Keeping on top of things

This morning I was thinking about my plans for the week and realized that over time I've evolved a schedule for myself. It has to stay flexible with 3 kids between ages 2 and 8, but having some sense of what needs to get done helps me stay on top of my orders and customs list.

Monday - Cutting day. Cut out PUL for painting new designs, cut diaper outers that have been ordered to the correct style and mark snap placement, cut out diaper inners. If there is time, start attaching snaps.
Tuesday - Painting day. Paint new designs on PUL. Paint shirts or applique patches.
Wednesday - Sewing day one. Finish attaching snaps, sew pocket diaper inners, prepare side snap covers for binding. Also take photos of new work.
Thursday - Sewing day two. Finish sewing pockets and covers, attach final snaps, check for quality control. Prepare new stockings.
Friday - Finishing. Applique sewing on tees. Print shipping labels, prepare packages, go to post office, monitor new stockings.

I work about 2 hours each morning and 3 hours each afternoon, plus another hour (or more!) on the computer at night. I like to batch up all the orders for each week and sew them all together in steps, rather than sewing all of one diaper, all of the next diaper and so on. This means that my turnaround time is about 7 to 10 days. I really try to get everything for the week done by the end of the week, though sometimes when orders are many, it has spilled into a 7-hour sewing stretch on Saturday!

I like to reserve the weekends for family time, of course, but that's when my mind is often generating new ideas and when I try to sneak in a few hours worth of dyeing.

Really, when you run your own business, you're never entirely not thinking about it. At least, its hard to stop...Even when I'm not in my studio, I take my sketchbook on trips and am always playing with design ideas. So far I've had 3 or 4 ideas for every one I have time to execute. So, I feel confident I'll be doing this for some time to come!