And now for a little experiment. For the very first time, I am offering ready-made items in my shop sewn from my original organic fabrics! Choose from pillows and pouches, Indian Summer sateen and Family Cottage canvas…all sewn by yours truly. I gotta say, it’s a kick to sew with my own fabrics. :)
As many of you probably know, I launched my own self-produced line of fabric in the summer of 2009. Having my own print designs on fabric has been a long time dream of mine. To stay true to my desire to be as earth-friendly as possible, I print exclusively on demand, in the US, on organic base goods. The digital printing process utilizes water-based, non-toxic pigment dyes and minimizes waste and water consumption. Printing on demand helps prevent fabric waste. I’m proud of that.
There’s a saying I like that goes like this, “Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two.” In this circumstance, I have chosen to go with Good and Fast. That said, it’s not Cheap. Printing short runs comes at a cost and organic fabrics are more costly than conventional. That’s the downside. I’m sensitive to the fact that my fabric is not inexpensive. I wish that it were more affordable for everyone’s sake. What good is creating something for people if they are unable to use and enjoy it?
Meanwhile, selling handmade items can be a challenge and gives the ol’ “time/value” equation a real work out. (If you’re not sure what I mean, my friend Michelle has a great post about it on her blog.) That’s why I stated that this will be an experiment. I don’t intend to sew and sell a lot of items. I’ve slaved in my own personal sweatshop of mass production in the past and it’s not worth it. Now I’m doing my best to price things fairly based on my time and materials. I’m going to take it slow, see what the response is, and use my shop as a bit of a testing ground.
So, what’s the promo that I mentioned up top? For the next 4 weeks I am reducing the price on my organic print yardage by $10 a yard. From now until March 11, 2010, my organic cotton/hemp canvas will be $54/yard and my prints on organic cotton sateen will be $46 a yard. (Smaller cuts such as Fat Quarters and Sample Sets will stay at the regular price.) While I know these prices aren’t what anyone would call *cheap*, I do hope that this promo is helpful to you. Look at it as a small token of appreciation for all of the love and support you have shown me over the years as I navigate this thing I call my business.
P.S. Thanks to your votes, I won the Poppy Award for Favorite Handmade Eco Artist! More on this soon.
Your pouches are lovely and the zips are so neat. I never have any luck making my zips as neat as that. I love the cushions too.
Oh yea! Congrats on your win…and the pillows are just lovely…
Yep- I’ve done the sweat shop/slave labor thing myself! Funny! Good luck with your experiment- I’m interested to see what the results will be.
Hip hip hooray on your Poppy award!
Best,
Megan
Such a sincere post about such a sensitive subject – your candor will be appreciated I’m sure. Thanks for sharing this. Your pillows are so stinkin’ cute!!!!
Good luck with the project. I have to say that I while I consider your fabrics exquisite, I also consider them excruciatingly expensive and just can’t justify the outlay, I’m afraid. I do purchase other things from your shop from time to time, though, and I am always impressed by the quality of your patterns and other products.
Congratulations on the Poppy – you certainly deserve it.
lovely! so funny, that I was just pondering the good fast cheap rule the other day…
I actually think your pouches and pillows are quite reasonably priced considering they are not only handmade, but handmade with your own custom fabrics.
Also, I’ve met your brother and niece a few times at local craft events. They’re lovely people!
Everything looks great! I feel silly complaining about a few straight seams now.
QUE BELLA!
Great products. I think it’s great that it’s organic too. Many of us buy our groceries that are natural and organic but we forget about things we use everday in our home, bed, what we wear etc.
I have been browsing your site for a few weeks and just LOVE your fabric!
lovely fabrics and such nice funcolours.
tinyinc
I am so thrilled to know of non-toxic printing being done in the states and can’t wait to tell all my friends about your work! A dear friend of mine works in the garment industry and has told me horror stories of the tragic disregard for the environment just to produce the bright colors we demand and expect at cost, never really knowing the true price we pay in exchange for mother earth. Now we can vote with our dollar, we may not be able to buy as much as we would like but in making a conscience purchase we can send the message what consumers really want in the market. BTW I have my eye on the Indian Summer set! Thanks so much!
My first visit and I just love your blog. Very inspiring! Have a nice day! towe.
Super cute, I love those pouches!
Your fabrics are beautiful. I also found the information from your friend Michelle very helpful. I’ve found myself noticing that same trend in the past with my own sewn goods. I have a question for you. How does one go about launching their own fabric? I’ve always kept sketches of ideas I thought would make beautiful fabric. Those ideas sit in a book on a shelf and don’t go anywhere. If you would want to share I would be interested. I realize though that the question is a pretty big one.
http://theartistshouse.blogspot.com/
Hi,
I love your fabric.
Do you ship to Brazil?
How much would that be?
Thank you.
Anna Carolina
http://artemeleva.blogspot.com
Hi Carol,
Absolutely! Please email me which fabrics you are interested in. betz (AT) betzwhite (DOT)com
Thanks!