Hey Fred, are you gonna tell the guy where to get the repro vinyl or a kit that has it or are you gonna make him call you from the UK?

The ease of inserting links and images and the way they look when they're published is a great improvement. Good job!

Since this thread went from one about why auto upholstery seems so different from other service industries to a conversation about the benefits of a trade association, I started a new discussion specifically about that. Please have a look:

Trade Association for the Auto Interior/Upholstery Industry

In other words 1) fewer and fewer people have the patience to master a trade, 2) there are few opportunities to learn the trade, 3) who wants to spend years training a low pay profession? 4) same as number 2, 5) SEMA Pro kinda relates to what we do, but not enough to make it valuable to people, and 6) people have no trouble spending thousands of dollars a year on avocado toast, fancy lattes and alcohol, but would rather let their car interiors rot before spending a few hundred bucks to maintain them.

Sad, but mostly true.

One counterargument I can offer is the restyling industry. The one that SEMA is really the trade association for. The restyling industry has done a much better job of following the traditional business models taught by the SBA and most MBA programs. They have much better representation on journals, trade associations, and supply sources. What they don't have is the heavy skill set requirements that we have.

Perhaps if we were able to improve our training systems, we would be able to grow, How many times have you heard another shop owner say "If I only had skilled, reliable people working for me, I could grow this business twenty fold. It's true, there is plenty of work out there, and a good sales/marketing approach could keep the work coming. The hardest part is finding the right people to do the work. I've paid experienced trimmers $20 and more per hour to start. That's a decent pay rate for many people.

I've paid more than $300 per yard for rare auto fabrics. Supply and demand rules the market. If your customer demands it, then that's the price they have to pay. Not to say that it doesn't hurt to try finding it cheaper. Good luck.

Congratulations guys! This is a great accomplishment. The Hog Ring has become an increasingly important tool for our industry, and this revised forum is a very important moment. I'm really proud of you and your dedication, and I am here to help if I can. Thank you so much! --Jim