Just so everybody knows, we didn't wake up yesterday morning with the intent of making about 500 people really, really mad. Honestly.
But we understand. Really, we do. We understand your disappointment and frustration about the kits. We absolutely know that not everyone who wanted a kit for the Label Crew project this month got one. And we feel really bad about it. I just thought I would take a little time to explain why this is.
This is kind of a long explanation, so I think I'll use bullet points just to try to simplify things.
- We started the Label Crew almost 2 years ago. At that time we had designed several of the iron-on labels and just sold them on our Etsy shop- withouth a pattern or project to go with them. They were super popular and we thought it was a great idea to create a pattern that would incorporate the labels. We just took it a step further and made a club out of it.
- We never intended the Label Crew kit to include fabric. We wanted to offer a small, fun and quick project for a reasonable price. Just something fun to get in the mail once a month that wouldn't break the bank.
- We do realize that selling the entire thing- the labels, patterns and fabric- all together would make many of you very happy. However, there are several issues with that. First of all, it would be almost impossible to come up with a project every month that used the exact same amount of fabric so the price would be the same every month. Our fabric kits have ranged in price from around $6 to $25. If we included the fabric each month, the subscriber would have no control or knowledge on how much she would be charged for the kit from month to month.
- We have to order fabric months in advance. Not just one or two months in advance. Several months. The problem with this is we design and create our Label Crew projects when we get the fabric. Which means, we have already placed the order for our fabric and we generally can't get any more.
- When we make small projects for the Label Crew that don't use much fabric, we generally have enough for everyone. However, many of you have wanted larger projects, like the bag and the table runner. The problem with that is then there isn't as much fabric for everyone, because one kit takes much more.
- We absolutely make every effort to have a kit available for everyone who wants one. When we did the table runner last month, we sold out quickly. However, we were able to get a few more bolts of fabric ordered- we then offered a pre-order. Unfortunately, the canvas for the bag is sold out with Moda and we can't get any more.
- So you wonder why we just don't order more fabric at the time we are ordering the collection from Moda. Well, hindsight is 20/20. Of course we wish we would have ordered more. Not only would we keep everyone happy, it would obviously be more profitable for us. But…6 months ago, we didn't know we would have a bag, didn't know how many Label Crew members we would have in June and didn't know how popular the project would be. I can tell you that with every fabric collection we design, and then subsequently order, we order a significant amount more. For example, we have already submitted our Mama Said Sew order, and it about doubles the amount that we ordered of Lucy. That is because we keep selling out of our kits and keep getting more Label Crew members. But we can't go overboard and buy, say, 4 times the amount. Ordering too much inventory and not selling it can get us in to a lot of trouble!
- As much as we love you buying fabric from us, we are certainly not the only place you can get it. We hope that our blog and projects inspire you to go into your local store and ask if they carry the fabric. We love and appreciate the stores that order our fabric. It is the major way we make a living. So we want to support them as much as possible. That is the major reason we don't sell fabric by the yard on our site.
- I did a quick search for the Lucy's canvas on the internet and came up with multiple sources. Here are just a few- if you are a store owner, and want me to link your store, please let me know!
- Please keep in mind that at any time you can't find the Sweetwater fabric you are looking for, just contact us and we will do everything we can to help you out.
I hope that explanation helps. We really try to make everyone happy, and are so sorry when you are not. But we do the best that we can. Hope everyone has a better day!