The tax ID number for my soon-to-be ONS arrived this week, and so did nearly all of the supplies that I ordered. I’m still waiting on some more shapes and sizes of Priority Mail boxes and the confirmation of my fictitious name registration for the business name. Until that comes through, there are only a handful of people who know the name. I won’t release it until I’m sure.
So, the tax ID is here. BIG step that is over and done with. As soon as I’m sure the name is registered, then I can go ahead and start placing a couple of orders for products. I even opened a business banking account on Tuesday afternoon that I will link to my PayPal account. The card linked to the account will take a week or so to arrive and I want to give it a few days for all of the transactions to go through and the account to be truly active before I pull any money out of it.
My initial funding is fairly small and I’m not sure if the product will sell, but I’ll give it a shot (plus I have a backup plan, if all else fails). I’m starting with Dragon Floss, Dinky Dyes floss (cotton only, to start; silks will be added later) and designs from The Cat’s Whiskers Design Studio (just wait until you see her new stuff, you will FLIP!). From there, I will try to get the Margaret Sherry cat designs for all of you cat lovers and some of the latest Valerie Pfeiffer bird designs that are so adorable and realistic.
Any other design requests to start? Keep in mind that once I sell some of this initial product, I’ll be able to fund additional orders and open accounts with more suppliers so that I can get in even more diverse products. I know there are a lot of Mirabilia, Just Nan and The Sweetheart Tree fans out there, so I will try to get some of their newer releases in when I can. Any other designers you like?
I am trying to get a line on kits from a company in Scotland called Textile Heritage, but the US distributor has yet to get back to me. The same goes for Olde Willow Stitchery. I will keep trying.
I know that international designers have been mentioned and I would love to try to get some of the less available ones in for you, if you can give me names and/or websites (preferred). I also have a surprise new and very talented international designer whose designs I will be carrying, but I’m not ready to let that cat out of the bag yet, either. 😉
I know that Gentle Arts Sampler Threads and Weeks Dye Works threads are very popular, but I am going to hold off on those for a while, particularly because they are so popular and are relatively easy to get from any needlework shop. Of course, maybe I am looking at that a bit backwards… Hmmm…
Also, if I were to experiment with regular or hand-dyed fabrics in my first round of orders, what size would you be most likely to purchase? 9 x 13, 13 x 18, or 18 x 27? And would you prefer regular or hand-dyed? Linen or evenweave? What count?
A lot of questions this round. Would you prefer an easier to answer polling mechanism?
[Updated to add: I wrote to Sharon Crescent and received a very prompt answer, so I think that I will probably be carrying Crescent Colours floss, as well. That also means that I can get my hands on those adorable thread packs that Crescent Colours and Little House Needleworks teamed up for. I guess that’s another designer that I should consider – especially the coffee and chocolate menus…]
Just to say that I am already drooling here… 😮
Hmmm, regular higher count linen (up from 32) and evenweaves are both difficult to come by, for some reason so those would be great.
Everything sounds great Jenna! I was going to suggest Crescent Colours in response to one of your earlier posts, but I thought they might fall in the same category as GAST/WDW (e.g. too easily available anywhere else).
As far as fabric goes, I’m a big Lakeside Linens fan, particularly of the 13×18 size, which is difficult to get. Other than that, I love Zweigart linens in 32ct and over and I’d prefer 13×18 or 18×27.
So do you slow down enough to sleep? LOL! Wow, you are so busy!
I prefer larger cuts of fabric, such as 18×26, but as a new stitcher, I definately loved the little 9×13 cuts. They are still handy for mailart. I also love Lakeside Linens, but I won’t be buying anymore linen for awhile so don’t listen too closely to me.
The fibers you’ve decided to go with sound great to me – CC is a great addition, and I love Dragon Floss.
Don’t forget to have a gallery of some sort where people can send pictures of projects they’ve made using stuff bought from you!
Sounds like you’re really getting organised – good on you 🙂 I’d have to echo loving Crescent Colours threads as well, and of course I’m already drooling over the new Cat’s Whiskers range (I feel a birthday splurge coming on … the iPod may just have to wait a bit longer, me thinks haha). As for fabric, it’s difficulting finding a decent range of the over-32ct fabrics (or even the 32ct themselves) … my personal preference is 32-36ct, and the cut size depends on the fabric itself – if it’s a colour I’ll use often, eg natural, I’ll get 18×26, but if I’m unsure of the colour or just want it as a one-off for an ornie or something I’ll get 9×13 – for general use I’d be more likely to buy 13×18 cuts.
As for designers, Sweetheart Tree is up there for me, mainly because I adore their little fob and Teenie Tweenie designs. I’m mostly into ‘smalls’ these days, as opposed to the BAP’s I’ve bought in the past – and adore the little CC/LHN fruit series.
Oh well, I think that’s enough waffling from me – time to go take some more Nurofen and chill out for a bit … good luck with the rest of the planning 😀
I was going to suggest LHN, I’ve really been enjoying her designs. That can be further down the line, if need be. It sounds like things are really moving along. E-mail me if you get too stressed out and need a sounding board!
Tracy and I are after Monaco in more colors than white… And biggish pieces too.
Other than that you have answered all of my stitchie dreams! I am flabbergasted! (Cross stitch dreaming here!)
Angela is a bad influence. She’s getting me hooked on Monaco. Oh the horror! *chuckle*
I’m so proud of you for going out and doing what you love. All the best and I’ll be checking back often.
Something just came into my mind: could it be possible for you to stock platinum needles? I can’t find them like anywhere (ok, I have seen them in *one* ONS) and even they seem to corrode in my hands too they don’t corrode as fast.
And gosh those CCs look good. 😮
I was going to say Crescent Colors so that’s great! Lakeside Linen in 36ct and 40ct is harder to get now Silkweaver have stopped it. I bet if you offered fat eighths in the higher counts you’d get takers. Fat quarters are too much and too expensive for those counts but a fat eighth is perfect 🙂
Congrats on getting the ball rolling with your new shop!
Wow, I am not reading your blog a few weeks, and you are going to start an ONS. Wow. Awesome 🙂 Can’t wait to see your shop open up 🙂 Good luck and I will be stepping by soon.
Wow!! You are amazing!!!! I can’t get over how much you have accomplished in such a short time. I wish I had your drive! 🙂
And so many questions!! Well, first of all, I prefer larger pieces of linen. I generally buy 18×27 32 count linen. I am expanding my linen collection right now to include more 36 count. I like a combination of hand dyed linen and just the plain standard colours offered by Zweigart linen. But whether it is hand dyed or standard, it is all in neutral shades.
As for the Crescent Colors and Little House Needlework kits.. I’ll be first on your list to order them. I’ve been looking at them for ages, but haven’t gotten around to ordering them yet.
As for the Dragon Floss and Dinky Dyes, I have to say that I don’t have very many patterns that call for these types of flosses. Just curious if there is a conversion chart available for these? Or maybe you can look into getting some patterns that use these particular flosses?
Outi’s comments about the needles is excellent. It’s really hard to get descent needles where I am. What I like are Piecemakers and John James petites. I know they’re pretty standard at most LNS stores, but my fully stocked LNS is almost 2 hrs away (can I still consider it a LNS? hehe)!! The store that is close by doesn’t carry either of these.
As for the International designers, I’ll have to take a look and see what I can find. I know I’ve seen some designs on blogs that haven’t been accessible to me, so I’ll do a little window shopping and let you know what I find.
Phew!! now that’s a long comment. I hope it helps! 🙂
I’m so excited for you, Jenna! Everything is coming together for your shop. It sounds like you have good ideas. Awesome!