It's Crunch Time - A Look At Fulfilling Christmas Orders
Posted by Brad | Filed under fabric, Christmas, shipping
The holiday season is always our busiest time of year. A good portion of our business comes between September and December. Building furniture is a complicated matter, especially when you have dozens of styles and over 200 fabrics. We can only really make an educated guess as to what particular combinations will be popular. One of the key aspects that we focus on is making sure we don't promise something that we cannot deliver and as the Christmas approaches this can become next to impossible.
You'd think in this day and age that computers could automate much of this, but as we've learned over the years that only human ingenuity will do. Luckily, the staff at Carrington Court have become experts in what I like to call "fire fighting." Most customers will never know the lengths that these people go through to get their orders to them on time. I'm truly grateful that we have people that will go the extra mile.
Most of what we face has very little to do with production (the actual building of furniture). With the necessary materials on hand we can get most orders built in a day or two. What causes us the most headaches is ensuring we have all the pieces. Consider this: we have many different styles of frames and our fabrics come from over a half dozen manufacturers. Add to this the vagaries of shipping and it is pretty easy to see where things can fall apart.
Our number one hurdle is usually fabric. We try to keep everything in stock, but in reality this is very hard to do. There are often long lead times and there are inevitable gaps where we run out of fabric while waiting for the next roll to arrive. Over the last few years the textile industry in the U.S. has suffered tremendously. I can't tell you how many times we get an shipping date on a fabric that gets pushed back and then pushed back again, only to get a notification that the mill has decided to drop it.
At the same time we have a customer patiently waiting for their order, anxiously looking forward to having family or friends over for the holidays. So how do we handle this type of situation? We have to beg, borrow or barter.
To be honest we put a lot of pressure on the mills. It's not like we are a multibillion dollar giant that has a lot of sway, but the squeaky wheel gets the oil. If we exhaust our options with the mill, we try to find other manufacturers that may have ordered the same fabric and try to buy it from them. This takes a lot of leg work, but it is something that we occasionally do. If we hit another dead end, the next step is scouring through retail fabric shops trying to find anything we can. This is something that we don't particularly like to do. It is very time intensive and paying retail prices for fabric will pretty much kill any profit from an order. Our final option is to call the customer and try to move them into another fabric. Once at this step we've often discovered fabrics that are similar to the one ordered and nine times out of ten this is something that the customer has no problems with.
The other problem we run into with holiday deadlines is shipping. We ship by many different sources including FedEx, common carriers and home delivery services. We pick the the fastest, most affordable way to get a particular type of furniture to you. FedEx Home Delivery is often the fastest route and we can reliably estimate the arrival date. Unfortunately, anything larger than a standard sized parsons chair or dining chair is too big to ship. The weather can play havoc on FedEx. A snow storm can delay a shipment a day or two and at Christmastime this may be a day too long. Home delivery services are frequently used for oversize items or very large orders. These services have a longer transit time than FedEx and we can never be sure exactly when a truck will be in a customers area.
The closer we come to Christmas, the more we must focus on shipping. When using FedEx, we always build in a day or two extra time in transit just in case there is a delay. With home delivery services we work closely with the shipper to ensure that the customers order gets on a truck in time to be delivered. Frequently this means one of our employees loading up their SUV or pick-up and rushing down to the shipping company to get on the "last truck out." One other option that we use is common carriers. They are fast like FedEx, but only offer curbside service, unlike a home delivery company. Using a common carrier takes a lot of research. You have to find one that actually ships to an area where the customer lives. In addition not all do residential deliveries. On top of that, pricing a transit times vary greatly.
Carrington Court has been selling directly to the public from our website since 1997 (in business since 1984). With each passing year we get better at this complicated ballet. While no year goes off without a hitch, we will continue to do everything possible to make our customers experience as smooth as possible. I know that some may not be interested in knowing what goes on behind the scenes, but I just wanted to take the time to acknowledge and thank all of our team for their hard work.
5 Ways to Extend the Life of Your Upholstered Furniture
Posted by Brad | Filed under fabric, care, cleaning
I was visiting our production manager's home the other day where I found him restoring an antique chair. It wasn't a big job--nothing that couldn't be take care of with some wood stain and fabric. This got me to thinking about just how long a piece of modern furniture will last.
A well constructed piece of upholstered furniture will last decades. If you think about all the materials that go into the construction of a chair or sofa there is not a lot that will degrade quickly. Wood frames, steel springs and foam cushions will last longer than most people. Relatively speaking, the fabric is the only part that has potential to wear out quickly. No mater how heavy the material, upholstery fabric is subjected to a lot. I'm not talking about stains and spills, but the constant friction generated when a person sits. Being a woven material, it is bound to eventually fray and break down.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. Fabric fashions come and go just like clothing. So if you take steps to care for your upholstery, you'll be able to make it last until you tire of it and are ready to have it replaced or reupholstered. Here are five ways to prolong the life of your furniture:
- Vacuuming - Most people vacuum their floors, but rarely do their upholstery. It's a good idea to vacuum your fabric covered furniture once per week. This removes surface dust and dirt before it becomes embedded in the fibers. It also decreases wear from the "sandpaper effect" which occurs from friction between the body, dust and the fabric.
- Turning Cushions - If your sofa, love seat or chair has loose cushions, flip them on a regular basis. This will allow the fabric to wear evenly and keep the piece looking newer for a longer period of time.
- Avoid the Sun - The UV rays of the sun are just as damaging to fabrics and finishes as they are to skin. Keep upholstery out of direct sunlight when possible. If you can't keep it out of the sun be sure to use blinds, shades, curtains or have the windows treated to block UV radiation.
- Use All of Your Furniture - I'm sure that in almost every room there is one piece of furniture that gets used the most. You have a living room that may be filled with many different types of furniture and the only piece that ever gets any use is the sofa. Make a habit of sitting in the less frequently used furnishings. The same goes for the dining room. If you always sit in the same couple of chairs rotate the chairs around occasionally. You can still keep the same spot--just use a different chair.
- Consider Fabric Protection - Fabric protection can be a life saver, but don't rely upon it solely. It will help block absorption and ease the removal of stains, but it's not an invincible plastic cover. You may especially want consider fabric protection on light colored natural fabrics, but it is probably unnecessary for dark fabrics made from synthetic materials. Ultrasuedes and microfibers are particularly stain resistant and may not need any additional protection.
Following these guidelines will help you get the most from your upholstery. As I said before, fabric will eventually wear out. It is inevitable fact of nature, but how much life you get from it is up to you.
One last thing I'd like to mention--before you clean any stains or dirt from fabric be sure to look up the cleaning code. Every fabric on our site has a cleaning code and it explains the best treatment to use. Some fabrics can be cleaned with soap and water, others need solvent based cleaners while a few can only be professional cleaned. If you use the wrong cleaner serious damage could occur such as fading. As always, if you ever have any questions about cleaning upholstery from Carrington Court feel free to call one of our design consultants (828.396.1049) and they'll be more than happy to assist you.
Even More Choice -- 3 New Fabric Collections
Posted by Brad | Filed under news, fabric
Our fabric buyers not only try to keep up with the latest trends, but also have the unenviable job of ensuring we offer a little something for everyone. It's not an easy task to determine what other people are going to like, especially since tastes are relative. Occasionally, I'll hear something like "This is not something that I'd pick out for myself, but we've had several customers requesting something like this."
Luckily, I can honestly say that I like all the new fabric collections we're adding to our line. First up we have Cheryl. The design is pretty unique, but the colors are classic. We've had great success with toiles in similar colors and hope that these two continue the tradition.
Our next fabric is called Polly Spice. This look goes way back and is what many would describe as "Country French." It's a simple design in a light mustard color with red roosters.
Finally, we have the three fabrics in the Celia family. I'm really a fan of these because they are a traditional floral print with a twist: they have a slightly washed look (especially the Primrose and Wedgewood). When I say washed, I do not mean worn out. The background colors on the fabric are muted just enough to make the floral designs really pop.
Perfect Blues for a Beach House
Posted by Brad | Filed under news, fabric
We've added a couple of new blue fabrics today with decorating a beach house in mind. Recently a customer sent in her own fabric in similar colors so that we could make some chairs for a beach house. We were really impressed with the way they turned out. It's too bad we didn't take any pictures to share.
The new fabrics are called Tanya Harbour Blue and Tanya Bimimi Blue. They're both 100% cotton and have a nice tight weave that gives them some texture. Although many people consider pastels the perfect color for beach decor, we think these darker solids will work well, especially since they have a washed look.
Tanya Harbour Blue
Tanya Bimimi Blue
