 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sewing Service |
New Items
Last Updated: November 20, 2008
Business Hours
Mon-Thu 10 am-7 PM, Friday 10-4
Central Standard Time
Closed Saturday and SundayPHONE: (270) 384-1965
TOLL FREE: (866) 213-3946
FAX: (270) 384-1443
New Junk and General Nonsense
I just love it when CNN and the attempts by politicians to bankrupt the country ruin everyone's fun. I wish I had friends in D.C. so we could get cheap loans for a few million. Then I could buy that repro Panther tank made from beer cans in North Carolina. Or front row seats at the inauguration. If only...
Anyway, bits and tids here. No, we aren't going out of business. A few expectant or anxious queries have been placed. Thanks to the addictiveness of dressing in fascist uniforms and busting caps in the state park, our sales are about level with this time last year. In all seriousness, thanks.
Random nonsense. We've had some really interesting calls lately. We are somewhere between unhelpful and downright scum of the earth for the following reasons:
1. We cannot provide Bismarck era (late 1800's) generals' uniforms.
2. We are sold out of size 40L M41 jackets. That makes us deadbeats, liars, cheats and some other things. (That guy really needs to get laid.)
3. The photo of zeltbahn tent poles shows 3. But you need 4 for a tent. So the photo is confusing to the point of being cruel and unusual punishment.
4. The jerk that writes this website insults the honor of Living Historians- by frequently using the term "reenactors" instead of ..."living historians". (Are they challenging me to a duel? With blanks no doubt. Apparently that one is still unaware of what lurks in the rant archive.)
New Junk updates: Due exclusively to my lethargy in confirming pattern charts or being too fussy, many of the projects due in by December are delayed until February due to the factories that make them being pre-occupied with Christmas orders of other companies.
When we have uniforms made overseas, they send me a chart showing all the measurements of the uniform- sleeve length, collar size, rise, inseam, etc, etc. After some previous mishaps, I discovered that I have to check them carefully. For some reason, to me, checking pattern charts is about as much fun as writing 10 page term papers. So I dilly-dally, blow it off, procrastinate and anything else I can think of to avoid the job. With regard to knits (like sweaters, tank tops and t-shirts) the stretchiness of the fabric actually makes the job tough. I'm learning how to compensate, but I usually just ask for pre-production samples in each size, then have my fat friends try them on to see if they fit. About half the delays are due to my aversion to this task.
The rest of the delays are thanks to me being anal. (Don't get your hopes up Frazer- I mean the other kind of anal) The 44 dot, US wool serge items, M41's and Tankers have been delayed for months due to my perhaps overzealous desire to get them into the "original quality" category. I picked a fine time to go on a quality crusade and cause prices to as much as double.
Anyway, here's the rough poop on the new junk. But, the obligatory disclaimer is necessary-
Dear Impatient Types with loose bowel syndrome and fragile sensibilities: these are estimates. Not promises written in the blood of Moses or some nonsense. Crystal?
Boot restocks should be in by early January.
US wool trousers and garrison caps- shortly before or at the Gap. Every third phone call is "do you have wool pants yet? I bet you forgot to update the page!" Not until sometime in late January. Probably not the 1st at 12:01 am...looks like freeballing until then.
Service Coats are due to be in production in late January- meaning we might be able to have a few airmailed to us in time for the Gap. But that's going to be down to the wire.
US gloves, Tankers and Mackinaws should be here by late December or early January.
The new M41's won't make it until Spring. I'm waiting on the final pre-production sample to check my pattern changes. These scare me as they will be double the price of the current ones. But, it appears that, except for the zipper stop (the little square at the bottom of the zipper) they will be "unissued originals". They should blow away any other current or previous repro ever made. Even the $180 pea green wonder jackets from the west coast. The shell fabric is perfect, the od3 color is the ultimate in "happy khaki", and the new lining sample is indistinguishable from original stuff. (I spent 10 minutes wondering why they had sent me my original swatch back. The I realized it wasn't...) And, I was made aware of the chocolate colored button fetish in the nick of time (by Greaser and Minutello), so those will happen as well.
Lastly, 44 dot. Years and years of broken promises. It's been delayed since June since I switched to pigment printing. To be safe, I've paid $1,800 to have a test print run. There's no way to make these overseas by the Gap. BUT- the test print results in about 200 yards of fabric being printed, so- if the swatches look good, we're having that material shipped to us in December. If all goes well, we will make a few dot sets here in early January with the bulk being done overseas in February. The ones made here will be intentionally mismatched, like my originals. Farbs and Historians who live selectively, who require matching sets to feel warm and fuzzy, will have to wait. These first few will not be eligible for any sort of discount as our labor cost will be much higher than the main run.
How's that for hot air? Oh, and please quit spelling your names and addresses when you're on the phone with Gina. She may be old, but she isn't deaf. And she knows how to spell "Smith", "Street" and "Avenew". But if you do have any tips on freeing oneself from nicotine addiction, let her know.
Website Updates
November 18, 2008: US wool scarves in stock.
November 10, 2008: New stuff on Sale page
November 9, 2008: Internal Suspenders in stock.
November, 3, 2008: Sewing insignia. Again. German tunic belt hooks restocked.
October 27, 2008: HBT Coveralls, M3 Knives, Luftwaffe Keilhosen, and German M37 Trousers restocked. Cheap 44 dot on Closeout page.
October 8, 2008: US Tank Tops and German V-Neck Sweaters in stock.
Here's the latest new and restocked items
(Click on the pictures for a full product description)
430 Rose Ln.
Columbia, KY 42728PHONE: (270) 384-1965
TOLL FREE: (866) 213-3946
FAX: (270) 384-1443Copyright At the Front/CNS, 2002
