kathelyne (kathelyne) wrote in history_today, @ 2008-05-24 16:10:00 |
|
|||
Ok, I realise I haven't had much time for IJ at all latley, I have been very busy with uni (final semester! almost done now) work, trying to find time to sew for events comming up and other places on the net (IJ being the last place I joined and the so one of the first to be dropped when I need to back of the net for some RL time. Sorry! Facebook went before IJ did, so thats something!)
Anyway, I have a survey for anyone interested. I'm not trying to sell anything to you guys, just looking for some input for some fingerlooping stuff I want to sell at my local medieval fair (They are fine with re-enactors selling stuff from their encampments, I don't need stall or anything)
This is cross posted to my personal journal, sorry if you see it twice!
Ok, so I am going to make some garters, ties and lacing cords, if for nothing else but to use up my excess stuff. Explanation- when I buy silk or wool to make a cord with, there is plenty left over for another cord, but I want cords in different colours, I don’t want all my lacing cords, ties and garters the same- especially as I like wool garters and silk lacing cords! So I will have plenty of stuff sitting round to make cords with and see if they sell without having to make a too big investment.
So, I’m looking into input of what to make, anyone can answer. You can answer all the questions, some or none. You can answer the ‘spirit’ of the question or tell me something I don’t ask. Its perfectly alright to tell me you wouldn’t spend your money on fingerlooped laces unless I could compete with the price of $0.79 shoelaces!
Ok, so first what I can do.
I can make fingerloop braids that have fairly-very even tension down their length. I can make them in one or two colours. I can make round cord like this http://kathelyne.deviantart.com/art/Blue-a
I can do flat cords like this http://kathelyne.deviantart.com/art/Blue-y
I can also do a half round which looks very similar to the above, and a flat cord that looks just the same as the above but the bands of colour are shorter.
I can also do a flat chevron style, which is very flat and strong, and has a chevron of V pattern of alternating colours going down the length. I don’t have any photos of these latter styles sorry, I really need to update my photos!
Also note, the photos above were all wool and cotton, whereas now I use wool and silk.
I can finish the ends of with knots and tassels (great for garters) or with aglets (little metal points) for laces and ties.
I can make my cords small enough to go through the smallest lacing rings used here, and I can get aglets that small too. I can make them big and chunky (2cm wide) or as small as 6 strands of silk. One of the standard sizes I make is 2-3 mm wide depending on the braiding technique (flat or round), and another size is 4-6mm.
So, here come the QUESTIONS. For all of these assume you were at a place where I had a stall, ie that you could see and handle the braids before buying and didn’t have to worry about shipping and internet etc. Don’t forget, you DON’T have to answer all (or any!), and you can make general comments or answer things I don’t ask.
Would you buy finger looped garters, lacing cords and/or ties?
How much would you consider spending on them?
What would you think was a fair price?
At what price would you think they were a great deal and grab more than one?
At what price would you have to go away and think about it, making sure there was nothing else you would rather spend your money on?
You can answer these generally, or break it up by what you are buying (more for a thick lace than a thin, less for a wool garter, more for a silk cord etc). Answers such as ‘your materials plus $X times the time it took to make” are fine, just are plain dollar values. (Feel free to state what currency you are thinking in, no need to translate to Aussie dollars!). Also feel free to put a price on length too.
Would you prefer them to be based on historical examples, or would you be happy to buy a braid that MAY have been used? Would you like documentation (ie, a tiny card stating where and when this has been found and what the source is attached) with your braid, would you be interested in a sign on the stall that listed the different braids, or don’t you care at all?
Would you prefer one colour or two colour braids?
For one colour, what colours would you like to see?
For two colours, what colour combinations would you like?
Would you like the option of having a custom braid made for you (at the same pricing scale as the pre-made ones) or would you prefer to see the braid before you buy it?
What materials would you want them made out of (can be anything you can think of! Feel free to state different materials for different uses)
What length and/or thickness would you like the braids to be? (feel free to break this down, garters will be shorter than corset laces etc!)
Would you be interested in buying braids with unfinished ends (just knotted) so you could finish them in the way you preferred, or even use them as trim or for purse strings? Would you expect to pay less for these, and if so how much less?
Any other comments?
If you took the time to answer (or even read!) this, thank you! Feel free to answer as a reply or email on scairy_person [at] hotmail [dot] com
Thanks!
Kath