kustom kribs

So on my last post I mentioned that I'm going to try to start a small business. Don't worry if this is a surprise and you didn't read that far...I mentioned it in the last paragraph and it was a long post. But I've made a small start on promoting it: I have a logo up (it's on the right) and I've got an email address. And now I'll shamelessly promote it by stating what, exactly, I'll be selling. I will focus on two core products:

• Kustom Krib Set - Includes a baby quilt, crib bumper, dust ruffle and fitted sheet
  
• Kid's Klothes Kwilt - A quilt made from your kid's old clothes

The key here is customizing (perhaps I should say Kustomizing instead!). People can place orders one of three ways: first, by giving me a color scheme, naming the primary color and two secondary colors; second, by giving me a theme and primary and secondary colors; or third, by choosing a primary and secondary fabric, which I'll eventually have up on my website. That's still to come, by the way; Ryan's building it for me (giving him some practice since he wants to learn) and I'll scan in the various fabrics I have available and people can choose their faves--I'll fill in the rest. I might also have patterns to choose from eventually and would definitely use a specific pattern upon request, but I think it's more fun to choose a pattern after choosing the fabrics. As part of the customizing, I can even provide the option for embroidering a child's name, birthdate, etc. on part of the quilt for an extra charge (I have connections :)).

Pricing will probably start around $200 for a Kustom Krib Set and around $75 for a Kid's Klothes Kwilt (prices for those will depend on size and the amount of fabric I have to buy to supplement the clothing provided). And, to stick with the kustomizing theme, I can do other items upon request: twin, full/queen, king, or decorative (throw) quilts; pillow shams; and window valances. I'll have to figure out the pricing on those items, probably on individual orders at first and then, after I've done a few (positive thinking here), I should be able to give a standard price. One thing to note is that everything will be machine pieced and quilted--I don't have the time for hand quilting!

Of course, people need a way to reach me, so I've set up a secondary email account (which I'm sure will get a ton of spam since it's on the web, but that's why it's secondary): kustomkribs@gmail.com. For now, people can reach me through that and I will get back with them via phone or email. Anyone who places an order with me can expect me to keep in touch while I'm working, since I'll want to make sure they like what I'm working on. I've also been advised to try selling on etsy.com, so I think I'll check it out--I've never been on the site so will need to familiarize myself with it first.

One other thing I'm thinking of is payment. I think for now I'll ask for half up front and then send pics when I'm finished with the product and request the rest before I send it out. If they don't like it, I'll keep the product and $25 (to cover at least a little bit of my cost) and send them the rest of their money back. Turn around time on orders will vary, depending on the volume of work I have to do (again, thinking positive) and the type of order, but I should be able to give each customer an estimated time frame when orders are placed.

So, those are my ideas so far. Doing this bit by bit, so if you have questions or are waiting for the website, pics of work done, etc., keep checking back! It'll come along, and I'll let you know if this actually takes off and works. Baby just woke up, so gotta go!