Cozy Hearth Yarn Works, aka "the knit business" - Kit & asynch's fiber art for hire

Discussion in 'Make It So' started by paladinkit, Apr 19, 2019.

  1. paladinkit

    paladinkit brave little paladin

    Tomorrow, I am scheduled to receive a whopping SIXTY skeins of bare yarn for final tweaks, dyeing master samples, and having a bit of bare stock on hand for first orders. Still no promises on an exact date, but barring emergencies or a yellow crisis, we're on time for opening yarn sales on our first two bases sometime in the third week of September!
     
    • Winner x 6
  2. jacktrash

    jacktrash spherical sockbox

    are you considering offering a bargain bin or something on the colors that didn't come out right? because it occurs to me they'd be nice for weaving or needlepoint -- a bunch of very-close-but-not-same reds would be a wonderful thing to have for roses or sunsets, for instance. and ime a 2'x3' navajo-woven rug takes maybe two or three skeins altogether, so you don't need more than half a skein of any given color, you know? and needlepoint takes even less.
     
    • Informative x 1
  3. paladinkit

    paladinkit brave little paladin

    We'd definitely talked about it! I have an overflowing box of test skeins, so it would take me a while to photograph them all but we'll probably get them on the website, if not on the release day of the main colorways. It's the kind of thing that would be easier to tote to IRL festival vending, but we don't have any festivals scheduled right now either.
     
  4. jacktrash

    jacktrash spherical sockbox

    you could just photograph them in a pile and sell them as a grab bag.
     
    • Useful x 1
  5. paladinkit

    paladinkit brave little paladin

    IMG_20190909_161427_216.jpg

    Three of the master skeins I have so far-- donn, liath, and gorm.
     
    • Winner x 5
  6. idiomie

    idiomie I, A Shark Apologist

    that's gorgeous! i'm really loving liath and gorm
     
    • Like x 1
  7. jacktrash

    jacktrash spherical sockbox

    absolutely delightful!
     
    • Like x 1
  8. IvyLB

    IvyLB Hardcore Vigilante Gay Chicken Facilitator

    ohhhh man i wish i could deal with sheepwool, gorm and donn are so up my alley
     
    • Witnessed x 1
  9. paladinkit

    paladinkit brave little paladin

    I can look into non wool protein fiber yarn bases again, but at least as of my last search they were all alarmingly expensive :/ unfortunately

    Edit to add: I did some quick review of what's available in my suppliers, and varying blends of alpaca, suri alpaca, and silk would, after I dyed them, range from about $30 per 50g skein to $42 per 100g skein with our current pricing formula applied.
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2019
  10. jacktrash

    jacktrash spherical sockbox

    paradise fibers has 100g skeins of silk for $22, which is VERY reasonable, and i seem to recall they do bulk discount stuff, though i've only ever bought bulk from knitpicks before so i'm not experienced.
     
  11. jacktrash

    jacktrash spherical sockbox

    i know you're working on your wool colorways rn, but have you got any plans to dye spinning fiber? i'd love to buy your colorways in roving or batt form so i could make long color shift yarn of them. i think liath especially would make an absolutely wonderful subtle ombre for a shawl or long scarf.
     
  12. paladinkit

    paladinkit brave little paladin

    I'll have to do some research to see if they'll do bulk discounts! I hadn't thought of them bc I pretty much only buy fiber from their store :)
    I am planning on doing fiber eventually! I just want to get better at dyeing fiber - I haven't nailed down the process the way I have with yarn.
     
    • Like x 3
  13. paladinkit

    paladinkit brave little paladin

    So Em and I did some talking, and we don't have solid answers yet (and it wouldn't be immediately relevant anyway since we don't currently have the investment money for more yarn base bulk orders), but we're definitely going to tweak our pricing formula to make these options more affordable. Our primary mission with this business has always been making nice quality handmade stuff more accessible, and pricing is a huge part of that, and we're not happy with the numbers I quoted there.
     
    • Winner x 1
  14. jacktrash

    jacktrash spherical sockbox

    it's honestly not that bad a price for small batch artisan handpaints. but yeah, if 'affordable' is your aim, you're a bit above that window. i'm smack in the center of 'middle class' and i could afford enough for a lap blanket or a good long scarf, but not enough for a sweater big enough to fit me. if labor is bumping the cost up, refining your workflow will be key, which it sounds like you're already focusing on. but the fact that doubling the material adds $12 suggests your biggest issue is sourcing the yarn. bulk discounts might be the answer.

    i'm not trying to tell you how to run your business; you undoubtedly know more about it than me. just thinking about how stuff gets priced. i stopped selling my handspun because etsy was too much of a pain in my ass, tbh. :P
     
    • Like x 2
    • Useful x 1
  15. paladinkit

    paladinkit brave little paladin

    To get into the nitty-gritty details of pricing... I'd started at the recommend materials (including consumables) times three or four, just bc I have no way to reasonably calculate how much time I'm spending just on dye, but that gives me an average daily income on dyeing days comparable to Em's skilled part-time job. And for our more basic bases that works, but it doesn't actually cost any more labor to dye a fancier base! So we're going back through and changing up the numbers to make labor costs consistent across bases rather than just using a plug-and-go formula. (and tbh, i always appreciate feedback!)
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2019
    • Informative x 1
  16. paladinkit

    paladinkit brave little paladin

    Of note- this kind of adjustment doesn't work if you do a lot of wholesale or traditional retail agreements! Most shops want a contract for a percentage, so having materials costs be a larger percentage of some bases than others can end with you actually losing money unless you charge ridiculous final prices. But we're not interested in that anyway, so it works for us.
     
    • Informative x 2
  17. IvyLB

    IvyLB Hardcore Vigilante Gay Chicken Facilitator

    honestly I'll talk with my mom if it's reasonable, i do sometimes wear wool as overthings, what was the yarn length again? I think i have a pattern for a very simple triangle capelet somewhere
    gonna keep up and see if i can figure things out, when/if you end up doing silks i'll def be interested!
     
    • Like x 1
  18. paladinkit

    paladinkit brave little paladin

    RUA!!!
    IMG_20190911_162139_279.jpg

    Also, have a bonus kitty assistant:
    IMG_20190911_162139_280.jpg
     
    • Winner x 5
  19. jacktrash

    jacktrash spherical sockbox

    i REALLY like those subtle color variations.
     
    • Agree x 4
  20. paladinkit

    paladinkit brave little paladin

    Thank you! That's, like the whole theme of this colorway series - the variations within a color as defined by the color words used in the Irish language.
     
    • Winner x 3
    • Like x 2
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