Going Above and Beyond with Stitch Above the Rest
Elizabeth Gerdes, CPC
Owner, Custom Drapery Workroom
A Stitch Above the Rest, LLC
I think I have a little PTSD now. 😂 Some of you may remember that I posted about working on a large commercial job for the Summer. Well, it’s finally done and I finally feel like I’m getting back to normal. Once the final install was complete, I literally had to decompress. I’m only now starting to go through my waiting list and call people back and starting to want to work again.
I wanted to follow up and give you a few numbers on this job. I started fabrication on 6/1/19. I ended on 9/19/19. In addition, I fabricated for 86 days, including weekends, late nights and early mornings. My schedule on average was wake up at 5AM, start work by 6AM and work throughout the day until likely 11PM or Midnight. I worked some long days and I worked some short days. I traveled to my daughter’s out of state tournaments on several occasions and I tried to continue to be a Mom and wife during this time; though it was difficult. Throughout the job, my husband stepped up and took over my usual chores of shopping, making meals, keeping up with the kids, and maintaining the house. My teenage kids did their own school shopping this year, walked the dog, and helped keep me fed by running to get food when I needed something.
To say I worked crazy hours is an understatement. During this time, I stood at my table and worked on some form of fabrication for 86 days. I went to 15 days of installs with my installer where we installed at least one thing and most times, obviously more. I showed up on the job site countless times to confirm the new construction didn’t change my numbers, but usually it did. I stopped what I was doing and traveled to the site on a whim when asked, to meet the big wigs when they came to town. And I took plenty of phone calls, emails, and texts to be sure everything was progressing as it should. Those hours, in addition to travel time, calculating, quoting, and fabric inspection hours, did not get documented. Yet, I met every deadline that was thrown at me.
When I took on this job, I knew it was going to be a large job. I knew I was going to have to put in some serious effort to complete it in three months, and I knew that it meant everything else in my life would take a back seat. Originally, I thought I would farm pieces of the job out. However, I was always missing a piece of the puzzle before I could deliver it to someone else. Either the fabric wasn’t in, or the measurements hadn’t been confirmed, or the deadline was too short for someone else to jump in. I eventually just started on the pieces of the puzzle that I did have and just kept taking steps forward. Eventually I saw piles of completed drapery stacking up and just kept moving through the orders. By the time I was more than half way through, I realized, I might just be able to do this entire job by myself. And, that’s exactly what I did. (Though I did make a few mistakes that I had to fix too.)
I have never taken on this size of a job. Not only did it have a six-figure price tag, but it had a crazy deadline for one person to actually try and meet. I accepted the challenge, having never made Ripplefold draperies before this, and I finished it. I am very proud of myself and the job I did and just recently got approval from this great company to be able to post any photos and videos I want. They are happy to support my work. They have been a blessing to work with.
So here are the numbers I promised you. This job included:
*147 Feet of Vertical Blinds Installed
*519 Feet (6,221.5”) of traversing track installed (all assembled by my installer)
*1,393 Feet (16,718”) of Ripplefold draperies/sheers installed (this is width only)
*1,309 Yards of Fabric used in this job
*Fabricated in 529 hours over 86 days
*15 Days of installing something
This job taught me a lot and I will say it again, if I can do it, as a one-woman workroom in my basement, so can you!
I’ve attached a couple of photos, and I will post more to my personal and business pages eventually.
About the Author
Elizabeth Gerdes
In 2003, while trying to make a few extra dollars selling custom nursery bedding on eBay, Elizabeth Gerdes founded Stitch Above the Rest, LLC. Operating out of her dining room in Marietta, GA while her children slept at night and relying on the sewing skills she learned growing up as the fourth child of twelve, Elizabeth continued to grow her business by selling custom-made items to local boutiques, craft shows, and residential clients.
In 2007, Elizabeth wanted to diversify her offerings and went back to school, at the Custom Home Furnishings Academy in North Carolina, to become a Certified Career Professional in custom window treatment fabrication, design, and workroom operation.
Surviving and thriving during the recession, Elizabeth continued to carve a path for Stitch Above the Rest, LLC to become a leader in this industry for quality, customer service, and commitment to the client. She has created an invaluable reputation that has been given five stars by her clients.
Though she has been featured in many publications and has won numerous industry awards for her unique designs and fabrication, including being named Drapery and Design Professional Magazine’s Workroom of the Year in 2014, her greatest honor came in 2017, after ten short years officially in the custom window treatment industry. Elizabeth was awarded the highest honor of her career and the highest honor in her industry, when she received VISION Magazine’s Award of Excellence and was named Workroom of the Year 2017, in addition to winning four separate category awards that same night.
Elizabeth has helped many clients take the stress out of window treatment fashions. She feels very blessed to have worked with some great clients that allow her creativity and passion to shine through, and she does not take it for granted.
Now living in Woodstock, GA, and working out of a full-size workroom Elizabeth feels her greatest asset as a small business owner is the ability to be there for her now three teenagers as they grow. With Elizabeth’s continued passion driving its success, Stitch Above the Rest, LLC has a bright future.
To find out more about A Stitch Above the Rest, visit Elizabeth’s site at https://www.stitchabovetherest.com/