TOJ - updates on the debacle, complaints, news about other ventures, whatever.

[impolyt_one]



CWU-45 in black lamb or black goat?

lamb. the goat is a little stiffer and I think it'd make a better rider's style jacket. Those bombers are best in soft lamb.

 

[IronKnochs]

Goat, I'd love to see a goat CWU-45.

EDIT: Just to play the devil's advocate against Drew, if you did go for the stiffer goat you'd have something unique, nobody's done it with a CWU yet (as far as I'm aware). It could look great, it's a similar wear to the calf without being as clunky.

Some shots of Aeglus' goat if you haven't seen them:

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltomxnajAK1qcq3abo1_500.jpg

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_liuvidqP9d1qcq3abo1_500.jpg

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfz3nawwpw1qcq3abo1_500.jpg

At the very least it'd be something interesting.

 

[impolyt_one]

Nereis, think of it this way- see how snowman came in and saw the picture from the ground up, said 'this is the look, it's a blazer and then the two items you've made already, and it's going to be a minimalistic outfit like Jil Sander or Prada' - that's a huge overlap with what I can do already; one can surmise by the dicussion in this thread, and the toj-gallery as my portfolio that that much is within my realm.
What I am looking for, you're right - I need a shell, the workings from the outside in; I need someone to say to me 'dude, let's make an Amish quilt themed collection (imagine this is N. Hoolywood S/S2009)' - and then filling in a line of clothes under that premise is not difficult for me.
As I said, I think fashion schools across the globe have tons of dreamers, but the constructors are fewer, I feel.

I don't want that to be taken in a one-note way, or taken to extremes, I am just trying to describe the mental outlook of the personalities I think would work together well, if I were one of them.

 

[impolyt_one]



Goat, I'd love to see a goat CWU-45.


EDIT: Just to play the devil's advocate against Drew, if you did go for the stiffer goat you'd have something unique, nobody's done it with a CWU yet (as far as I'm aware). It could look great, it's a similar wear to the calf without being as clunky.

I recommend lamb. There are tactile and manufacturing concerns that must be taken into account before anything else.

 

[IronKnochs]

Fair deuce. I was getting excited there, too.

 

[toothsomesound]

drew, the way you're talking sounds like you're a planning seasonal collections or something?

 

[brad-t]

toj will become like wjk and wht and all the other three letter brand names

maybe i will draw some ire for this but if demand is outstripping supply maybe prices are too low on some items? idk

 

[Nereis]



toj will become like wjk and wht and all the other three letter brand names
maybe i will draw some ire for this but if demand is outstripping supply maybe prices are too low on some items? idk

While the libertarian and purely-rational-agents-economist in me goes 'if the demand is so high that supply can't meet it then prices must go up', classical theory doesn't take into account the nature of doing business in the real world.

In the real world, people don't like seeing prices fluctuate too much so prices tend to move by less than the basic commodities do. The human brain inherently 'anchors' a 'fair price' for a set time period and moreover, customers of a firm like TOJ tend (and want to be) repeat customers. Unless there are legitimate costs of doing business that are rising, raising prices drastically will impact on TOJ's goodwill with its customer base.

Now given that a lot of TOJ customers are coming via good word-of-mouth or reputation, that may not be the smartest move to take. If the margins have remained the same and it's still as profitable as ever then it tells me that the supply simply needs to become more productive.

Now that's easier said than done, and especially with so much labour intensive work on these products (good workers don't come cheap nor do they grow on trees). So an option may be to take production completely inhouse. On the other hand, Drew could begin widening his net of acceptable workshops and simply demanding more stringent QC on the products coming out of those lines.

/consultantrambling

 

[brad-t]

oh.

 

[tween_spirit]

TOJ F/W 2013. The Leatherman.

​

 

[dibango]

^

All leather er'thang?

 

[impolyt_one]

haha, good story. Leatherman was only 31? =(

 

[impolyt_one]



While the libertarian and purely-rational-agents-economist in me goes 'if the demand is so high that supply can't meet it then prices must go up', classical theory doesn't take into account the nature of doing business in the real world.
In the real world, people don't like seeing prices fluctuate too much so prices tend to move by less than the basic commodities do. The human brain inherently 'anchors' a 'fair price' for a set time period and moreover, customers of a firm like TOJ tend (and want to be) repeat customers. Unless there are legitimate costs of doing business that are rising, raising prices drastically will impact on TOJ's goodwill with its customer base.
Now given that a lot of TOJ customers are coming via good word-of-mouth or reputation, that may not be the smartest move to take. If the margins have remained the same and it's still as profitable as ever then it tells me that the supply simply needs to become more productive.
Now that's easier said than done, and especially with so much labour intensive work on these products (good workers don't come cheap nor do they grow on trees). So an option may be to take production completely inhouse. On the other hand, Drew could begin widening his net of acceptable workshops and simply demanding more stringent QC on the products coming out of those lines.
/consultantrambling

Pretty good summary - though i feel it it may speak about a business in an earlier phase than mine is now, I guess it could speak in later phases too, but I feel we've rubbed elbows with the scenario much earlier on. This could be like, back where I went from zero to 60 with the original varsity jacket in 3 seconds, and should've repriced once serious demand was established - but did not. Since then, I price at whatever the true cost is and then add in the safety margin, send them out - the goal is not to make every possible penny from each piece, rather it is about selling a few, enough to break free from the developmental cost at least, and hopefully more. We pay an inflated rate since we don't get to employ any scales of economy, and therefore the pricing game begins a little differently.

The real basis for all of this talk is the fact that our lead times get longer with longer queues at times - and well, I just take that to be the name of the game and unfortunately, that's the way it has to be for the customer too. There are off the peg jackets out there you can buy instantly (and wait a week or two to ship) and then there's mine. I'd be equally impressed if I could turn out MTM leather jackets from scratch as fast as people want them, but it's pretty much a one a day thing because they're all diffferent sizes, styles, and colors/materials - so they just can't be worked up on the same bench at the same time. We could duplicate the work setup to have more complete manufacturing stations (cutter, sewer) but if I employ people I have to make sure I really employ them with a full load of work, and not sprinkle orders on them, on-call - and we have a lot for one team, not enough for two teams, really.

 

[smashwindow]

Its called price elasticity of demand, i.e. the slope of the curve and it is accounted for in classical economic theory.

On the other hand it could be reasoned that you could apply the veblian model of demand to toj because it is a luxury good, and perhaps if prices increased it could drive demand upwards it really depends if you want to have a sales policy based on high margins or volume. I'm sure if drew increased prices by a reasonable amount, say ~inflation +1-2% per year that his base customers would accept this because of brand loyalty, but it could possibly deter new customers

While the libertarian and purely-rational-agents-economist in me goes 'if the demand is so high that supply can't meet it then prices must go up', classical theory doesn't take into account the nature of doing business in the real world.
In the real world, people don't like seeing prices fluctuate too much so prices tend to move by less than the basic commodities do. The human brain inherently 'anchors' a 'fair price' for a set time period and moreover, customers of a firm like TOJ tend (and want to be) repeat customers. Unless there are legitimate costs of doing business that are rising, raising prices drastically will impact on TOJ's goodwill with its customer base.
Now given that a lot of TOJ customers are coming via good word-of-mouth or reputation, that may not be the smartest move to take. If the margins have remained the same and it's still as profitable as ever then it tells me that the supply simply needs to become more productive.
Now that's easier said than done, and especially with so much labour intensive work on these products (good workers don't come cheap nor do they grow on trees). So an option may be to take production completely inhouse. On the other hand, Drew could begin widening his net of acceptable workshops and simply demanding more stringent QC on the products coming out of those lines.
/consultantrambling

 

[smashwindow]

everyone in the industry should read this.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/01..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=13JGS0QNGRKFSA3QBJBY