story. The context was Robb's discussion of how the Catholic church adopted local fairies, magical stones, wells, etc., -- anything that was important to the local people -- in order to convert them to a less-than-strict form of Christian belief (the same phenomenon around the world for all religions that seek to conquer local values).
He recounts the practice of throwing 'balls of wool at a saint behind an iron cage, trying to hit the part of the saint that corresponded to (their own suffering) libm, and the priest ... gatehring up the wool and knitting himself some warm clothese for the winter.'
All of this was quite recent, i.e., 17th or 18th century."
"I was re-reading an excellent book with particularly lively writing, The Discovery of France by Graham Robb, and came across this story. The context was Robb's discussion of how the Catholic church adopted local fairies, magical stones, wells, etc., -- anything that was important to the local people -- in order to convert them to a less-than-strict form of Christian belief (the same phenomenon around the world for all religions that seek to conquer local values).
He recounts the practice of throwing 'balls of wool at a saint behind an iron cage, trying to hit the part of the saint that corresponded to (their own suffering) libm, and the priest ... gatehring up the wool and knitting himself some warm clothese for the winter.'
All of this was quite recent, i.e., 17th or 18th century."
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Wholsale Account information
Several times a day I receive requests for information about opening a wholesale account. I do have two levels of wholesale accounts which are based on quantity. Our wholesale discounts are extended to bona fide businesses who have a tax id number and who can commit to a minimum order of ten pounds. That is the regular wholesale account and the minimum weight of ten pounds applies to each order.
For larger wholesalers, we have the Power Buyer level where the minimum weight per order is one hundred pounds.
I have several times written about how important it is for a bona fide business to get and use a federal tax id number. The EIN (as it is called) does not affect taxes in any way, even if you operate as a sole proprietorship. What it does is two important things: 1) A Federal tax identification number gives you immediate credibility with suppliers. 2) It avoids spreading around your Social Security Number. Please do take the time to visit irs.gov and spend five minutes to get a free Federal tax number, and STOP handing out yoru Social Security number. Very important. Please.
When people write to me, asking if we offer discounts, I send them a general information letter. Today I am going to copy it into this blog entry, and it may answer a few questions. Here we go ...
To qualify for Wool2Dye4, Inc.'s wholesale discount, there is a minimum weight of ten pounds (of yarn and/or spinning fiber) per order on each wholesale order. The ten pounds may be spread among different yarns and fibers, but the total weight must reach ten pounds. We do not work with co-ops or groups sharing the professional discount. The professional discount we extend is intended solely for the use of an individual or corporation, and is not authorized to be shared with others, or used to create a co-op buying group.
Many people start off with a dye business thinking that a tax id number is something they'll get 'later,' but I advise folks to get it early in the business life. Check with an accountant for help in answering this question if you do not currently have a tax identification number.
When you decide to move forward, just register on teh home page of Wool2Dye4.com's website. Be sure to fill in the busienss name and tax id number. These two fields trigger the program to alert me that a business has applied, and then I must approve or decline each application individually. Once approved, I will send you a confirming eMail, and when you log on the next time, you will be taken inside the wholesale area of the website. There are some different presentations of the yarns, and occasionally some different yarns are offered to wholesalers only. Usually, there will be a notice in the headder of the wholesale site when you log on. I also may send an eMail about new yarns to wholesalers.
(I attach a general overview of prices to this note.) Thank you for your interest in our exclusive lineof merino yarns from South America, and in the Bluefaced Leicester yarns which are genuine British Wool yarns. We are always adding new yarns and following trends in the industry. Announcements of new yarns and of stock arrivals are sent out monthly in a newsletter directed to wholesale customers only. Wool2Dye4 is honored to be licensed by the British Wool Marketing Board to sell British Wool, including Bluefaced Leicester, in the States.
I hope you will fit some of our lovely yarns into your new line of handdyes as your own business grows. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sheila
Wool2Dye4.com"
For larger wholesalers, we have the Power Buyer level where the minimum weight per order is one hundred pounds.
I have several times written about how important it is for a bona fide business to get and use a federal tax id number. The EIN (as it is called) does not affect taxes in any way, even if you operate as a sole proprietorship. What it does is two important things: 1) A Federal tax identification number gives you immediate credibility with suppliers. 2) It avoids spreading around your Social Security Number. Please do take the time to visit irs.gov and spend five minutes to get a free Federal tax number, and STOP handing out yoru Social Security number. Very important. Please.
When people write to me, asking if we offer discounts, I send them a general information letter. Today I am going to copy it into this blog entry, and it may answer a few questions. Here we go ...
"The basic requirements to open a wholesale account are:
1. Business Name and Tax ID number (from irs.gov)
2. Minimjm 10 pound total order weight for each order
Bona fide businesses only. No co-op groups.
To qualify for Wool2Dye4, Inc.'s wholesale discount, there is a minimum weight of ten pounds (of yarn and/or spinning fiber) per order on each wholesale order. The ten pounds may be spread among different yarns and fibers, but the total weight must reach ten pounds. We do not work with co-ops or groups sharing the professional discount. The professional discount we extend is intended solely for the use of an individual or corporation, and is not authorized to be shared with others, or used to create a co-op buying group.
Many people start off with a dye business thinking that a tax id number is something they'll get 'later,' but I advise folks to get it early in the business life. Check with an accountant for help in answering this question if you do not currently have a tax identification number.
When you decide to move forward, just register on teh home page of Wool2Dye4.com's website. Be sure to fill in the busienss name and tax id number. These two fields trigger the program to alert me that a business has applied, and then I must approve or decline each application individually. Once approved, I will send you a confirming eMail, and when you log on the next time, you will be taken inside the wholesale area of the website. There are some different presentations of the yarns, and occasionally some different yarns are offered to wholesalers only. Usually, there will be a notice in the headder of the wholesale site when you log on. I also may send an eMail about new yarns to wholesalers.
(I attach a general overview of prices to this note.) Thank you for your interest in our exclusive lineof merino yarns from South America, and in the Bluefaced Leicester yarns which are genuine British Wool yarns. We are always adding new yarns and following trends in the industry. Announcements of new yarns and of stock arrivals are sent out monthly in a newsletter directed to wholesale customers only. Wool2Dye4 is honored to be licensed by the British Wool Marketing Board to sell British Wool, including Bluefaced Leicester, in the States.
I hope you will fit some of our lovely yarns into your new line of handdyes as your own business grows. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sheila
Wool2Dye4.com"
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
TWEED ... introducing a new yarn
We have a new yarn added to our lineup, TWEED, an Aran/heavy worsted knitting yarn. Since customers have been asking for a heavier yarn we have been slowly adding to this weight class starting with Sheila's Aran, and of course, the popular BFL Aran which has already been in place and is growing in popularity.
TWEED is an interesting yarn because of the visual texture in a naturally occurring variation which happens before your eyes as you dye it up. When dyed, it will have the appearance of a candycane or barbershop pole and this happens because of the blend of superwash with non-superwash fibers. There are four plies, three of which are non-superwash, and one of which is a superwash. They are all from our springy merino, but that one superwash ply will absorb more color from the dyepot and create the candycane look as it twists around the other three plies.
Very pretty, very interesting, and very much fun to knit up. As you knit the fabric, your eye will be teased by the visual texture created on your needles. TWEED is available in skeins of 100 grams with 181 yards.
TWEED is an interesting yarn because of the visual texture in a naturally occurring variation which happens before your eyes as you dye it up. When dyed, it will have the appearance of a candycane or barbershop pole and this happens because of the blend of superwash with non-superwash fibers. There are four plies, three of which are non-superwash, and one of which is a superwash. They are all from our springy merino, but that one superwash ply will absorb more color from the dyepot and create the candycane look as it twists around the other three plies.
Very pretty, very interesting, and very much fun to knit up. As you knit the fabric, your eye will be teased by the visual texture created on your needles. TWEED is available in skeins of 100 grams with 181 yards.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Record temps in England affect our Wool Diet
I will start off with the punchline ... we just received shipment of the British yarns in question!
Last week I noticed we were running low on two BFL yarns, the Aran and Ultra!, both of which are consistently good sellers with my handdye artists. I looked at the inventory numbers of these two yarns showing on the website, and bumped up the numbers with confidence because we always receive our orders from England in three days, and sometimes in two days.
What I didn't know was that a record cold snap had just hit the United Kingdom and snow and ice had caused the major airports to close down. I was sitting in my pretty new studio working away at the computer, with National Public Radio playing in the background when one of the stories caught my attention. The report was about a record stretch of bad weather, the coldest it's been in 15 years in England, and that there was a shortage of road salt, so traffic all over the country had come to a crawl. Then they reeled off the list of airports which were closed due to icy runways, and it dawned on me that delivery of my little order might be affected by this!
I can 'chat' with my British Wool supplier on SKYPE (the greatest way to have a cyber conversation, if you ask me!), so I told him that I had just heard his weather forecast on my Virginia radio station! He confirmed everything I had heard, and added that they had spread grit on the roads, but it didn't make them much more passable. I'm not sure what 'grit' is, really, but think it might be gravel...
Freight travel must have improved though and the backed-up freight started moving again, yesterday, I think. We just received our FedEx shipment of the BFL Aran, BFL Ultra! and LUX Superchunky. Lovely stuff, this!
Makes you realize that your little corner of the world is in global communication, and that the connections between us are closely interwoven. I am off to post the actual numbers of these wonderful yarns.
Last week I noticed we were running low on two BFL yarns, the Aran and Ultra!, both of which are consistently good sellers with my handdye artists. I looked at the inventory numbers of these two yarns showing on the website, and bumped up the numbers with confidence because we always receive our orders from England in three days, and sometimes in two days.
What I didn't know was that a record cold snap had just hit the United Kingdom and snow and ice had caused the major airports to close down. I was sitting in my pretty new studio working away at the computer, with National Public Radio playing in the background when one of the stories caught my attention. The report was about a record stretch of bad weather, the coldest it's been in 15 years in England, and that there was a shortage of road salt, so traffic all over the country had come to a crawl. Then they reeled off the list of airports which were closed due to icy runways, and it dawned on me that delivery of my little order might be affected by this!
I can 'chat' with my British Wool supplier on SKYPE (the greatest way to have a cyber conversation, if you ask me!), so I told him that I had just heard his weather forecast on my Virginia radio station! He confirmed everything I had heard, and added that they had spread grit on the roads, but it didn't make them much more passable. I'm not sure what 'grit' is, really, but think it might be gravel...
Freight travel must have improved though and the backed-up freight started moving again, yesterday, I think. We just received our FedEx shipment of the BFL Aran, BFL Ultra! and LUX Superchunky. Lovely stuff, this!
Makes you realize that your little corner of the world is in global communication, and that the connections between us are closely interwoven. I am off to post the actual numbers of these wonderful yarns.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Sola ... for two weeks
I am working alone right now, and have two weeks until my new temporary Assistant arrives. Actually, I am enjoying doing every step of the business and find that I am putting out a lot of good work. Well ... I will admit that I made a couple of shipping errors just before Christmas, but as I have said before, 99% of my customers are fantastic, and they have such a gentle way of telling me that we / I made a mistake! Almost as though they, too, are from the South and have mastered the fine art of complaining without making it seem like a complaint. The secret to this fine art is to suggest rather than to tell. So, instead of saying, 'I paid for a cone and you sent me a skein! Send the cone right now, or else!' which the one percent will write, someone who speaks Southern would write, 'I wonder if you came up with an extra cone last week. I think it might be mine because my package contained a skein. This is order # 1111. Could you check this for me, please?'
See? They suggested that there was a problem yet laid it out clearly, and didn't say that I or my staff made an error, but implied that the impersonal package itself was to blame because it contained something different than what was ordered! Brilliant!
But, back to working alone ... my new Assistant will be with me for a temporary and undefined period while she finds an executive position. She is talented and so smart and creative, and very nice to be around. I am starting a folder with some marketing issues for her to address, and am looking forward to handing them over to someone who is not so closely tied to every detail of every decision. Maybe she can whip WebGuy into shape, and get him to delivery the new update for UptownStitches.com for me. I've been waiting for almost two months now, and that is really too long. I am ashamed to admit that I waited for 18 months, several years ago, for him to complete my eCommerce site! But, there it is. The admission of another aspect of being a Southern Woman, and that is that we really do not like to make waves. I know, I know there are movies which suggest the very opposite even in their titles, e.g. Steel Magnolias, but we do reach that point of steeliness after all avenues have been exhausted. Very close to exhausting all pleas, suggestions, requests, and when my new Assistant comes I have decided that this date will be the point when all avenues truely have reached exhaustion point. It will be WebGuy Meets Marketing Woman, Round One!
Stay tuned!
See? They suggested that there was a problem yet laid it out clearly, and didn't say that I or my staff made an error, but implied that the impersonal package itself was to blame because it contained something different than what was ordered! Brilliant!
But, back to working alone ... my new Assistant will be with me for a temporary and undefined period while she finds an executive position. She is talented and so smart and creative, and very nice to be around. I am starting a folder with some marketing issues for her to address, and am looking forward to handing them over to someone who is not so closely tied to every detail of every decision. Maybe she can whip WebGuy into shape, and get him to delivery the new update for UptownStitches.com for me. I've been waiting for almost two months now, and that is really too long. I am ashamed to admit that I waited for 18 months, several years ago, for him to complete my eCommerce site! But, there it is. The admission of another aspect of being a Southern Woman, and that is that we really do not like to make waves. I know, I know there are movies which suggest the very opposite even in their titles, e.g. Steel Magnolias, but we do reach that point of steeliness after all avenues have been exhausted. Very close to exhausting all pleas, suggestions, requests, and when my new Assistant comes I have decided that this date will be the point when all avenues truely have reached exhaustion point. It will be WebGuy Meets Marketing Woman, Round One!
Stay tuned!
Friday, January 01, 2010
End of Year Reckoning
At the end of every year, I make a trip to the office supply store and buy new folders, year-end tax forms and envelopes, and a big file box. It is the one time when I clean out my files, save tax info for the year, and prepare nice new clean files for the coming year. I have come to look forward to this file cleaning, and find that each year I have saved a little less of the paperwork which does not have anything to do with tax preparation, and so that's a little less to toss out.
My accountant likes it, too, that I am getting more and better organized each year! In November I sent a preliminary copy of my finanacial program for a review and it came back clean! Now, the only thing I have left to do is count the inventory and this company's financial paperwork will be complete.
This is also the time when I sit down and quietly look over a handwritten Sales Journal which I have kept all year. It's a simple chart, really nothing more than each month's totals and only one breakout for state sales (as I have to pay state retail sales tax on all sales within Virginia). The year's chart takes up two facing pages of the account journal, which is nothing more than a 12-column bound blank book I bought at the office supply store.
This week I will turn the page to a clean set of facing pages, and note the months across the 12 columns. At the very ottom there are two lines: Month's Sales (total of Virginia and other sales figures) and Cumulative Sales (where each month is added to the previous total, so I can see at a glance the year-to-date sales).
I have been thinking about the one other step involved in turning that page to a clean slate, and that is the forecast figure. It is so hard to predict sales for the coming year when we do not know what might happen in so many areas of our lives. The economy hit lots of folks in the pocketbook this past year, and then there is family and health which can impact a forecast, but all the same, coming up with a good estimate of the coming year's sales is an exercise I go through every single year. Actually, I don't usually do very well with my estimate, and this year was the only time I have ever come in close to the number I picked out of the ethos twelve months ago. In the past, it has been impossible to predict the growth rate of the business, and I underestimated big time every year. This year, though, I came in just a little over the estimate, which was nice. I feel like I have started to see actual trends, even though the business continues to grow, there are basic buying patterns which are starting to come to the surface.
Planning and predicting and getting a handle on all aspects of business is something I want to encourage every single customer to do. Starting with the figures for year 2009, now is a terrific time to commit to paper the costs and income involved in doing business. Many of my customers are work-at-home mothers with family responsibilities over and above the running of their dye business; however, this should not be an excuse to leave the numbers just out of reach. When we are in control of the numbers, we are powerful. We know what to expect, where to make change, how to create profit.
So, today, the first day of January 2010, I challenge anyone who has not yet come to meet their own numbers to start immediately. It does not have to be a big production, but should be an organized approach. You'll need a folder for expense notes and receipts, and a folder for sales information, and a nice clean pad of paper to add it all up. If you have a separate checking account, chances are that most of your expenses and your sales income will be recorded in the register you've established for your business. If you have incorporated the business money into the family money, take some time to go through the entries and note down every deposit which came from yarn sales, and every expense involved in supplies, shipping, inventory. Create a list of income and expenses for each month, and then reorganize it into a neat presentation which will be a model for next year's records.
PayPal is a place where we overlook sales and expenses, so be sure to call up a report for the full year for all sales receipts. Also, create a report for all payments you made out of your PayPal account. Add this payment figure and the balance on hand at year's end in your PayPal account to the year's total sales, to get an accurate figure for the year.
Good luck with this! Make record keeping a monthly habit, and take a look at what your numbers are telling you about your business.
One of the basic lessons of Marketing 101 is: The way to make profit is to cut expenses, and increase sales. Most of us need to do both, of course! This might be a good time to look at the expenses involved in your business, and to see if there are ways to streamline any. Shipping, for instance, can really eat up the cash, and when you consider the cost of packing materials, the figure goes up.
Are you utilizing some free services? Get a USPS.com account and use the free boxes from the postal service. Also, use Click 'n' Ship to get online discount on shipping fees. Too, sign up for Carrier PickUp. I have been signing up for Carrier PickUp one month in advance for a couple of years now. I know, I know that the questions ask how many packages and what is the total weight for each day, but I just fill in a month's worth of 100 pounds, ten packages! And, it works well enough. When you are busy, you need to plan ahead, so sign up for a month of pickups and don't worry about the details in the form.
All the talking heads on TV and radio tell us that 2010 is the year to see a definite turnaround in the economy, and I keep hearing August as a date when things should be normalized. I believe it, and I know that our little tiny end of the economy will prosper because we have remained strong all through the worst of it. Don't forget that when economies suffer, the home becomes more important, and what do we sell if not comfort, hominess. I urge each customer to stay positive, get a handle on your money, become powerful as you use what you have to the best advantage.
Let me know how you get along!
My accountant likes it, too, that I am getting more and better organized each year! In November I sent a preliminary copy of my finanacial program for a review and it came back clean! Now, the only thing I have left to do is count the inventory and this company's financial paperwork will be complete.
This is also the time when I sit down and quietly look over a handwritten Sales Journal which I have kept all year. It's a simple chart, really nothing more than each month's totals and only one breakout for state sales (as I have to pay state retail sales tax on all sales within Virginia). The year's chart takes up two facing pages of the account journal, which is nothing more than a 12-column bound blank book I bought at the office supply store.
This week I will turn the page to a clean set of facing pages, and note the months across the 12 columns. At the very ottom there are two lines: Month's Sales (total of Virginia and other sales figures) and Cumulative Sales (where each month is added to the previous total, so I can see at a glance the year-to-date sales).
I have been thinking about the one other step involved in turning that page to a clean slate, and that is the forecast figure. It is so hard to predict sales for the coming year when we do not know what might happen in so many areas of our lives. The economy hit lots of folks in the pocketbook this past year, and then there is family and health which can impact a forecast, but all the same, coming up with a good estimate of the coming year's sales is an exercise I go through every single year. Actually, I don't usually do very well with my estimate, and this year was the only time I have ever come in close to the number I picked out of the ethos twelve months ago. In the past, it has been impossible to predict the growth rate of the business, and I underestimated big time every year. This year, though, I came in just a little over the estimate, which was nice. I feel like I have started to see actual trends, even though the business continues to grow, there are basic buying patterns which are starting to come to the surface.
Planning and predicting and getting a handle on all aspects of business is something I want to encourage every single customer to do. Starting with the figures for year 2009, now is a terrific time to commit to paper the costs and income involved in doing business. Many of my customers are work-at-home mothers with family responsibilities over and above the running of their dye business; however, this should not be an excuse to leave the numbers just out of reach. When we are in control of the numbers, we are powerful. We know what to expect, where to make change, how to create profit.
So, today, the first day of January 2010, I challenge anyone who has not yet come to meet their own numbers to start immediately. It does not have to be a big production, but should be an organized approach. You'll need a folder for expense notes and receipts, and a folder for sales information, and a nice clean pad of paper to add it all up. If you have a separate checking account, chances are that most of your expenses and your sales income will be recorded in the register you've established for your business. If you have incorporated the business money into the family money, take some time to go through the entries and note down every deposit which came from yarn sales, and every expense involved in supplies, shipping, inventory. Create a list of income and expenses for each month, and then reorganize it into a neat presentation which will be a model for next year's records.
PayPal is a place where we overlook sales and expenses, so be sure to call up a report for the full year for all sales receipts. Also, create a report for all payments you made out of your PayPal account. Add this payment figure and the balance on hand at year's end in your PayPal account to the year's total sales, to get an accurate figure for the year.
Good luck with this! Make record keeping a monthly habit, and take a look at what your numbers are telling you about your business.
One of the basic lessons of Marketing 101 is: The way to make profit is to cut expenses, and increase sales. Most of us need to do both, of course! This might be a good time to look at the expenses involved in your business, and to see if there are ways to streamline any. Shipping, for instance, can really eat up the cash, and when you consider the cost of packing materials, the figure goes up.
Are you utilizing some free services? Get a USPS.com account and use the free boxes from the postal service. Also, use Click 'n' Ship to get online discount on shipping fees. Too, sign up for Carrier PickUp. I have been signing up for Carrier PickUp one month in advance for a couple of years now. I know, I know that the questions ask how many packages and what is the total weight for each day, but I just fill in a month's worth of 100 pounds, ten packages! And, it works well enough. When you are busy, you need to plan ahead, so sign up for a month of pickups and don't worry about the details in the form.
All the talking heads on TV and radio tell us that 2010 is the year to see a definite turnaround in the economy, and I keep hearing August as a date when things should be normalized. I believe it, and I know that our little tiny end of the economy will prosper because we have remained strong all through the worst of it. Don't forget that when economies suffer, the home becomes more important, and what do we sell if not comfort, hominess. I urge each customer to stay positive, get a handle on your money, become powerful as you use what you have to the best advantage.
Let me know how you get along!
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Time to Move On ...
We had a flood in the studio last night. Maddening, maddening! There have been heavy rains here in central Virginia for several days, and I guess it was just too much for the old drain system to keep up with. I never even had a thought about water damage as I thoroughly enjoyed the sound of rain and slept deeply and calmly.
But, this morning that squish-squish sound when I walked across the rugs to open the door, I realized that I had a 'situation.' We spent most of the day dragging out rugs, bagging up soggy boxes and packing materials, and staying out of the way of the cleanup crew and Roto Rooter. We did not lose any yarn as all the bins are built up off the floor, and the computers are on little raised platforms, too. Of course, there were things that soaked up the water which were tucked back under a packing table, or behind plastic bins holding styrofoam popcorn. We found some little bags of mixed spinning fiber which I bought years ago, and they never sold. All but one were a mess, so we tossed them, and I wound up saving that one bag. (It was in plastic, for some reason.) When I saw it, I was reminded of the first hat I knit for my husband out of my handspun. I plied one of my handdyed yarns with this grey stuff, and I really liked how it came out ... sort of Mother Earth meets Middle Class. My husband still has that hat and every time he pulls it out he says, 'This is my favorite hat of all!'
He has quite a variety of hats, too ... slip stitch in variegated colors, cabled yarn, progressively dyed experiments all in handdyed yarns. This year I made my version of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Very Warm Hat. In fact, I was going to gift them to some of the menfolk who have helped me through the year, but he's already nabbed a couple and gifted them early. Maybe that's because he says he doesn't like Christmas and the traditions, yet he likes to give gifts.
I was going to write about moving on, though! Yes, the business is moving. I've rented a commercial space just 3 or 4 miles from here. It is out of town, towards the mountain in a little strip mall built a few years ago, but which never really took off. I suppose it remained unfinished because of the location, a little too far off the beaten track, but that's what I like about it!
We have been involved in every aspect of finishing off our space ... painting each wall a different color -- seabreeze blue, mulberry purple, Italian yellow and lime green. I am still holding out for wallpaper in the bathroom. I found a cute novelty print of kids' shoes, and must have it, but we shall see if my name comes up on the installation list. I will say that here in my town, the name Mahone and the word 'wallpaper' have been spoken together in the same sentence for a few generations, but we'll just see how much pull I have. Evidently, it is not too much, if the state of the bathroom walls are any guide! We'll see ...
Move-in date was planned for January 2nd, but after the flooding last night, we have contacted the owner (my accountant!) and hope to move by middle of December. I'd really like that because I am expecting a huge wool shipment at the end of December, and that would be two biggies happening at the same time --- receipt of a large shipment of wool and moving around the same time. Maybe it's a good thing, this flood. It might just push me into action and get us moved and set up in time for the next big rush.
We're introducing a new yarn, by the way, with this coming shipment. TWEED is a four-ply yarn in Aran weight. When dyed & dried it looks like a candy cane effect with one ply taking up more dye than the other three. This happens because that one ply is a superwash merino, while the other three are non-superwash. The candycane effect doesn't show up in a gaudy way in the knitted fabric, but lends a little shading to the final fabric. It lends some visual texture to the knitted fabric. Ask me about prices when the yarn gets here.
But, this morning that squish-squish sound when I walked across the rugs to open the door, I realized that I had a 'situation.' We spent most of the day dragging out rugs, bagging up soggy boxes and packing materials, and staying out of the way of the cleanup crew and Roto Rooter. We did not lose any yarn as all the bins are built up off the floor, and the computers are on little raised platforms, too. Of course, there were things that soaked up the water which were tucked back under a packing table, or behind plastic bins holding styrofoam popcorn. We found some little bags of mixed spinning fiber which I bought years ago, and they never sold. All but one were a mess, so we tossed them, and I wound up saving that one bag. (It was in plastic, for some reason.) When I saw it, I was reminded of the first hat I knit for my husband out of my handspun. I plied one of my handdyed yarns with this grey stuff, and I really liked how it came out ... sort of Mother Earth meets Middle Class. My husband still has that hat and every time he pulls it out he says, 'This is my favorite hat of all!'
He has quite a variety of hats, too ... slip stitch in variegated colors, cabled yarn, progressively dyed experiments all in handdyed yarns. This year I made my version of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Very Warm Hat. In fact, I was going to gift them to some of the menfolk who have helped me through the year, but he's already nabbed a couple and gifted them early. Maybe that's because he says he doesn't like Christmas and the traditions, yet he likes to give gifts.
I was going to write about moving on, though! Yes, the business is moving. I've rented a commercial space just 3 or 4 miles from here. It is out of town, towards the mountain in a little strip mall built a few years ago, but which never really took off. I suppose it remained unfinished because of the location, a little too far off the beaten track, but that's what I like about it!
We have been involved in every aspect of finishing off our space ... painting each wall a different color -- seabreeze blue, mulberry purple, Italian yellow and lime green. I am still holding out for wallpaper in the bathroom. I found a cute novelty print of kids' shoes, and must have it, but we shall see if my name comes up on the installation list. I will say that here in my town, the name Mahone and the word 'wallpaper' have been spoken together in the same sentence for a few generations, but we'll just see how much pull I have. Evidently, it is not too much, if the state of the bathroom walls are any guide! We'll see ...
Move-in date was planned for January 2nd, but after the flooding last night, we have contacted the owner (my accountant!) and hope to move by middle of December. I'd really like that because I am expecting a huge wool shipment at the end of December, and that would be two biggies happening at the same time --- receipt of a large shipment of wool and moving around the same time. Maybe it's a good thing, this flood. It might just push me into action and get us moved and set up in time for the next big rush.
We're introducing a new yarn, by the way, with this coming shipment. TWEED is a four-ply yarn in Aran weight. When dyed & dried it looks like a candy cane effect with one ply taking up more dye than the other three. This happens because that one ply is a superwash merino, while the other three are non-superwash. The candycane effect doesn't show up in a gaudy way in the knitted fabric, but lends a little shading to the final fabric. It lends some visual texture to the knitted fabric. Ask me about prices when the yarn gets here.
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