I make almost everything I sell, but this puts a lot of pressure on the workshop to produce large quantities of product very quickly. LIterally dozens of emailed orders arrive daily from the website and are printed out, processed, packed and posted almost before the ink is dry. It is a lot easier if I carry a bit of stock, but I generally have to work hard to stay ahead of the orders. Stock is definitely the way to go though. A firebreak in the midst of a raging inferno!
Making leathergoods for stock is actually a very satisfying process, I love to see a great big pile of finished things on the bench at the end of a day. Unfortunately, this huge incentive to get stuff cut out, tooled, stained and finished is missing if you only make things to order; because then you are working to 'feed' the postman. Everything goes in the post bag as you finish it and you end up with an empty bench.
Fortunately, there are things that just have to be made in bulk as it saves time (and time, as we all know, is money). Good examples are leather water bottles, pouches and stool seats . Leather 'Opinel' knife sheaths are a classic example of 'mass production' at Barefoot Leather. Hey, we sometimes make as many as twenty of each colour. Look out Henry Ford...
Okay, you guessed it: My idea of mass production involves a lot less items than most people might imagine. Leatherwork done properly takes time and care to get it right. I'm not interested in rush jobs or work that needs to be re-done. Right first time isn't a bad way to be.
Stock control plays a big part too. As a very small business I'm very aware of cash flow and do all I can to minimise my stock holding by ordering leather, dye and fittings on a 'just in time' basis. This means that I usually order as I'm running out of a component so that it arrives 'just in time' to get used on the next order.
This strategy is all very well as long as it works but it can lead to a few tense situations. This week the Parcel Force delivery driver decided to deliver some urgently required leather to another address entirely and didn't bother to tell me what he had done. Work simply stopped for two days until the package was tracked down and collected. Not in time at all...
Seriously, the idea of building up certain stock levels is very attractive. It would save a lot of running around doing little jobs and would enable me to offer a faster service. I'm already doing this with the various lengths of strap I produce, maybe it really is time to expand the range with a bit more mass production and a little less time spent drinking coffee? Or maybe not!