The new official TOJ thread, 2011 - Page 940

gunmetal is more versatile than the black IMO, but people who like blacked hardware will find no substitute, so that is why we have it. We probably won't re-up on black hardware again, and it's running out, so if you like it, you should go for it.

Probably that time of year again when I explain the basics, and maybe an email policy update here:

-You guys gotta be reasonably courteous with your email inquiries, because there are many other people like you trying to make purchases as well. There are people who've taken the email threads past 100 emails, which is ridiculous. You don't even want to know the sagas that happen within.
TOJ's can be copped within as little as 1 email and a payment, sometimes 2 or 3 - the average might be about 10 or 15 back and forths from both sides if it's fully MTM'ed, there are a lot of questions, etc. There is something misunderstood on the customer side if it's taking 100 emails or more, sorry, even 50 or 60 per piece.

I think from now on, heading into this new year, we are going to enact a case by case email policy that would be similar to waiting on someone in a store - if you're asking reasonable questions and doing business with us in a reasonable manner, you will receive our utmost service as always, so that's like 99% of our customer base.
If things get unreasonable and you're asking questions about the price of eggs, you probably won't hear back from us. Gotta cut our losses at some point.


TOJ doesn't make customs and we don't make 'salad bar' mix n match pieces - everything has a different pattern, is made by different people, is developed piece by piece, manufactured one by one, and not intended to be done a different way. Dan controls the production responsibilities, but he is not the creative force or the patternmaker, and thus he can't be expected to make all kinds of wacky custom changes for the sake of changing something. It's pointless.
We have made custom requests in the past, but these are only offered to certain people (usually people well acquainted with the TOJ product and process) who fully understand that making a one-off piece of clothing takes time and sometimes more money to create than the stock, already developed offerings. Real life isn't just lasso'ing and pasting something from some other jacket onto another.

I feel most of the custom requests come from people who don't fully understand what we offer in the first place, they aren't even aware it exists maybe. They hear the word 'custom' and it's kneejerk thing where people want to have some special - dudes, trust me, we don't make so many of each piece that any of them would be considered less than special or unique.
We don't make highnecks or fencings, we don't make what we made 2 years ago, we don't make Restoration Hardware leather jackets - there are good reasons for all of that. You guys gotta go buy those if that is what you want. TOJ will be here for the people who understand what is on offer. I prefer it this way.

People on the the forums, even the admin of this forum, have criticized the fact that I only operate out of two forum threads and that it's small - sure, I am not getting that Ed Hardy money, but there is something even better this way - almost everyone who sits and reads these threads for awhile understands the product for the most part, and when they get it, they're happy - the success rate always exceeds all reasonable expectations. That is the opposite of hype, there's genuine goodness in all of this. I'd rather have a bunch of informed customers rather a bunch of people who buy and then don't realize or are uninformed on what they're actually purchasing.
There are the occasional trolls in this thread - but even they understand what it is I make, and what they could expect to receive.


Anyway, this doesn't apply to 95-99% of our customers - no worries, you guys are great and there's a great chemistry between artisan and product happening still, and you will not find something like anywhere else - I'm just trying to hold up the end here from sagging.