So my feathers get a bit ruffled when people say “But you’re just a seamstress, why does this cost so much?!”
I hear this question a lot. It’s been weighing on my mind lately how best to answer. So please humor me for a minute while I digress.
I probably posess somewhat of a natural talent for all things fabric. My Mom was a fantastic sewer. When I started learning from her, it felt like second nature. She learned from her Aunt (also a drapery workroom!), so I suppose it’s in the genes.
However, there were a lot of specific skills I didn’t know, and ones that didn’t come easily. So I had to learn them. I went to school, took classes, practiced, made mistakes, learned from my errors, tried again, again, and again until I had it right. And I am always learning. I invest a lot of time in continuing education, certifications, and staying up to date on industry standards, just like any professional should in their area of specialty.
I also own and use industrial quality machines, tools and software to fabricate everything I make. The differrence in the quality of the finished product is like the difference between a Yugo and an Astin Martin. Or drug store boxed hair color and color from a stylist on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. You pick, but you get the point. A lot of what you don’t see goes into the final cost as well. Poor quality materials (or lack thereof) like linings, thread, and other notions can make the prettiest of fabrics look like a grain sack when hung on the wall.
Now, these skills and tools are things that set my work apart from the average person with a home sewing machine. This is not to say that these people can not make beautiful things, indeed, this was how I got my start. But the reason people hire me is because I can provide an additional level of service that they can not attain on their own. For example, I would not change the oil in my car myself, even though I have a general idea of how to do it. Or, while my husband and I are certainly capable of tearing down a closet to increase space in our family room, we don’t have the time, or the appropriate tools or technique to do it. So we will be setting aside some money here and there to hire someone else to do it for us. In other words, I am willing to pay more for a service that will give me better results and peace of mind.
Now, while custom interiors are hardly a matter of life or death, by their very nature, custom means “one of kind”. I’m not making mass reproductions of the same product over and over allowing prices to be at rock bottom like we see everyday in the big box stores. I am designing something for you. And only you. Why does that color or pattern work, and not another? What would work on this window to create a uniform space? Why should this be longer here, but shorter there? What makes this room look “finished”? How do I make my room look bigger? cozier? tranquil? sophisticated? casual? Everyone has different needs, so every project and every design process is different.
Some of the biggest mistakes I see when I go into a home:
- incorrect measuring
- incorrect installations
- skimping on fabric
- not using products with lining
- poor quality materials
- wrong scale and proportion for the room
While on the surface, these problems may seem trivial, they are what sets custom work apart from store/catalog-bought. And I can help with all of these things by considering the room as a whole, not just the window. And the investment you make in custom work will last a very, very long time. And it is an investment. Not everyone is a custom person. And that’s OK. You are where you are, you have to prioritize where you spend your money. But please remember if you go looking for custom products you are hiring way more than a seamstress. I prefer the term, “Fabric Engineer”, or “Master Artisan” or some such. Yes, the cost of custom work is often surprising. But the bottom line is: you get what you pay for.
Becker Window Fashions workroom
Custom products featured: all bedding, pillows, corona, window treatments, upholstered wall
