The two years overdue major premises upgrade has finally been done and set up. This means far more space, fitting rooms and hopefully less compacting. The new Wendy house is a 3x6m compared to the old one which was 3x3m. The size difference is quite huge.
It took over two hours to get everything out of the old Wendy house, the area in and around the new one is currently still a construction site, but hopefully today it should be sorted out and everything can be moved back in.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Free Comic Book 2013 is coming
The annual Free Comic Book Day is upon us soon. It is a worldwide event and it always happens on the first Saturday of May and many shops in many countries take part. As always, I will be helping out at Readers Den in Stadium on Main in Claremont, Cape Town. Last year the event was a lot larger than previous years and this year it is supposed to be even bigger. The best costume contest is being split into three categories this year because there were too many good costumes last year.
http://www.readersden.co.za/shop/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=15
http://www.readersden.co.za/shop/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=15
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
New locally made costumes in wrong sizes and related delays
At the end of December 2012, I asked a local company to make selected costumes for me. I did mention my height specifically and I was assured that they fill fit. The costumes turned out not to be as good as I was expecting them to be, especially considering the photos were only of other costumes that they were based upon.
Some of the costumes arrived at the end of January 2013 and the rest was supposed to be about two weeks later. Two of the costumes that arrived and had hands, had the hands wider at the tip of the hand than in the middle and I could get my own hands only halfway in. The fact that there were no individual fingers like the original had, also bothered me quite a bit. This mess practically made it impossible for the person wearing the costume to close it up on the zip or buttons because of seriously restricted use of hands. The costumes were basically not scaled properly since the person who made them was a lot smaller.
The second batch of costumes that I had ordered and were supposed to arrive on 9 February are still being worked on and supposedly redone because of the hands. This means they were also stuffed up. Earliest that I will get them is most likely at the end of the month. My repairs lady was also upset about how the seams were done which means lots of issues later on. Sending photos that are not close enough to how the costumes actually look like, plus the scaling issues and hand issues, is going to ensure that I will skip this particular company in future what getting costumes made concerns. I rather spend the shipping costs and 40% import duties to import costumes again since that will be more worthwhile in the long run.
Some of the costumes arrived at the end of January 2013 and the rest was supposed to be about two weeks later. Two of the costumes that arrived and had hands, had the hands wider at the tip of the hand than in the middle and I could get my own hands only halfway in. The fact that there were no individual fingers like the original had, also bothered me quite a bit. This mess practically made it impossible for the person wearing the costume to close it up on the zip or buttons because of seriously restricted use of hands. The costumes were basically not scaled properly since the person who made them was a lot smaller.
The second batch of costumes that I had ordered and were supposed to arrive on 9 February are still being worked on and supposedly redone because of the hands. This means they were also stuffed up. Earliest that I will get them is most likely at the end of the month. My repairs lady was also upset about how the seams were done which means lots of issues later on. Sending photos that are not close enough to how the costumes actually look like, plus the scaling issues and hand issues, is going to ensure that I will skip this particular company in future what getting costumes made concerns. I rather spend the shipping costs and 40% import duties to import costumes again since that will be more worthwhile in the long run.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The new flyers are finally printed
The new flyers have finally been printed and have arrived last night. Distribution will be a very interesting issue. Originally there were supposed to be only 1500 flyers printed, they ended up becoming 2300.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The dilemma with getting better premises for costume hire
As many people will have noticed, my space for hiring out costumes is becoming increasingly smaller over time as well as older. As a result I have the following options and issues:
1. Hire the premises across the road for 8000 Rand (ZAR) per month which my income cannot cover during the quiet months and due to the expensive maintenance. This would also include paying a salary to someone to be there during the day as well as electricity and possibly water as well.
2. Get a bigger replacement for my Wendy House which requires 34000 Rand (ZAR) according to one quote. This is not a possibility right now since I do not want to take out a loan.
3. Should my tenants move out then I could use my current flat for the costumes, but it is a matter of time until that becomes too small.
4. Partner with someone and move everything elsewhere which becomes a problem about who is controlling the stock. Recently that nearly happened, then someone else I know did that with that person and lost most of the stock and money.
5. Get another Wendy House for about 9000 Rand (ZAR) and pay that off over a few months.
To afford some better premises, I need to hire out more which means first to spend more money and time on marketing.
1. Hire the premises across the road for 8000 Rand (ZAR) per month which my income cannot cover during the quiet months and due to the expensive maintenance. This would also include paying a salary to someone to be there during the day as well as electricity and possibly water as well.
2. Get a bigger replacement for my Wendy House which requires 34000 Rand (ZAR) according to one quote. This is not a possibility right now since I do not want to take out a loan.
3. Should my tenants move out then I could use my current flat for the costumes, but it is a matter of time until that becomes too small.
4. Partner with someone and move everything elsewhere which becomes a problem about who is controlling the stock. Recently that nearly happened, then someone else I know did that with that person and lost most of the stock and money.
5. Get another Wendy House for about 9000 Rand (ZAR) and pay that off over a few months.
To afford some better premises, I need to hire out more which means first to spend more money and time on marketing.
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