PROBLEM SOLVED: ADDING STAFF

"I run a small shop that has been doing well – so well, I'm thinking I need to add staff. How can I determine if now is the right time to take on a new employee?"

The decision to take on a new employee or employees is an important one and must be weighed carefully. According to Andy Shuman, principal of Rockland Embroidery (asi/734150), hiring should be part of a long-term plan rather than a spontaneous decision. "If you're a one-person shop and you're doing everything – answering phones, purchasing, ordering, etc. – you may be compromising sales" by not being able to dedicate enough time to selling, he says. That's a telltale sign that it's time to add staff.

Joyce Jagger, owner of The Embroidery Coach, agrees. Her advice: Outsource bookkeeping. "That is by far one of the biggest tasks to get off your plate," she says, adding that her bookkeeper frees up much of her time. In-house, she advises hiring employees to complete lower-end tasks, such as a cleanup person to take care of trimming, steaming and packing garments, while you work on communicating with customers and marketing the business. When the cleanup person has mastered his tasks, Jagger advises promoting him to hooping, and then eventually to working on the machines.

"We're very conservative about hiring here," says Shuman of Rockland Embroidery. "We make sure the timing is right and the hire will work for an extended period of time." He adds that it's important to hire when your business is growing in order to "build a team around you," rather than making the investment during slow times, which could be detrimental to the business.

So once you've made the decision to hire, where can you find the right employees? "You can use referrals, temp agencies or ads," Shuman suggests. "Ideally, look for someone with experience in the field, but go with an open mind; we look for people with personalities that would work best within our company."

"I get most of my employees by word-of-mouth," Jagger says. "You could also put ads in sewing shops like Jo-Ann Fabrics and Michaels, which attract crafty people."

According to Shuman, business owners who make the decision to take on staff must be prepared to invest time, money and resources into training new employees. "It's never easy to find the right person," he says, "but don't settle. If you put time and effort into it, you can find someone who blends well with your company atmosphere."

FALL FASHION PREVIEW: ASH CITY UNVEILS AUTUMN LINE AT FASHION SHOW

The sun was shining on the Richmond Hill, Ontario offices of Ash City (asi/37143), but inside, the mood was decidedly chillier. That's because the company revealed 17 new styles for fall and winter as part of its 2013 Fall Fashion Show, held on August 1. The emphasis was on outerwear, with items like fur-lined parkas, versatile soft-shells and innovative fleeces all demonstrated by Ash City employees as they strutted down the catwalk. "It was amazing to see our staff showcasing Ash City's new products on the catwalk, with the confidence and pride they had on their faces. The products look good on every one of our staff," said Mabel Kwok, director of design and merchandising.

WHAT'S HOT ON STITCHES.COM


Embroidery Mart, a trade show recently hosted by The National Network of Embroidery Professionals, was full of interesting products, equipment and education opportunities. Stitches Staff Christopher Ruvo writes about the show in the "Stitchwork" blog. "These days, the push is on to diversify," he says. "The more decoration methods you offer, the more of your customers' potential spend you can capture. With that in mind, Embroidery Mart vendors included suppliers of heat press, screen printing, sublimation and laser-engraving equipment. Stahls' ID Direct (asi/88984), for example, was on hand with its Hotronix Fusion 16" x 20" press, a swinger and draw press that offers an EZ-On platen design and the ability to program an unlimited number of application settings. Stahls' also displayed the Hotronix Auto Cap press, a $750 model designed for pressing transfers onto caps."

Read the full post – click here.

Backing: Woven or nonwoven material used underneath the item or fabric being embroidered to provide support and stability. Can be hooped with the item or placed between the machine and throat plate and the hooped garment.

Crystal Heat Transfers: Metallic studs or crystals strategically placed to form a design. While this can be done by hand, most of the time that method is too time-consuming to be cost-effective. Ready-made transfers are available, and custom transfers can also be ordered from some companies.

Marking: Marking goods serves as an aid in positioning the frame and referencing the needle start points.

American Apparel (asi/35297) has acquired California-based surfwear brand Warriors of Radness (WOR). The supplier also reported that net sales for July were 14% higher than the same month last year.

American Embroidery Supply offers light-duty thread clippers for trimming excess threads from sew-outs.

Bodek and Rhodes (asi/40788) has added four new styles from Next Level Apparel (asi/73867) to its catalog: a men's tank top, a ladies' tri-blended dolman T-shirt, and two different boys' crewneck T-shirts. The company now distributes 44 Next Level styles, with more expected in 2013.

Boxercraft (asi/41325) has hired Shelley Foland as vice president of sales and marketing.

Brother International Corporation has announced that Atlas Screen Supply Company is now an authorized distributor of the Brother GraffiTee Series of digital garment printers for the Great Lakes region.

Cotswold Industries' "Wonder Wipes" are designed for a wide range of cleaning jobs around the shop.

Cutter & Buck (asi/47965) has added lifestyle products to its men's collection with the introduction of its Spring 2013 Men's CB Collection Cutter & Buck.

Dalco Athletic recently added a new collection to its full lineup of stock rhinestone transfers. Peace & Love transfers combine a peace sign, a heart, and a stock sport ball or school organization icon of your choice.

Floriani Software has added a new feature to its popular Total Control embroidery digitizing software program. The Appli-Stitch tool is designed to work with Appli-Stitch Designs & Fabric, a new material that allows you to sew out an appliqué shape and tear away the excess material.

Graphics One LLC is launching a high-speed direct pour-over metallic ink called GO EcoColor Metallix Ink.

Great Dane Graphics recently added a variety of new military designs to its library of royalty-free, high-quality, full-color stock images. New designs include a machine gun, tank, battle ship, and skull/knife/U.S. Marines.

Great Garment Graphics will offer a webinar on creating rhinestone designs and custom garments on Tuesday, Aug. 28. To learn more and register, click here.

Hirsch International (asi/14982) offers the Tajima single-head, TFMX-C1501 stretch, a tubular/cylindrical bridge-type machine with 15 needles and a sewing field of 450 mm by 520.

Imprintables Warehouse (asi/58475) features a weekly video series entitled "Training Time Out," which was started by sales and education representative Steven Jackson.

Madeira USA has announced the opening of a new customer service center in Miami, which will increase the number of customers receiving one-day UPS ground shipping and help the company fulfill orders for customers located just off the coastal U.S.

Penn Emblem Co. (asi/62485) has introduced the PennDuo Emblem, a patented product that is the first woven and embroidery combination patch.

Roland DGA Corp. is offering up to $4,000 in rebates on selected models of wide-format inkjet printers and printer/cutters from its popular VersaCAMM, SOLJET and VersaUV series during its Cash Back Summer Rebate Program.

SanMar (asi/84863) has launched its 2013 "Apparel, Bags and Caps" catalog, which features more than 200 new styles and five new brands. The full-line catalog includes every item sold by SanMar.

S&S Activewear (asi/84358) announces the addition of lifestyle clothing brand Alternative Apparel (asi/34850) to its extensive line of imprintable apparel and accessories.

Stahls' ID Direct (asi/88984) now offers the new Top Sellers kit from Stahls' CAD-CUTDirect, which includes four of CAD-CUTDirect's most popular materials, along with other necessary supplies. Additionally, Stahls' is offering a free quick slip lower platen protector with any shirt heat press purchase made in August.

Towel Specialties (asi/91605) and Linda Misiorowski and Associates recently added multi-line rep Rob Ball to cover IL and IN. Ball will also be representing other Misiorowski and Associates lines in WI.

Vantage Apparel (asi/93390) has promoted Marsha Brooks to sales manager. Bryan Vaughn has been hired to replace Brooks as the sales representative responsible for Ohio and Kentucky.

World Emblem International (asi/98264) has launched new digital print emblems. Learn more at www.WorldEmblem.com.