Barb's Fabric Blog

Hands Across the Generations

I've been thinking a lot lately about sharing... sharing our love of handcrafts.  In January, I made my annual call to my dear friend Alice on her birthday.  Alice is one of my sewing mentors.  What a wealth of knowledge she has accumulated over her 86 years.  There was a time when I spent one pleasure-filled day a week at Alice's studio, happily mingling with other sewers, sharing successes and pondering challenges on our particular projects at the time.  I learned so much there!  And met so many wonderful people (I was going to say women, but indeed there was the occasional man, too) who all shared my enthusiasm for dressmaking and tailoring.  All the techniques I had learned in classes, books and in my own sewing room seemed to come together in that room and make sense!  What a joy to be part of such a community.  I miss it to this day. 

I am fortunate to work in an environment where fabric (my first love) and sewing are the business of the day!  Most of our staff are well-experienced garment sewers and many engage in other handcrafts as well — knitting, stitching, handbags, beading, fabric painting... You can see that this is a very creative place to be!  I count myself lucky to be in such surroundings every day.  If I have a question about how a particular fabric will work for a type of garment, we have a group "think."  Sometimes a beautiful fabric comes into the warehouse and we are not sure how our customers would use it in garment construction.  My question:  What's your vision?  It's so much fun to hear the different responses and the answers open my mind to so many possibilities that had not been there before the question was posed. 

All of us in the creative arts need this kind of community.  How lucky for us that these opportunities exist online.  On Friday, we had a busy day at the warehouse with lots of visitors.  As I worked around the room with our various customers, I was struck by the wide range of age and experience of those present.  All were happily coming in and out of their own reverie to interact with one another (strangers, all) and exclaim over the selections of another customer or offer an opinion on the choices available.  One of the customers was new to SBDF and told me she found us through Pattern Review. We talked about the importance of online communities and she shared with me her view that part of the joy of handcrafting is the cross-generational aspect — the ability to learn from others more experienced and in turn to teach others. So true — a kindred spirit!

I've spent the weekend working on our community at SBDF.  As most of you know from our previous post, our Savvy Sewer Salon has recently been upgraded to a sleeker look with more options for users.  We have active sew-alongs right now and more coming a little later in the spring.  We invite all of you to register in the Salon and participate in whatever way works best for you.  If you're a lurker, that's just fine.  If you like posing questions to sewers who may have different experience than yours, that's just fine.  If you enjoy sharing your progress on a particular project, great.  If you would like to coordinate a sew along or do a book review or tell an experience you've had with a particular technique, great!  We just want to encourage all of you to join us in the Salon as often as you can.  The greater the group, the greater the camaraderie. 

If you are on Facebook, there's a new face there too!  (I've learned it's a sign of spring when all the cyber highways start making road repairs!)  We're new to Facebook this year, but our public profile page is growing.  We post Fabric Facts each week with interesting tidbits about particular fabrics we have in stock.  We post announcements of Sew Alongs and other upcoming events.  We post photos of life around the warehouse or customer projects.  You can post your photos there too — fan photos.  We'd love to have you visit the page often and post to the wall.  What are you looking for on our Facebook page?  Let us know.

So this weekend, I decided it was time to Twitter.  We're just getting started, but we'll do our best to keep new and interesting info coming your way.  We hope to use Twitter to notify you of updates or little tweets about our daily accomplishments at SBDF.  Come follow us on Twitter!

We hope that all of our customers and followers will find a venue that suits their needs for communal sewing talk!  Join us in whatever way/s work for you! 

New and Improved for Spring

We have some new faces for spring!  We recently upgraded the system that powers our Savvy Sewer Salon.  The new interface provides a sleeker look and offers some new features to improve your experience when you visit the Salon.

Salon Home

As you scroll down the Salon Home page, the Forums will highlight in yellow for ease of reading. 

The icons next to each forum will turn red when there are new posts since your last visit. 

You can see other venues from the Sawyer Brook Community on the right hand feature bar.

While we were at it, we did some spring cleaning and organized the forums in like groups:

Concierge--Always there for questions and help on the workings of the forum

Sewing and Collaboration--Active sewers share ideas, techniques, successes and challenges!

The Art of Sewing--Whether its a question for another sewer, some insight on interfacing or fabric care or just a comment on buttons, this is place to discuss!

Sewing Lifestyle--All things fun that are related to sewing.

Forum Pages

In addition to the breadcrumb navigation at the top of the page, you'll find easy to use features for search, print and email.

You can also navigate to any other forum using "jump" at the bottom of the page.

You can now share any forum or topic with your friends on Facebook by using the link at the top next to the RSS feed link.

Users

If you are already registered in the Salon, be sure to check in on Member Settings as there are new features there, too!

OK, my all time favorite new feature??  We can now save a post in draft.  How many times do you get part way through a post and get interupted?  Now you can save and come back later!!  Yay!

Become a Fan!

The holiday break was supposed to be just that -- a break!  We actually ended up working much of the time as our online sale was very popular with customers in a hurry for bargains.  That's ok, we always have fun when we're working here!  We did get a chance to start a page on Facebook.  We hope you'll become a fan and help us spread the word about fine fabrics.  We're so proud of the fabrics we find and want everyone to know that it's still possible to get fine quality fabrics for your sewing projects.   So many customers tell us they nearly gave up sewing before they found us.  We'll have none of that!!!  Sewing is alive and well at Sawyer Brook and we want everyone to know it!  Just wait until you see our Spring 2009 collections.  I'll have more to say later this week on that subject and maybe a sneak pic or two! 

Ice Cold Facts

Some of you have asked how we have fared through the recent ice storm in Central Massachusetts so I thought I'd let you know.  Amazingly, the warehouse building that houses Sawyer Brook Fabrics never lost power.  We were fortunate to be in a part of town that was unaffected.  Many of our staff however have been without power for up to five days.  We are now all back in the modern world, some with insurance claims to make on car and house damage and loss, but overall we have fared well.  Many in Central Mass and Southern NH are still without power so we hold them in our thoughts and hope that the next storm does not make matters worse.  Here's a scene in a nearby town.

 

Sew It Seams

Customer Service can be fun!  Sometimes our most interesting days come from customer requests or concerns.  Recently a good customer of ours told us about a problem she'd had using one of our velvets.  Via Manzoni is a unique rayon/silk velvet woven into a lightweight base.

"I made from this fabric a vest and slightly loose skirt with a black blouse. Looks great and very sophisticated but with the least bit of tension when wearing the seams start raveling and bursting loose. Since this fabric is on sale now I am wondering should I order it again and make another type of skirt because it makes a great looking outfit."

We had a lot of questions, so we called Daisy to discuss the issue with her.  Had she lined the skirt-yes, had she finished the seams-yes.  Was the skirt snug--a little.  So we went to work.  Judy took our sampling strip home and stitched a seam.  She used white thread so we could easily see if the seam pulled.  When I arrived at work Judy was wearing the "skirt"!  Problem is, Judy is slender and the makeshift skirt was a little big on her.  I stepped up and offered my more ample hips.

Within ten minutes the white thread was showing and we could see the problem easily. The way the fabric was woven, the "velvet" portion was separated and under duress it pulled away from the lightweight backing.

Conclusion:  The backing on this velvet is not substantial enough for a structured garment that will stress at the seams such as skirts, or tailored armholes. We made a few suggestions to salvage the existing garment such as stabilizing with interfacing on the seams, sewing with lightweight silk thread to lessen the strain on the backing, or encasing the seam from the outside by topstitching a band of black down each side seam.

For more discussion of this problem, see Ask a Savvy Sewer in the Salon.

New Web Store

We are so excited to launch our new storefront!  We know this will be a wonderful improvement in our ability to present all our beautiful fabrics to our customers, and the back side of the store will make a marked difference in our ability to process the orders and to continue to provide our famous customer service.

Tips for Shopping

Be sure to view the store at full screen for ease of navigation.

We recommend that you register and create an account.  This will allow our system to keep a record of your orders so that you can review them whenever you want, and you can easily track the progress of an open order.

Remember that this is a new system for us.  As always, be sure to check your confirmation to verify that the order has come to us as you intended.  Your credit card will not be charged until we are ready to ship.

Here are some of the improvements you'll notice

Shopping Cart at a Glance
As you shop, your cart will be visible and editable on the side of each store page.

Best Match Service
You are now able to add our popular Best Match Service right to your shopping cart. 

Alternate Images
We will be able to present the fabrics to you with alternate images when appropriate.  For instance, sometimes you want to see a flat image to get the full view of the print or plaid.  We'll be able to include pictures for scale and close ups of certain parts of a print.  We'll include pictures that show button choices when we can. All of this photographing takes time, so bear with us.  These options are not fully in use yet, but they're coming!

Related Items
You'll be able to see coordinates on the same page.  Scroll to the bottom of the page to view this feature.

Options
We can now offer multiple sizes of buttons on a single product page--whew!  You will be able to select size and color options from this single view.  Note: We do our best to stay on top of the button inventory.  If you receive a message that the options you've chosen are not available, please contact customer service to find out the exact number of buttons in your chosen size and color that we have available.  From our end, we will work hard at posting out-of-stocks on a timely basis. 

Gift Certificates
From now on, any new gift certificates issued can be redeemed directly through the cart system. The balance is automatically adjusted. 

Better search function
The search finds words in the name, stock number and description making it much easier to find a specific fabric or type of fabric.

Shop by Designer
Have a favorite?  Use our drop-down on the side navigation bar to find fabrics by designer.

Featured Items Page
We'll highlight new items, new images of existing items and new coordinates as they occur. You can also see newly added items in the Featured section of each category.   

Ship to multiple addresses
Simply choose "other" in the Ship To drop-down for an item before adding it to your cart.  You can also keep an "address book" of commonly used addresses if you create an online account.

Customer reviews of each item: This is a great place to share your experience with a particular fabric or to share a creative vision.

E-mail an item to a friend:  Have a sewing buddy that's looking for the fabric you just found on our site?  Click Email to a friend and send it off to her/him.  (Because this is automated, your friend's e-mail service may mistakenly mark it as spam -- be sure to remind your friend to check!)

We hope you'll enjoy the new look and the new features!

Fall 2008 at SBDF

We've had a busy summer and I've been lax about posting to the blog.  So much to say...so little time!!

We have a fabulous fall season coming up so we hope you all gear up your your machines  and your creativity and and get ready to sew!  I'll be talking about individual fabrics as I can.  In the meantime, subscribers are already receiving their third mailer of the Autumn season.  If you don't subscribe, we post fabrics that are still in stock to the web store about 2 weeks after we mail to subscribers.  You can follow along there.

Speaking of the web store.  We are in the process of moving to a new store front.  This will take some time and perhaps a little patience on the part of our customers, but when all is said and done, we believe the store will be a better place to shop!  We'll keep you updated as we progress and if you have any problems don't hesitate to contact us.

You'll want to watch the Savvy Sewer Salon for a new video sew along hosted by Jennifer Stern of J Stern Designs.  You can see the pattern she'll use at her web site.  The sewalong will encompass beginner techniques and Jennifer's suggestions for finishing touches to her simple, wearable, fashionable tee!  She'll be available for questions through the Salon as you watch the video and make your own.  Fun for any level of sewist!

We have some wonderful Boutique fabrics coming in the next few weeks.  Watch this blog and the web store for up to date info on luxurious offerings that are rare in today's marketplace. 

We're looking forward to a visit from Pattern Review members on September 20th.  It's always good to have our first group visit early in the season --it forces us to clean up our act in the Rem room!!!  We'll be cleaning, sorting, re-pricing and generally sprucing things up for PR.  If you aren't familiar with Pattern Review...check it out. 

As you can see we have a very busy fall.  This is our crunch season because the advent of the  holidays compresses our mailing schedule.  Be on the lookout for rich harvest colors of deep pumpkin, squash, melon and bright fern green; trendy blue teal and cranberry pink; classic black and elegant ivory in every fabrication we could find; and purples from magenta to blue violet!! Watch for lots of mailers (at least one per month) and act quickly if you want to get first dibs on the great fabrics! 

What's in a name?

We name our fabrics for several reasons.  First and foremost our customers enjoy it!  Secondly, it serves as a convenient communication tool around the warehouse.  If we said Judy, do we have anymore 70902?  We would get a blank stare.  But on the other hand if we said Judy, do we have any Hacienda left, she'd know the answer right away!  Last week I overheard Sue on the phone with a customer.  She said, I have no idea who comes up with these names sometimes!!  Well, I knew right away which names she was referring to in our Autumn I mailer.  And I know who came up with the ideas! 

Since we name both buttons and fabric, we often feel creatively challenged to come up with new names.  In August, I was working on catalog copy at home and asked my husband for help. When we bought the business years ago, we used to name many of the fabrics together, but I hadn't asked his help in awhile so his mind was fresh!!  the names ususally come about because the texture, color or combination of these attributes triggers a thought.  Then its to Google or some other source to refine and romance the concept. So here are a couple Don came up with and the explanations behind the names. 

Cucurbits   
"This reminds me of a field ready for fall harvest" ~Don

Cucurbit Any of various mostly climbing or trailing plants of the family Cucurbitaceae, which includes the squash, pumpkin, cucumber, gourd, watermelon, and cantaloupe.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.

Black Drusy

"The texture on this piece is reminiscent of chrystallized minerals." ~Don

This lead him to a search of black gems where he learned about drusy--a perfect description for this textural fabrication.

We're always looking for new names for black solids...if you have suggestions, bring them on!

A Wedding Picture

This summer was busy in so many ways, but one of the highlights was a personal one!  Our eldest son, Andrew, was married.  We are so happy to have Kristy join our family officiallly.  When they were planning their wedding, they told me there was an area at the venue that could use a little fabric enhancement.  The venue they chose was originally (early 20th century) a bank.  What a lot of character in this well-preserved building!  The area where the ceremony was held had a row of decorative mirrors.  Kristy had sent me a pic of the bridesmaid's dresses--soft gray and cream print.  How fortunate was I when a sample of this silk/rayon burnout came across my desk! 

At the suggestion of the coordinator, we added white tulle to beef up the silk.  I showed Colleen the picture of the mirrored area. She suggested we drape it up and over the light fixture to add height. The day before the wedding I corralled my daughter, my son's friend and my sister and brother-in-law.  This is what we came up with--simple, but elegant for this lovely event.  Sometimes it takes a village....

Of course, the silk is well-suited to blouses, dresses and skirts as well as wedding embellishments!

Chandra

Excuses, Excuses!

Well, it's been way too long since I've written an entry.  You wouldn't believe how busy we are!  Here's what's been happening this summer at SBDF

First we are working hard to find a solution to the increased postal rates.  They are a real challenge for those of us in the business of mailing product.  Basically it comes down to machinable or non-machinable.  If the envelopes exceed certain thicknesses, they automatically kick up to the next level of rates.  The impact is significant.  As you know, we have always been committed to putting the money into the fabric and not the presentation.  We want you to have an enjoyable experience with our swatches, but what's the point of a beautiful package of lesser quality fabrics?  So, we've been experimenting with different options.  One thing is clear...we will no longer staple the packets together.  We know some of you find this difficult, but we also believe you would rather our hold the line on pricing than boost it to cover additional postal costs.  In an effort to make this transition easier on our customers, we have added an IDentifier for each description to make it clear which write up matches the swatch.  We're definitely open to customer feedback, but we don't have a lot of wiggle room!

We've also been working on a revamp of our website.  It launched today!  You'll find easy drop down menus, navigation tailored to the focus of each page and a restful environment in which to view the fabrics.  We hope this format makes the site more enjoyable for you.  Let us know what you think.

I've been trying to keep up with the Sew Along in the forum.  I'm quite a bit behind, but I grab a few minutes when I can and it's really fun to read what others are doing with the same pattern.  If you want to wander around in the Salon, click here. 

Let's see...we have tons, I mean tons of fabric arriving daily for the fall season.  We just posted some new fall printed knits and are working on getting our coatings up soon.  Where I've fallen behind is sharing with you some of the unique fabrications we're processing.  Read the next post for the beginning of that story.

Dixie and I completed our custom button orders today.  We expect them in October.  In a few days, I'll post some of the newest imports that just arrived this month. 

So other than that, we're not doing a thing--LOL!!  Thanks for listening.