An Update from Our Founder

Small business math.

I’ve been making & selling sewn products for 32 years. I love the process. I love sewing the samples, working out the design, figuring out what need it serves and what bits + bobs it requires. 

I love trying new things. 

I love working with our local small batch manufacturing partner, Hendra, and his team. I love deciding what to offer, tweaking the product to be the best it can be.

BUT. Here's where the math comes in:

We have 22 products.

Each product is made in 7 - 12 print options.

Some come in multiple sizes.

Since we usually make batches of items, at any given time we have up to 50 of each individual product style or SKU #. 

SO… 22 x 9 x 50? 

That’s up to 6,000 products at any given time!

More numbers:

We have 32 laminated cotton fabrics to choose from. 

We sell everything on 2 platforms - wholesale & retail.

We have served 21,000 customers since we started on Shopify 8 years ago! 

Last year we shipped ~ 6,000+ orders. (WOW!!! Thank you thank you thank you.)

Sarah, Tracy, and Becky 

All of this is managed by a tiny (but mighty) team:

Sarah, our warehouse manager/photographer
Becky, our marketing magician
David, our engineer on staff for # crunching, rack building, etc
Hendra, our sewing contractor
Amy, our bookkeeper
Chico & Gary, our resident orange cats (they are very helpful).
Me, Tracy - owner, designer, avid outdoors person. (I'm writing this today from an island in Puget sound we kayaked to.)

Chico - Quality Control

Gary - Design Supervisor

This year, we dabbled in working with a product fulfillment partner, but now that is morphing too. We are keeping Valerie as a sales person and bringing the products back in-house.

Remember when we said we can have up to 6,000 products at any given time? 

While everyone likes variety, things that sit on the shelf for too long feel stale, while also being too much for us to handle and confusing for you, our dear, esteemed customers.

So going forward, we will be streamlining our sewn product offerings to our best sellers.

That means that 4-5 evergreen sewn products will always be available. We will continue to offer our standard best selling rectangle tablecloths (other tablecloths will be available by custom order). We will offer a couple of bags. Which ones? Best sellers. We will launch other sewn products seasonally.

We will make a batch, launch it, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Then we will offer something new!

Sooooo. If you see something on our website you like, get it now! Many things are not coming back.

We are streamlining and making things simpler for all of us. CHANGE IS GOOD and it’s time for a change! 

Tracy workshopping a pattern design.

What will this simpler way of doing things make more time for? The things we love most!

We are deep diving into designing new fabric prints, and into offering more sewing patterns and video sewing tutorials on our website & YouTube channel - have you seen them? 

Our Fabric of the Month Club has been fabulous and kicked our butts (in a good way)! Now, 12 months in, we have 55 members. (Are you one of them?) It has evolved our visions for our fabrics as we show you all their potential. This month, in September’s Fabric of the Month Club we are shipping our most requested bag sewing pattern! AND we are shipping you the notions to make it too. 

Tracy working on the tech part of fabric print design.

Our Facebook Insiders group is over 1,200 strong and everyone is constantly sharing their projects and helping and supporting each other. We love that! 

On a personal note, this business is one of my babies. (I have 3 spectacular sons too, and a grandson on the way.) It’s morphed over the years, to be sure. From eyeglass cases to kids clothes (IMPWEAR) to tablecloths & bags using laminated cottons designed by others (IMPWEARhome) to building my own laminated cotton line (SPLASH FABRIC).

To me, designing fabric is the most fun, and also the biggest learning curve, really.

I have so many ideas about new prints to make… Splash Fabric is lifting off in a new direction I never knew could exist!

My dream for the business is one where we have some select sewn products and more new fabrics. I want more time to develop new sewing patterns too and more time to teach sewing online.

I am and continue to be, a maker helping makers. 

If you love coming to our live shows, we will be at SacBag in Sacramento later this month (a bag sewing show). Later this year we will be at the Urban Craft Uprising Winter Show. Next year we will definitely be at the NW Flower + Garden Show, Sew Expo, and H+H Chicago. I also might possibly traveling to Road2 California in January - stay tuned. 

So what's the takeaway of all of this? 

Simplified product line + expanding fabric designs + new sewing patterns and tutorials = a fun new chapter in the Splash Fabric story!

As always, thank you so much for being a part of this business and journey! It couldn't happen without you!