Our goal is to get a Beatrice into the hands of everyone who’d like one. Right now, that’s not possible. With just the two of us and one cutting machine, Nate and I can only make so many each month in our home workshop. So, we’re off to the races to expand our production capability as fast as we can.
Like we mentioned last month, we’re interviewing candidates for our production assistant role which is going extremely well. It never ceases to amaze me how many creative, motivated people are out there, especially in the sewing world! We’re hoping to introduce our new team member to you all by early August.
On the new production studio front…
We’ve assembled most of the furniture and purchased the new sewing machines and equipment. I’m still waiting on our custom cutting mat which I’m SUPER excited about. I will upgrade my personal setup with one if we end up really liking it…no more cobbled together, running off the end of the mat situation for me, WOOHOO!
The plan over the next few weeks is to move our finishing and shipping operation over to the new space to see what we’re missing in terms of supplies/equipment. Then we can sort it all out before we start training our new team member. Lots of things happening at once.
Machine #2
Until recently, having only one cutting machine was fine. It’s essentially a well-performing prototype that Nate built in the early days that got our company off the ground. Now, having just this one machine is a liability. It’s time to take everything we’ve learned with that awesome little prototype and build the next generation.
To that end, Nate’s been designing a new, mo’ betta CNC that’s got all kinds of improvements specifically for cutting foam bodices. The new bells and whistles will make production a lot easier but also just having TWO machines (and later this year, THREE) will make all the difference in increasing capacity since Nate can run them in parallel.
Nate placed his first part orders today and can’t wait to get started on the build in the coming weeks. Like most big moves at Beatrice Forms, it’s a family affair: Nate’s dad Larry will be helping with the assembly and I’ve been recruited for my type-A soldering skills. We’re hoping to have machine #2 online in a month or so.
Once we’re done, I’ll have lots of pictures for you!
