Busy, Busy Business Update
Nov. 13th, 2007 07:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
browncoat2x2Apologies to those of you who've left me comments that I've not gotten back to yet - especially those of you who took the time to read my old original fiction bit I posted. Life has been busy!
Had Friday off as hubby was in at the sleep clinic. Spent the day building some screen racks into the underside of my press table - enough to hold six screens. All I did was attack some L shaped lengths to the underside legs of the table, but it took all day!! Mostly because I first had to find something suitable - 1 inch x 1 inch corner trim made of powdercoated steel - in 8 foot lengths. I bought 3 lengths and had to cut them down into 12 strips 20 inches long each, then grind the edges with the grinder (imagine!) and then I sanded the edges on the belt sander and rounded the corners so there wouldn't be any pointy edges. Then I had to drill a hole in each end with the drill press. Then I had to measure out where each piece should be attached to the underside of the table, make sure they were level, and screw them on. Doesn't sound like enough to take all day, but it was a good 5 hours all together. In the end, it works brilliantly though.
Now, originally I had planned to build a light safe box around the base of the table so that I could dry my screens there, but in the end I decided that I wanted to use the old cold cellar/storage closet instead. Naturally, in the course of our re-arranging, we had decided that we weren't going to store anything in or use the 'cold cellar' anymore (it's really just a closet that has no insulation, so gets cold and damp) and had subsequently blocked it off with our big wooden chest full of stuff. But we had to move it all anyway, because I had forgotten my tub of emulsion was still in that room.
So, new project! Building and insulating a subfloor and walls in the cold cellar with a moisture barrier to make it useable!! Whee!
I picked up some of the materials saturday evening and then got the rest sunday morning and began working. After seven hours I called it a day, but I had the plastic and frame down for the floor, insulation stuffed in all the openings, the subfloor laid on top of it, the frame up for the walls, the insulating foam in betweent he joists, the plastic coating everything - and discovered that I made a slight planning error in spacing my joists, so we'll have to open up the corner to add a couple more posts tonight, but not too big a deal.
Last night I bought some racking for custom wire drawers and shelves - it has a slight lip that will work for my screen rack inside the cold cellar - which I guess I should call the screen room now - and so I worked on making the frame for that last night, but before I put it all together I realized that it wasn't going to fit through the door if I made it outside the room, so, I had to stop to wait so we can finish the walls first. And now I think I'm going to pick up another set of racks so that I can have twice as many slots for my screens to dry. I will make a shelf on top of both racks for emulsion and whatever else I need to store in there and it will be all good. I'll just have to make the seal around the door light proof and we'll be good to go.
Step by step we are getting closer to launching the business. Baby steps ;o)
Let's see, in other businesss news (sorry, but that's pretty much all my brain is focussed on right now) I have started re-designing the web page from almost scratch. I decided that what I had originally come up with was too busy and colour intensive. It needs to be clearer and cleaner. So, back to the beginning. I also found some open source shopping cart software called Zen Cart that I'm going to look into. It looks pretty versatile and should work well - providing I can understand how to get it running :o) But it can be compeltely customized with cascading style sheets to fit into the site's scheme, so that's great. Then it'll be deciding who to go with for the actual transfer of funds management. Oy, so much to learn!
The hubby is working on the business plan.
I found a new local supplier of screen printing supplies that offers free delivery in the Greater Toronto Area! I have some stuff coming to me at work today. Good find, and prices seem half decent, especially when you factor in the no shipping aspect.
Got some screens on the way from a guy in the States - he's looking to expand his supply business in Canada and is sending us an info package to see if there's anyway we can work together, which has the potential to be exciting.
Haven't heard yet if the one station one colour press has shipped yet. And I should be receiving my vellum transfer papers soon for printing stencils on. I'm eager to try them out, as they are much cheaper than transparencies.
Let's see, what esle. Oh, have confirmed two friends (and their significant others by proxy) to model our t's for us, once we get some made up. We'll use them for advertising and website content.
I've been doing some marketing research and have discovered some interesting ideas. Would you have ever thought of bartering/trading for advertising? What I've read has suggested things like giving a radio station some t-shirts as giveaway prizes in exchange for some free ad spots on air or giving newspapers t-shirts for their promotional giveaways in exchange for print ads. What a cool idea! Not that I'm any good at dealing with people that way, but we'll work on that end of things ;o)
AND I've even been thinking of exploiting all of you here with a T-shirt idea contest!! ;oD
I've been thinking of holding a contest for some T-Shirt ideas, and the best ones/ones we use will get a free t-shirt. I'd like to get some generic fandom shirts - as in, shirts that would relate to the phenomena of fandom itself - things that are common to all fandoms. Like maybe a Mary-Sue shirt! So, if that interests you, watch this space for more info in the future. ;oD
Had Friday off as hubby was in at the sleep clinic. Spent the day building some screen racks into the underside of my press table - enough to hold six screens. All I did was attack some L shaped lengths to the underside legs of the table, but it took all day!! Mostly because I first had to find something suitable - 1 inch x 1 inch corner trim made of powdercoated steel - in 8 foot lengths. I bought 3 lengths and had to cut them down into 12 strips 20 inches long each, then grind the edges with the grinder (imagine!) and then I sanded the edges on the belt sander and rounded the corners so there wouldn't be any pointy edges. Then I had to drill a hole in each end with the drill press. Then I had to measure out where each piece should be attached to the underside of the table, make sure they were level, and screw them on. Doesn't sound like enough to take all day, but it was a good 5 hours all together. In the end, it works brilliantly though.
Now, originally I had planned to build a light safe box around the base of the table so that I could dry my screens there, but in the end I decided that I wanted to use the old cold cellar/storage closet instead. Naturally, in the course of our re-arranging, we had decided that we weren't going to store anything in or use the 'cold cellar' anymore (it's really just a closet that has no insulation, so gets cold and damp) and had subsequently blocked it off with our big wooden chest full of stuff. But we had to move it all anyway, because I had forgotten my tub of emulsion was still in that room.
So, new project! Building and insulating a subfloor and walls in the cold cellar with a moisture barrier to make it useable!! Whee!
I picked up some of the materials saturday evening and then got the rest sunday morning and began working. After seven hours I called it a day, but I had the plastic and frame down for the floor, insulation stuffed in all the openings, the subfloor laid on top of it, the frame up for the walls, the insulating foam in betweent he joists, the plastic coating everything - and discovered that I made a slight planning error in spacing my joists, so we'll have to open up the corner to add a couple more posts tonight, but not too big a deal.
Last night I bought some racking for custom wire drawers and shelves - it has a slight lip that will work for my screen rack inside the cold cellar - which I guess I should call the screen room now - and so I worked on making the frame for that last night, but before I put it all together I realized that it wasn't going to fit through the door if I made it outside the room, so, I had to stop to wait so we can finish the walls first. And now I think I'm going to pick up another set of racks so that I can have twice as many slots for my screens to dry. I will make a shelf on top of both racks for emulsion and whatever else I need to store in there and it will be all good. I'll just have to make the seal around the door light proof and we'll be good to go.
Step by step we are getting closer to launching the business. Baby steps ;o)
Let's see, in other businesss news (sorry, but that's pretty much all my brain is focussed on right now) I have started re-designing the web page from almost scratch. I decided that what I had originally come up with was too busy and colour intensive. It needs to be clearer and cleaner. So, back to the beginning. I also found some open source shopping cart software called Zen Cart that I'm going to look into. It looks pretty versatile and should work well - providing I can understand how to get it running :o) But it can be compeltely customized with cascading style sheets to fit into the site's scheme, so that's great. Then it'll be deciding who to go with for the actual transfer of funds management. Oy, so much to learn!
The hubby is working on the business plan.
I found a new local supplier of screen printing supplies that offers free delivery in the Greater Toronto Area! I have some stuff coming to me at work today. Good find, and prices seem half decent, especially when you factor in the no shipping aspect.
Got some screens on the way from a guy in the States - he's looking to expand his supply business in Canada and is sending us an info package to see if there's anyway we can work together, which has the potential to be exciting.
Haven't heard yet if the one station one colour press has shipped yet. And I should be receiving my vellum transfer papers soon for printing stencils on. I'm eager to try them out, as they are much cheaper than transparencies.
Let's see, what esle. Oh, have confirmed two friends (and their significant others by proxy) to model our t's for us, once we get some made up. We'll use them for advertising and website content.
I've been doing some marketing research and have discovered some interesting ideas. Would you have ever thought of bartering/trading for advertising? What I've read has suggested things like giving a radio station some t-shirts as giveaway prizes in exchange for some free ad spots on air or giving newspapers t-shirts for their promotional giveaways in exchange for print ads. What a cool idea! Not that I'm any good at dealing with people that way, but we'll work on that end of things ;o)
AND I've even been thinking of exploiting all of you here with a T-shirt idea contest!! ;oD
I've been thinking of holding a contest for some T-Shirt ideas, and the best ones/ones we use will get a free t-shirt. I'd like to get some generic fandom shirts - as in, shirts that would relate to the phenomena of fandom itself - things that are common to all fandoms. Like maybe a Mary-Sue shirt! So, if that interests you, watch this space for more info in the future. ;oD
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-11-13 01:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-13 02:24 pm (UTC)*cheers the Geeks!*
no subject
Date: 2007-11-13 03:22 pm (UTC)I already want to make shirts for my new fandoms... I'm so going to have to hire you for some random shirt making because I'm already above my limit for December...
Can I come over early again and maybe make my two gift tshirts and that way they're over and done with? We'll chat later, lots of time. Are you coming to the Shindig on the 24th?
no subject
Date: 2007-11-13 06:21 pm (UTC)Your ideas sound great--especially the fandom tees, because well, yeah, it is a good market, I think.
Am looking forward to hearing more of this! All the best! *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2007-11-13 08:40 pm (UTC)Also, bartering is an awesome idea ^__^
no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 01:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 01:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 01:02 pm (UTC)And, hire away!!
You can come over when ever you like, that's no problem. And yeah, I'll be at the 24th shindig, lookin' forward to that!
no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 01:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 01:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-14 01:05 pm (UTC)*hugs* thanks, darlin'!!! :oD