I've had some feedback on this blog from other businesses in this industry, several of whom want to "go in together" and get some nice colors of the Oracal 631 Exhibition Cal series vinyl. (I use this kind because it's matte, and removable. It's also fairly easy to weed.)
The first color I'd like to get would be a really pretty Cream color. (If this goes well, I'd love to get more colors, but we'll see how it goes with just this one.)
(I'll be happy to choose the exact color, but if there are any suggestions for a specific Pantone Color, I'm pretty flexible. Once we get the ball rolling, I'll of course let you know the exact Pantone Color.)
So here's the deal. I contacted my supplier who told me the requirements:
The total order needs to have a minimum of 90 rolls of 24" x 50 yds. (of one color)
We'll be allowed to each pay separately (on the same day) and have it shipped to us individually (yay)!
So the price for each roll of 24" x 50yds is $86.25. (if any of you have a supplier who would be cheaper, by all means, I'm willing to go through somebody else.)
Obviously, the more people willing to go in together, the less we'll each need to order. I think a reasonable goal is to have each company order 4 rolls (at least), and then we'll need about 22 companies to do this. 4 Rolls! That's just about $400 after shipping, people. Which sure beats $8,000.00 for 90 rolls!
So if you're interested, please pass along this info (our link is interiortypography.blogspot.com ) to as many interior vinyl lettering companies you know of, and we might be able to make it work. If your budget won't allow for 4 rolls, you can still get 1 or 2, but it will just take a lot more companies.
So if you're interested: Please post a comment below and include your
· Name
· Email address
· How many rolls you'll be able to get
(or if you don't want your info displayed on the web, you can email all that information directly to me at: interiortypography@gmail.com)
I'll then send any updates to this process to your email.
The timing will depend on the response. If we have a lot of interest right away, then we could start it this week. It may take a couple weeks to get the news around, so do your part to spread the word.
Shipping info:
The supplier use UPS, and charge what UPS charges for shipping. So- if you want to see how much shipping would cost for you,
go to https://wwwapps.ups.com/ctc/request?loc=en_US&WT.svl=PNRO_L1
check "quick time and cost (package)"
input Ship from: USA, zip code: 75021
Ship to: [where ever you are]
The shipping weight for 1 roll of vinyl is 18 lbs, for 4 rolls is 72 lbs.
They usually use UPS Ground, but I think that you can choose whatever shipping option you want.
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(First email response- I haven't included her name in case she prefers to be anonymous):
ReplyDeleteI would also love it if they would add some new color selections. I
don't know that I am interested in the cream I use their beige and how
different from the beige would a cream really be. I did look at your
post and would be interested in the sage or even better yet an olive
green, wine or burgundy color and possible the muted deep gold color.
If you decide to go with one of those colors I think I would be in
just not sure I really need the cream.
(I let her know that my definition of cream would me much closer to white than to beige, more of an off white. Then she said:)
I am not opposed to an off white. I have had a few requests but not a ton. If you do go ahead
with the off white or cream color let me know I may order.
Second email response- also anonymous):
ReplyDeleteYou go, girl! We've been SOOOO needing a few of these colors! Cream would be awesome, but so would a burgundy/wine red, and a sage or olive green. Wow! We'd definitely be in for purchasing 4 of the Cream in the Oracal 631, so count us in.
Let me know if you get any interest in doing any of the other colors.
Thanks for coordinating this! I'm assuming we can forward this to any other vinyl companies we know of? :)
(I sent her a note that said PLEASE do!)
Third Email Response: ('m keeping it anonymous)
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested in joining the bandwagon for a bulk purchase, but I've got
a couple of hesitations...
If we collectively order a run in a single color, do you have a distributor that might be willing to purchase some of the run so that as we run out, we can order more without having to get a huge order together again? We can market the new color(s) as 'for a limited time' etc to our customers, but unless we have some way of getting the colors again, it's not feasible to
sustain.
I have seen some of our peers using an olive color that is a different vinyl to augment their product offerings. I'd definitely lean to getting a color such as a good sage or olive rather than start with a cream color since we
already have beige available that is very close to cream. Most of my clients lean to the darker colors since we're seeing a hard swing back to
white/cream walls (I blame the swing back to neutral solidly on the state of the housing market and everyone wanting to neutralize their house to get it market ready).
I appreciate your efforts to jump start this initiative, and definitely applaud your willingness to be the ring leader. Let me know where I can help, if you need me to back you up when talking to Oracal or any of the distributors. Uppercase Living has exclusive colors, or they're using a different manufacturer than Oracal. I've seen products that come from China with a completely different vinyl (thin yellow backing) in the matte finish.
This means that we may have some leverage as a collective group to get Avery or another manufacturer to begin to create a similar matte finish vinyl for us as well as getting Oracal to extend their line.
(then I sent her this email:
Out of the 3 responses I've gotten today, you're the 3rd (100%) who's wanted to do a Sage or Olive. The other two also wanted to do a wine/burgundy. I've just assumed that the cream would be the best seller, because I've noticed I have to restock my neutrals (black, white, chocolate) about 3 times as fast as the other colors. BUT- because it seems everybody has more interest in the sage, maybe I should start with that. The others also said they would go for Cream, but I see the point you make about cream walls.
As for restocking the colors:
I think this would have to be a "get it while you can" kind of thing. Maybe if the experience goes well, everybody will want to come back and get more when we all run out. But we'll need to see. I'll ask the distributor if they might be willing to get more of it than what we buy, but I seriously have no idea. The woman I talked to about this yesterday is going to call me today, because I had a few questions she couldn't answer without doing a little research.
Which is one of the reasons I suggested getting 4 rolls, that way we can have it last longer so we don't have to do another run so soon. Of course, you might be much more successful than I am, and 4 rolls might not last you very long... :) Maybe you should get 8! :)
I actually started this whole process last year after seeing some beautiful colors in the Uppercase living catalog. I actually ordered something from them in all the colors that I couldn't find, to check out the back and see what brand they were using. To my surprise, it was the oracal 631! So that's when I contacted Oracal and said "how do I get me some of this??" :) (basically). They said that Uppercase Living had these made as custom colors, but I couldn't buy any because UCL had requested they remain "exclusive" to them. SO- I could request a specific pantone color, and they would make it. So I was thinking I would probably try to match the colors UCL has that we don't with a pantone wheel, and then have them made to be very similar. (to what UCL has).
Her response was):
I’d love to see wine and burgundy as well as sage and olive. I’m sure that I’m as small as you are and can’t buy a ton of rolls, but I could probably swing 8 of a color as long as we stagger them. My biggest hurdle is how to incorporate the new colors into the website with over 600 designs (of course I keep running out of bandwidth too, so I may be in for a website change sooner than I wanted to…)
I picked up a design at JoAnn Fabrics after Christmas that has wine color vinyl with a yellow backing (no marks on it) and the vinyl itself is layered, with white on the back and the real color layered over the top. The designs come from Once Upon a Wall / DCWV Home and are out of Provo, UT but made in China (yikes!). I have no idea who makes that vinyl, but it’s most likely not from Oracal since the vinyl seems to be an inferior quality. I’ll have to take a closer look at the stuff available from Target to see if I can sleuth out the vinyl mfg for their product.