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Erm no, he's not a sweatshop worker and neither is she

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  • Erm no, he's not a sweatshop worker and neither is she

    A couple that my SO and I are friends with run a small business basically helping make period-accurate garb or sourcing stuff for historical re-enactment in general. This also includes shoes and also occasionally other bits and pieces (eg belts, pins, buckles and so on). Both of them are incredibly passionate about historical re-enactment and are SCAdians themselves, so this was kind of a logical step for them.

    The female half of said couple has another day job that pays fairly well. Male half runs the bulk of the business. Yes, this is somewhat relevant.

    Like most businesses who do this sort of custom-made stuff, they've had the general idiots who try and ask for stuff at cheap-ass rates, claiming they can get it cheaper via Etsy (at best) or another supplier.

    But, they've had a few...interesting stories, so here we go.

    That's...not a legitimate reason, really

    While he's had a few requests from time-poor reenactors the week before an event in the past, this one took the cake. A couple contacted him asking for a full outfit AND shoes (per person) really close to an event. Neither of them were reenactors, nor did they have any actual desire to get INTO historical re-enactment themselves. Why did they want it so close? They were going to said event as members of the public and "didn't want to look out of place."

    A literal cursory glance of the event page, social media or even the fliers would have indicated that dressing up is not compulsory and the people who DO dress up tend to typically come in less-than-historically-accurate garb anyway. They would've saved so much money literally going to a costume store as opposed to something they would've only worn maybe once or twice in their lives.

    Yeah, you can guess what the response was to THAT.

    (For the record, the clubs who DO have displays at the event typically have websites or social media and are also linked on the event's website. Couple Friends advertise through social media, websites etc. so there is NO way that the Sucky Couple could've not done their research first)


    She's Not My F@#$ing secretary

    I mentioned before that Male Half runs the bulk of the business. Female Half does some of the sewing and sourcing since she actually has another day job, but the bulk of it is from Male Half. Male Half is the only face of the business, it's his contact details and whathaveyou.

    Well, apparently quite a number of people have been contacting Female Half asking her to pass on mesages to Male Half about commissions or other related enquiries and then essentially using Female Half as a third party to handle communications. Male Half was not particularly pleased about this, especially since Female Half has another day job and it is not her role to act as his secretary. (He is now charging a fee should people continue to do this)

  • #2
    Wow. I sew and know how much time and effort goes into a properly made simple dress. It amazes me what people think is appropriate. I've taken people to the local fabric store and made them buy the fabric, pattern and notions, plus given them my hourly rate just to show them how expensive custom clothing is. And that isn't period correct!
    My son thinks I'm Lucifer Morningstar. I'm not sure he's wrong.

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    • #3
      Quoth YamiNoHime View Post
      Wow. I sew and know how much time and effort goes into a properly made simple dress. It amazes me what people think is appropriate. I've taken people to the local fabric store and made them buy the fabric, pattern and notions, plus given them my hourly rate just to show them how expensive custom clothing is. And that isn't period correct!
      Oh, I get this far too frequently. A friend of mine has told me, TWICE, that she 'has this fabric and needs to give it to me so I can make her a blouse'. Oh, she'll buy the pattern and all the notions and stuff! I have explained to her, TWICE, that unless she's a hard-to-find size, or wants something different, AND IS WILLING TO PAY FOR IT, that's not going to happen. I'm not Walmart. A 'simple' blouse is at least $100, and that's AFTER she pays for the fabric, pattern, and notions.
      She hasn't brought it up in awhile. I'm hoping she got it.

      My skills don't come cheap.

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      • #4
        As well they shouldn't!
        My son thinks I'm Lucifer Morningstar. I'm not sure he's wrong.

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