IHG-103 - Ultra Heavy Flannel Cushion Cover - 21 Colourways

[Karol]

IHG-103 SAX
IH-888S-21

Are any new planned for this winter? I mean the IHG-103

[Alex]

We will continue to make them, but as I have talked about what feels like thousands of times, we have big production issues at the moment. We are not going to delay the release of a shirt to make some cushion covers, etc etc

[Karol]

@Alex I see - sewing facility being the bottleneck again. Absolutely supporting Your priorities, waiting for one of those shirts as well

[goosehd]

@Karol You have to look at a bigger picture than just a sewing facility. Think about how many different items are released by IH every season and the everything that goes into it. There are multiple processes involved for each single item to be made with multiple choke points along the way.

To say it’s just sewing is only looking on a microscopic level.

There is just not enough room, money, time, people, equipment, etc. to make more or as quickly as we would like.

[goosehd]

Think about it this way:

Cotton for the UHF’s is grown by farmers and all crops are subject to weather conditions, insects, and workers/equipment to pick that crop.

The crop then has to be turned into threads which are then dyed, woven into fabric, and then sent to pattern cutters. Then you have the sewing facility putting it all together. You have quality control checks, and then shipping.

Quite a few bumps in the road, which are all dependent on the prior steps, staffing, money being paid out along the way, and machinery that needs maintenance.

Any issues can cause multiple issues down the line. Quite often if there is an issue everything gets pushed back and other items get bumped up to keep things flowing.

[Karol]

@goosehd that's a good point, but it's rarely a matter of the whole supply chain breaking down. At least I hoped this is not the case for IH. Now You got me really worrying.

[goosehd]

Worrying about what?

[Karol]

@goosehd said in IHG-103 - Ultra Heavy Flannel Cushion Cover - 21 Colourways:

Worrying about what?

Im worried about the future of Japanese crafts in the form I adore. I've seen Haraki mentioning this from time to time on his blog.

[goosehd]

I am not following your logic…everything ever made is subject to the same issues. From cars to houses to electronics to clothing.

Everything…

[Karol]

@goosehd said in IHG-103 - Ultra Heavy Flannel Cushion Cover - 21 Colourways:

I am not following your logic…everything ever made is subject to the same issues. From cars to houses to electronics to clothing.

Everything…

It's OK, You are trying to synthesize while I try to approach this from analytical perspective.
It's something that we should have chatted about instead of adding to this thread here.

[Giles]

And, we don't make fabric specifically for the cushions. We use the offcuts from shirt production, so we have to produce the shirts to get the offcuts.....Cushions are a lovely thing, but they are a bi-product, not a product as such...

[Matt]

@Karol how many cushions do you have dude?

[goosehd]

@Karol let’s flip the table, how would you handle the limited ability to produce products?

What are some of the inefficiencies that you would address?

[Karol]

@Matt I think 5 or 6. I gave most to my parents and I kept the black herringbone.

[Karol]

@goosehd said in IHG-103 - Ultra Heavy Flannel Cushion Cover - 21 Colourways:

@Karol let’s flip the table, how would you handle the limited ability to produce products?

What are some of the inefficiencies that you would address?

Feels like You are trying to defend something here, that I was not attacking
But I will take the opportunity and say that I would do exactly what @Alex seems to be doing. Focusing on the core items. Deliberately limiting the new releases and instead dealing with the backlog of products that people associate with Iron Heart the most.

I made these comments while starting on the forum - https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum//post/676528
In terms of availability, this discussion focuses on the seasonal products, but I want to focus more on the scarcity of “continuous production”. Waiting times on those seem to vary between 6 to 12 months from what I see on the forum and that I can hardly call continuous. Providing restocks more often instead of introducing other products would be my priority.
I still believe that this should be a priority.

Then there is the aspect of ramping-up the production, scaling everything up. I don't see it as short or medium term activity. It's something that is probably already happening, and we are not even noticing because the demand is growing even quicker. But here the biggest factor is quality. For a company like Iron Heart the skilled workers are the scarcest asset. Training is never easy, and the quality that we expect comes from people deeply involved with their craft. I want to belive that they do it for the craft as much as they do it for the money, and in such a situation hiring more people from the street is not an option - the quality would suffer, and the brand identity would be gone.

[Giles]

For example, it takes a year for a new recruit (even if she/he has prior sewing experience) to move from the practice room to the production floor....

[goosehd]

@Karol Not defending, but making sure that everyone is on the same page regarding items being produced.

Ramping up production is not feasible as the factories are already at maximum output which includes machinery and personnel.

If IH shifted priorities to restocking back items, you may fail to capture new customers looking for the newest items or losing old clients who already have said items.

There is not a perfect solution and running a business on this scale, has to take all of those factors into account.

[Karol]

@Giles said in IHG-103 - Ultra Heavy Flannel Cushion Cover - 21 Colourways:

For example, it takes a year for a new recruit (even if she/he has prior sewing experience) to move from the practice room to the production floor....

Giles, and what do You think, is there interest in younger members of the sociality in Japan to go into crafts?

[Giles]

Not like a few years ago, hence the growing issue.....

[Karol]

@Giles said in IHG-103 - Ultra Heavy Flannel Cushion Cover - 21 Colourways:

Not like a few years ago, hence the growing issue.....

@goosehd and this is the worry I was mentioning to You earlier. We are witnessing a change in the Japanese sociality that has repercussions on this quality aspect from above statement.
I don't remember where it was but @Giles or @Alex mentioned that in one of the factories the owners created really good conditions for foreign workers so that they can focus on the training and later the work. But I still think that there is a risk that even with those extraordinary precautions it's going to be unsustainable. People might want to go back to their home countries, try something else with their lives. etc. While the qualities that IH has in the business have been developed by people solely focused on their thing, perfecting it for years and years.
What Im trying to say here is that the world keeps spinning faster and faster, and that is not good for the things and quality that we love.