Rosemary Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 I live in Australia where we have a population of only 20 million. Looking around at some of the craft and stitches shows I'm guessing a hec of a lot of them sew/quilt. However there also seems to be a LOT of machine quilting services advertised in our local quilting magazines. So is there going to be a sustainable market for new machine quilters entering the market? The machines are expensive and you'd have to make a lot of quilts to cover your costs but if there are already a large number of machine quilters the opportunity to earn any money from a new business venture seems limited. Here, a Millenium costs about $AU30,000 and the quilting rates are roughly $2-$5 per square foot, or roughly $90 - $180 per quilt (6 sq ft). At 3 quilts per week that's only $12,960 - $25,920 per year (with 4 weeks leave). You'd not cover the costs in year 1. And maybe you'd not get 3 quilts a week! If too many others in your area offered the service you might only get 1...then it would take ages to break even before you start making any money. Am I right? Or have I missed something here? I've always wanted a business associated with sewing and this looked just perfect until I did the numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carla Riley Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 Hi Rosemary! I'd like to address some of your concerns about market saturation and pricing. Something you may want to do in the very near future is check with some of those local quilters you see in the magazines and ask them how their backlog is. If it's anything like it is over here, you're probably going to find that most of them, if they do quality work, are backed up anywhere from 3 to 9 months on average. That speaks volumes to the issue of market saturation. And quilting as an industry continues to grow at record-breaking pace. All the sewing machine manufacturers are bringing out new machines and they're almost always targeting the quilters. They do a lot of market research and if the quilting industry were slowing I don't think they would be working so diligently to come up with new and better sewing machine technology for the quilter. That's just my opinion and observation, of course. But I think the best measure of the market is checking with those quilters. We also have a wonderful Australian representative, Sue Morris, who would be happy to visit with you more about this business as well, I'm certain. Maybe we can get her to jump in here and post some info about pricing in Australia and such. She has been running a successful business for a number of years now and has a couple of machines. In regard to pricing, over here we're seeing average pricing starting at around a penny and a half for simple quilting and ranging all the way up to 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cents per square inch and I've seen it much higher than that. An average queen-size quilt would be roughly 90 by 100 inches so would equal 9,000 square inches. So for simple quilting (pantograph, simple meander allover, etc.) that would be approximately $135 for labor alone. That doesn't figure in any thread charges, batting charges, etc. I'm sorry I can't convert to your currency but I'm sure you can do those numbers. I want to send you an email with our sample business plan and return of investment info. I'll get that done yet today and you can take a look at it. Of course, it is all done in US Funds as well and I apologize for that. Maybe I can talk Sue into helping me convert that for our Australian customers sometime...hint hint Sue -- if you're watching! But I hope that the information will help you to make sense of it all for now. I would ask you not to give up on your dream yet! Let us work out the numbers together and find out if this could be a viable business for you. I've seen so many people get machines from us and launch a very successful business and they've had such a great time pursuing their dreams, I hate to think that you're going to give up just yet. Please let us know how we can help you to sort it all out before you make a decision. We're here to support you and assist with your research, so please use us as a resource anytime there is anything we can do to help. I'll email you later and you let me know what other questions you come up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosemary Posted July 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 Thank you Carla for that reply and for the email. I will contact Sue as you suggest as well as the quilters in the area to get a better idea of the opportunity. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carla Riley Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Rosemary: No problem at all. I hope you received the documents I emailed to you as well. I'm glad you're going to contact Sue. I think she will be a terrific resource for you. I'm also available anytime if there is anything at all I can do to help. Keep us posted on your progress with your research! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sue in Australia Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Hi Rosemary and everyone I would enjoy sharing information with you on the possibilities for machine quilters in Australia - my telephone numbe is (03) 9769 0248. Until we speak here are my thoughts on your question. The Millennium machine is curently in the region of $25,000 as the dollar has improved dramatically since you were quoted $30,000. This price includes as much training as you want - we want you to be able to get out there and start earning money as quickly as possible. The price also includes all shipping costs and GST. The average charge in Melbourne for continuous quilting is from $3.25 per sq ft for continuous and from $5 sq ft for custom. I have seen a few people advertise continuous from $2.75 but the choice of design is very limited and usually very open. This is a tease really because those designs are not really the ones people choose but they do entice people to look at your brochure! Waiting lists are longer than ever and I do not see people getting fed up with quilting as they have done with other crafts. I am sure quilting is here to stay and will get bigger. Waiting lists are on average 6 months and more - it is not unusual to have to wait 18 months to have your quilt quilted. It takes me around 4 hours to quilt a queen size quilt and I earn around $50-$60 depending on how dense the quilting is. I would love to help you further so please give me a call and we can chat Best wishes Sue - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernview Cottage Aust Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 I am really excited - I have had my first 3 official customers in(ie not family or friends). I only put some flyers in a local shop about 3 weeks ago, first customer last weekend and 2 others this weekend - so very happy with the quick response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 That's when I officially started taking in their work. I've quilted 5-6 and I have 10 hanging in my shop ready to do. And there are 3 other long arm people here, but all have at least a 3 month wait. So I think there is plenty of business everywhere. (especially considering it's a pretty small quilting world here on an island and there is more business to go around than we can all do). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 I don't know about the market in Australia, but I know that I have lots of people drooling all over me already and I've not had my machine a week yet. I don't anticipate taking customers until October (most likely), after I've been to Innovations. People keep asking -- "Are you ready? I have several quilts for you!" I know there are at least four more longarm quilters in my area, but they are all extremely busy. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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