Satin Stitches, Ltd. | Designed For a Sensational Performance

© Deborah J. Nelson/Satin Stitches Ltd.

What should we be doing, as Americans, as professionals, as mothers, and as daughters, in this scary world of ours? It is Halloween week, here in the suburban Midwest. My husband and I moved a year and a half ago, closer to our Satin Stitches shop, and a couple of blocks from many wonderful little shops and restaurants in downtown Anoka, Minnesota. Anoka happens to be dubbed THE HALLOWEEN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. World, mind you, NOT of the United States, or of Minnesota, but of THE WORLD!

But as an adult, Halloween isn’t scary. But the state of our economy IS! The current housing crisis, the wall street crisis, the credit crisis, increasing food prices, higher gas prices, all the issues we are facing today, is SCARY! The monsters under the bed, to me right now, are all the uncertainties that we face.

I’m guessing that I am not alone. Are any of you readers feeling the stress, of wondering how our lives will improve or go sour in the coming years?

One BIG thing we are all facing, is what to do about the upcoming election. Deciding who to vote for President, obviously, but there are many other people to vote for, and amendments and proposals to vote for or against. This election is an important one. The outcome will decide the direction that our country will be heading, the next few years. Electing local, state and national lawmakers is very important. If you are over 18 years old, most likely you are eligible to vote. Hopefully you have registered, so you can. Next Tuesday, please VOTE!

And better yet, research your choices. Tune out all those horrible commercials that have been running forever, it seems. Read your local newspapers, whether they are paper or online. Your local television news shows will profile your candidates and give you insight on what the amendments and proposals are all about. Learn what you can to make an informed choice on the ballot.

I don’t have much respect for people who say that they don’t vote, with the excuse that their vote just doesn’t count. Your vote DOES count, so vote responsibly. Hopefully we will have the wisdom to elect the right people, who have the right skills to work together to fix at least some of the problems that we are facing. VOTE SMART! Those amendments and proposals can affect your life, sometimes even more directly than who takes over the top position in the country.

Has our economic downturn affected your business, or your jobs? I admit, it makes me very nervous. I am aware that dance costumes are not a necessity. People can make do, with last year’s costumes or buy cheaper options. Our customers need to have real valid reasons why they will choose to order from Satin Stitches, and it is my job to help them to realize what those reasons are. Marketing is even more important in today’s economy.

Dance lessons are also not a necessity. With belt-tightening, are your studios working with fewer students? Are your students voicing their concerns to keep their costs down? Are they signing up for fewer classes? Do they want to participate in fewer competitions than in the past?

If you own a dance store or have a store within your studio, are your students spending less, or is it business as usual? What have you noticed? Do you expect sales to stay flat or take a downturn? Have your sales already taken a downturn?

If you are a high school dance team coach or have a similar job, has your funding been frozen or eliminated at your school? If you fund-raise, are you finding it more difficult to make sales?

Are you, yourself, shopping as usual, or are you searching for bargains, or putting off purchases? Are you investing in good quality clothing, whether it is regular clothes or costuming? What can I, as a custom, costume manufacturer expect this season and next?

Let me share what I have been noticing with my vendors. Because money is tight, fabric suppliers are waiting to restock and reorder items until they have real orders. Previously, they would reorder and restock to have most every fabric instantly available. But, no more. In the last 3-4 months, many fabrics have been out of stock, and on back order. This is totally new, from the last 30 years. I’m hoping that this will not get worse. So far it hasn’t affected delivery for our customers. But I have had to wait for 2-6 weeks for a specific fabric. Some fabrics have been discontinued, and I have had to scramble to find a replacement. I have found that I need to order immediately, and not wait for the just-in-time-delivery.

Another thing that worries me, is that the garment business is disappearing in Manhattan. Because so many companies have been shifting production offshore and overseas, our American garment manufacturers have been going out of business. The garment district in New York that supported these manufacturers is also shrinking. Some vendors are simply going out of business and some are moving to lower-rent districts out on Long Island or to New Jersey. The bustling streets that have been featured in the movies, showing rolling garment racks, carts of rolls of fabrics out on the streets, has been going away. Thousands of garment workers are searching for other means of employment. So many talented tailors, sewers and cutters, are disappearing from our American society.

Our quest for cheap clothes has really cost our society. If you look at the labels inside your clothing, chances are, they were not made in the U.S.A. Most dance costume companies still manufacture in the United States. I am guessing this is changing. Check your labels. Support USA-made garments. Realize that costume companies need to charge enough for their products to pay a living wage to their employees. When jobs disappear and go overseas, it doesn’t help our economy. Realize that all businesses need to cover their costs, just as you do, if you own a business.

Higher materials, higher shipping costs, higher office supply costs, and higher insurance costs all plague our small businesses. We are trying to make ends meet, just as you are. We hope that the upcoming election will bring us wise leaders to help stabilize our economy and be able turn it around, so we all can continue to pursue our quest to create fabulous and flattering costumes!