There’s nothing more difficult for a start up of any kind to part with than money.
But sometimes, that money that was so hard to release ends up buying the very thing that releases that which wastes the most time.
For us, that time waster was trimming.
It was the bane of my existence. In the early days, I would actually bring home bags of product and sit in front of my TV until my eyes were blurry, trimming, trimming, trimming. There wasn’t enough time in the day, and I preferred my sewers to be sewing. As a non-sewer (back then), I figured this was the most practical way for me to contribute to our bottom line.
What I was really doing was obliterating my work/life balance. And I was miserable.
Then, something miraculous happened. I received a grant through Flagstar Bank that was created in partnership with the city of Pontiac, where the factory is located in Michigan. The grant was solely to be used for machinery, which was perfect for us, because machinery was exactly what we needed.
The first machine I purchased was a thread trimmer, which I purchased from ABC Sewing Machine. I was skeptical that it would work the way it was advertised, but I watched so many YouTube videos of ladies in long rows trimming nonstop at Chinese factories, it was hard to deny that thread trimmers are a necessary part of a sewing factory.
There are a variety of options, and I went with one that is a dual trimmer. It has a mounted trimmer on one side, which we sit at and can manipulate the fabric with two hands across it, and then there is a handheld one, which is perfect for bulky items that might be overwhelming to move around the mounted trimmer. It also means two people can trim at once – a nice perk and worth the extra bit of money.
The result? I have never once taken home pieces to trim since this thread trimmer has come into the factory. It’s LOUD, but nothing a good iPod playlist can’t overpower. Trimming is now done by the sewers, and I have my life back.