Is this the end of special order cloth?

[figheadair]

The rabble may be unaware that D. C. Dalgliesh has had to introduce a new price list including a set-up cost for special orders irrespective of the length ordered. This set-up charge ranges from £100-160 depending of the type and weight of cloth (wool, silk, sashes etc).

I've corresponded with Nick Fiddes and am in no way suggesting that the rationale is unreasonable, quite the reverse. I think that we all agree that Nick has done a great job and personal risk to rescue what is undoubtedly the weaver of the best commercial cloth but the bottom line is that it will mean that for short run specials the cost of the setting up will make the cloth unaffordable to all but the very rich. Invariably, the option to do historically accurate reconstructions will no longer be an option. Apply the maxim that you get what pay for and the time and skill is truly reflected in these new and more realistic costs. Time to dig out my old loom perhaps .

[ShaunMaxwell]

As a graphic designer, I can see that it's much like setting up an offset printing press. The expense of printing is largely in the setup, whether you run a hundred copies of a document or 10,000 copies, the setup costs are the same.

Having watched the D.C. Dalgliesh video explaining the setup that goes into weaving a length of tartan fabric, I can say that I understand the need to begin charging for setup to keep the company financially viable. That said, I wonder if the resulting increase in cost doesn't price them out of the reach of those kilt wearers who are enthusiastic enough about specialty tartans to require Dalgliesh's services... I'd suspect that that's a pretty small market to begin with.

In addition, I wonder if this will have a knock-on affect on the business of the kiltmakers (Barb T., Matt Newsome, Paul Henry, etc.) who often work with DCD fabric.

Thanks for sharing this interesting development.

SM

[David Thorpe]

"Is this the end of special order cloth?"
In a word, no. Marton Mills does commissioned runs quite reasonably. They use tucked selvage and have minimum yardages beyond single kilt length, but unless you are building museum pieces, their tartan fabrics are quite satisfactory.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I have had to adjust the price of my kilts, taking into account the new pricing from Dalgliesh. I have tried to keep price increases as low as I could, while still making a reasonable profit for myself.

The result is that on my heirloom kilts (which are made from Dalgliesh's custom woven cloth) the prices went up an average of only $50 to $60.

So a four yard box pleated kilt from custom woven cloth will now cost $555 instead of $495. A five yard kilt is now $595 instead of $545. So yes, it does cost a little more, but still very reasonable, and I think that if you could afford $495 for a kilt from a custom tartan, you could also swing $555.

Admittedly, I am not making as much money per kilt as I was before, and I may decide down the road I need to adjust the price upwards, but for now I'd like to keep it at this level as long as I can.

[ShaunMaxwell]

Well the DCD price increase doesn't seem to have nearly the effect on kilt pricing I'd thought it would. I guess an extra $50 to $60 is probably worth it if it keeps DCD afloat.

Thanks for the clarfication, Matt.

SM

[New World Czech]

Well this is bad new for me. Unfortunately there are not that many kilt wearers out there of Czech heritage to make MM an option for my Czech National Tartan. I only know one other person who is a member on this forum and already has kilt in CzN.

Edit: Matt that is good to hear.

[figheadair]

Well the DCD price increase doesn't seem to have nearly the effect on kilt pricing I'd thought it would. I guess an extra $50 to $60 is probably worth it if it keeps DCD afloat.

Thanks for the clarfication, Matt.

SM

As the set-up cost for single width heavy weight is £100 ($157,00 currently) that means an extra $40.00 p/y to the retailer without markup which added to the cost of the cloth makes roughly $80 p/y before tax and mark up. 4 yds - £240 plus tax and mark up and Matt's time is worth....?

[ShaunMaxwell]

As the set-up cost for single width heavy weight is £100 ($157,00 currently) that means an extra $40.00 p/y to the retailer without markup which added to the cost of the cloth makes roughly $80 p/y before tax and mark up. 4 yds - £240 plus tax and mark up and Matt's time is worth....?

That's what prompted my original post, but see what Matt had to say. My response was based upon the figures he provided. As Matt said, an extra $50 or $60 probably wouldn't make much difference to someone already willing to pay $495 for a kilt.

In the instance of a 4-yard kilt, if it were to add a minimum of $160 to the price, that might be a deal breaker for many.

[Paul Henry]

I noticed it as well, and I completely understand the set up costs need to be accounted for , but it is a substantial rise, and certainly for my kilts which are usually 8 yards it may well be out of hte reach of some of my customers, we shall see, I can make a little less perhaps, because I would like the orders but I still need to pay bills!
One point to note was that the price rise was dated a few days before they notified their customers, so that i had no chance to speculatively order some cloth, and indeed if I had had a client in the middle of a decision process I would have had a problem....

[Cygnus]

As others have said, I think the idea was just to make small runs worth it (or to discourage single kilt-length runs). With a bit of coordination, though, you should be able to distribute those set-up costs a bit. If you're a member of a clan association (or a family!) and do the legwork to track down two or three others that would be interested in the tartan, it really becomes a better situation for the buyers and the producers. Otherwise, you and the few others may have ordered your fabric at different times, causing the weavers to set up their looms three times.

I don't love price increases, but, like others have said, it makes good sense.