To answer your question… — Naptime Inspirations

Recently I asked you for some blogpost ideas and I’m so grateful that you responded! I’m excited to tackle some of those questions here!

1. How do you feel when you see a person out and about with one of your creations?

Answer: Elated! It mostly happens when I’m with friends, because of course they are such wonderful customers. I’ve even chuckled when I’m with a group of friends and they all start pulling Naptime Inspirations’ products out of their purses. But it makes me feel good to know that I made something that someone else enjoys using. I don’t have too many random sightings, but I do recall one as I was scrolling through pictures of an event that was held in downtown Lancaster and I spotted someone holding my wallet! That was really cool!

2. How many hours of work go into your items?

Answer: This is best answered in multiple parts (in other words, here’s the LONG answer!). When I find a pattern I want to make, I read over it and note what fabric and notions are required. Often I have enough of these things on hand to give it a go. I may not have exactly what the pattern calls for, but I have something close enough to work. It’s much like cooking—who ever follows a recipe exactly?? The first time I make something it can take a while, especially if I make a mistake and have to rip out seams and re-do. If I make it and enjoyed the process and believe it’s a quality and useful product, then it goes into production mode. I don’t keep track of how much time it takes me to choose a pattern, fabric, notions, etc. for something I make for the first time.

Just like in cooking, I almost always tweak a pattern to put my spin on it. In production mode I make sure I have several sets of required notions (zippers, buckles, snaps, etc.). I choose several different fabric combinations. I cut them all out at the same time. This is called “batching.” This is often either just as long as the construction stage and sometimes longer. Not only do you have to do the design of putting together fabric combinations, but you need to cut the lining pieces, cut the interfacing pieces, and iron the interfacing on to all of those pieces. Besides choosing the fabric combinations, this is the boring part! Once all of the pieces are ready to assemble, I begin construction. When I first started my business I didn’t keep track of my time—BIG MISTAKE!! I have since learned the valuable lesson that my TIME is vitally important. It’s a big pain to time myself making a product to get an accurate number, but it’s essential. In fact, on my To-Do list right now is to accurately time myself making one of my products to see if the time estimate I have for that product is right. The reason that is so important is because I might be able to shave a few dollars off the cost of that item! Time is the most expensive component of any item I make. Now that I know this, I cringe as I scroll through Etsy because I know that many of the Makers are not paying themselves much if anything for their time. I set a fair hourly wage for myself and stick to it.

So how many hours does it take to make some of my items? I can tell you because I have that information in a spreadsheet! Bibs and pillow covers take about 30 minutes to make (start to finish). That assumes that the designs are already made (i.e. I have pattern pieces to trace and cut). Zipper pouches take about 45 minutes. Wallets take about 2 hours. The reason I haven’t offered backpacks for sale yet is because I need to figure out how much time they take to make. In order to do that accurately I need to become more proficient at making them. I do that by making several that often go to my girls, myself, or I give as gifts. If I do end up selling backpacks, their retail price will have to reflect the amount of time it takes to make them. Handmade products are often not for bargain shoppers. But they are definitely one-of-a-kind works of functional art!

3. What are your favorite stores/sites?

Answer: I assume this is asking about my favorite places to buy supplies. I’ve been buying fabric from Fabricworm.com for many years. They have some of the most unique and adorable prints I’ve seen anywhere. Often I shop their sale section which means when it’s gone it’s gone. I may only have ½ yard of a really cool fabric. I also buy from Fabric.com, Amazon, Hancocks, and JoAnn Fabrics. For notions I’ll often check Amazon. If they don’t have what I need I’ll go to Etsy. The great thing about Etsy is that I can buy the quantities that I want. I don’t need to buy 100 zippers but I can buy 20 zippers. Once in a while, if I can’t find what I need on any of those places, then I go to AliExpress. This is a last resort because things ship from China. They are super cheap but I don’t feel great because I know what that likely means for the people who are doing the labor. Incidentally, even on Etsy I usually check to see where the item is shipping from and I choose American distributers whenever possible. And then there are a few unlikely but oh-so-rewarding places to find supplies. Thrift shops and Lancaster Creative ReUse are a must! Yard sales can be great. The MCC Relief Sale in the spring is a fantastic place to find vintage quilt pieces and textiles. And the Goodwill bins where you rummage through bins and pay for your items by weight. If you’re willing/able to repurpose clothing and curtains, you’re golden!

The other questions you all gave me I’ll address in another blogpost because they were a bit more personal in nature. I love the questions! Keep them coming!!

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