Black Friday; or should we say Bright Friday?

Fabworks Online manager George’s thoughts on the service that Fabworks provides & the dreaded Black Friday/Cyber Monday craze and why & to whom we're giving back.

It’s that time of year when people go crazy, almost desperate in their attempts to barge their way to the front of the queue in the hope of finding a bargain. Who can get something for nothing and tell everyone in the following days, weeks & months just how much of a bargain it was… At Fabworks, we’re not ones to jump on the bandwagon, if anything we want to be different. That’s why we sew our own clothes, so that they aren’t the same as everyone else’s! Here’s our story and why we are somewhat boycotting but also partly joining in with BFCM this year. 

First off, Fabworks isn’t a discount store. We rarely reduce the price of fabrics, less often do we actually have a sale. What does a sale actually mean… Products that can’t be sold, products that aren’t worth their price, products that people don’t want, bad mistakes from the buying team, a trick to lure in customers? At Fabworks we sell good quality products at good quality prices. We sell for what we can afford to sell for, not what the rest of the industry is selling for. We don't tend to compare ourselves to others, we set our own benchmarks and yes, there is such a thing as a bargain! I know for a fact that our fleece-backed sweatshirting is superb quality, but it’s £10 per metre so often sniffed at even though it's 2m wide and the only 'repeatable' fabric that we stock. You win some, you lose some.

As you may know Fabworks specialises in wools and we think that our ‘wool game’ is strong, in terms of quality and affordability we put on a good show. In the Mill Shop and Online we also specialise in the other not-so-common essentials such as sewing expertise & advice for all customers, concise fabric descriptions, attention to fine details, honest social media posts, a good range of product photos, inspiring displays, a regularly updated sewing blog and opening the mill shop on Saturdays – something that is difficult to juggle for the family (where most staff are parents with children at home, too).

We are constantly striving to give back, it’s our duty to make customers happy, whether it be to make more fabrics accessible, send a package with the most specific and trivial delivery instructions, stay open a bit later for one far-flung customer who’s running late en route to the mill shop. We are an honest hard-working team. Everyone gets on, when the going gets tough we all pile in together, we are friends outside of work, we support each other emotionally and we share a life at Fabworks. Fabworks is more than just a 9-5 job and it’s testament to the fact that we have part-time staff that have worked with us for 7,8,9 & 10 years.

It must be reiterated that Fabworks is a family-run business. Gil, George & now Leo are all here 5 & 6 days a week, every week. We want you to feel good about recommending Fabworks to a friend, we want you to be happy to deal with Fabworks, to share your makes and inspire others, to use our online facility as a research tool, we are here to give something back to you, too. Selling 2m of jersey fabric for £3/m isn’t a great money spinner but it keeps that sewing project going, it helps to remedy a recent trauma, it slows down fast fashion, and it’s rewarding! We have heard of so many fabric and haberdashery shops closing in recent months. Are business owners feeling pressured into reducing prices until things are simply unaffordable? Is their catchment area too small? Is everyone just buying online and saving the petrol? This industry needs to thrive in order to continue and we’re constantly trying to encourage that. This is part of the reason why we’re joining in the BFCM this year, we feel it our duty to give something back! As well as that added sense of pressure of what is expected, so we’re putting our own spin on things…

Today we present to you Fabworks’ BRIGHT FRIDAY; a day where we acknowledge and give back to you, not a razzmatazz of slashed prices and false advertising.

In order to be able to carry out Fabworks’ BRIGHT FRIDAY we conducted a poll on our Instagram story so that you could tell us exactly what you wanted, rather than us forcing something down your throat just because in the last weekend in November it’s ok to do so. In the poll there were 4 separate options, all of which had a yes/no answer. The highest yes percentage would be carried through to Friday.

Here are the 4 options from the poll + results:

6 Fabric of The Months style fabrics WINS!

So here we have created a mini collection of 6 Fabric of The Month style fabrics that will automatically knock 40% off when you enter the discount code: BRIGHTFRIDAY at the checkout. (Note that the fabrics will state their original RRP until the code is applied). May it be pointed out that the option of 'nothing whatsoever' was also available but only one person was that way inclined out of our 1100+ engaged audience.

Here’s the catch! As we’re making a point of giving something back to you, the BRIGHT FRIDAY offer will only apply to Fabworks customers who have purchased more than once through Fabworks Online (2 orders or more). So make sure you either login using the same account as normal, or use the same email address (if you do not have an account) prior to entering the code. If you are unsure just send me an email here (with your full name, email address & shipping address) and I will quickly confirm whether or not you qualify.

As the free UK shipping came a close second in the poll and more than 80% voted in favour, we have halved the price of shipping for ALL customers at Fabworks Online this weekend too. UK mainland shipping (exc. Northern Ireland, Highlands & Islands) is now £2.49 instead of £4.99

This is our own Fabworks way of running alongside the bandwagon but not getting on. BRIGHT FRIDAY is here for you, not to appeal to the masses. Offer ends: Monday 2^nd November at 11:59pm

All 6 Fabric of The Month style fabrics are also available to buy at Fabworks Mill Shop Friday 29, Saturday 30^th & Monday 2^nd

Happy sewing & thanks for being part of our journey so far.

Best wishes,

George

P.S. we haven’t even mentioned the S word… Sustainability! That is a whole new kettle of fish, and something we’re really keen on. We’ve not got to this part of our story yet, that one can wait for now 😉