The end of an era...

Over the last few months I've learned some very hard lessons. And, all of these lessons have led me to the same decision: as of February 28, 2014, Modern June will be taking it's last custom orders.

By the middle of last month, I knew that the time for a change had arrived. A number of issues were coming to a head: a slow January, financial difficulties, and poor planning. I realized that I couldn't reach every goal I had from Modern June at once, no matter how hard I worked towards them. Money and time only stretch so far.

So, I did what most businesses do when things slow down and immediately downsized. Let me tell you, it felt like hell letting some of my Junies go. I felt like a failure. I felt that I couldn't meet my goals. I couldn't grow my business, take care of my people, make a profit, and be everything to everyone.

One week later, I found myself dealing with a family emergency. And in that moment, all of my Modern June concerns paled by comparison. Out of respect for those I love most, I won't go into the details, I will simply say that my priorities became very clear, very quickly.

Now, after spending the last 3-4 weeks away from the studio I can see things more clearly. I have had way too much on my plate for years. The changes I seek aren't failures, they are growth. Over the past few years, there are so many creative ventures that I've had to put on hold while managing the day-to-day flow of custom work. And, even with a very talented team of Junies, it still took all of my focus just to manage custom work and stock products.

When one door closes, another one opens, right? Right!! So what's next from Modern June? Moving forward Modern June, the Oilcloth Addict will be offering a smaller range of stock items and focusing more on DIY.

I've been busy constructing a new ModernJune.com where Modern June goods will nestle up with Oilcloth Addict's fabrics. I've been designing new fabric patterns for Spoonflower. And most excitingly, I'll be promoting my upcoming book At Home with Modern June, which releases in less than a month. So, I have a lot of fun in store for us all!

I'm very thankful for my team, I am grateful that I got to know you and work with you all! Thank you so much for your support over the last 8 years--I couldn't have done it with out each and everyone of you.

Here's to the future!! Cheers! 

I'm checking my list, I'm checking it twice...

Everyone has been very good this year.

Thanks for all your great orders this holiday season!!

Porch Party Giveaway Day 5

 

OK, I know I am day late but I had to get my porch party together yesterday and I ran out of time. My last giveaway is a big one, it's a free tablecloth of our choice! Please leave us a comment to enter to win. I'll pick a winner on Wednesday!!

Come back tomorrow with a list of winners from the last four giveaways!! 

Why do I have to wait so darn long for custom work?

Are you about to buy a custom item from Modern June? Are you wondering why you have to wait 4 weeks for a simple tablecloth? The reason is that is that we care! We really do care about each and every order we take in. 

In March alone we had 88 custom sales. For us, that's amazingly awesome and overwhelming!! We were shocked, it was record breaking, we almost doubled our best holiday season in 30 days!! Did I mention that it's only March? 

I learned a lot last month, as we tried maintain a 2-3 week turn around time for custom orders:

1. We run out for fabric in a blink of an eye! One day everyone wants the same fabric and we run out, then we have to wait 2 weeks for more. Sadly, we don't have the money or the space to have 2-3 bolts of each fabric on hand, not when we offer over 70 prints. (Someday!!)
2. Haste makes waste!! When we move as fast as we did in the last 6 weeks we make mistakes. They are costly to us in several ways, most importantly, YOU suffer. We don't like to make mistakes, not were your concerned. That's just how we do business. A simple math mistake on an elasticized table cover is major for you, if I cut it wrong they just don't fit and we have to make it again. We just can't let that happen, we care to much about you.
3. Burn out... is bad when you make custom items. I have a lovely staff that I need to keep happy!! I need my Junies to be thoughtful and caring when they make your custom items. See #2. We are a small little company and we care! We can't loose that love'n feeling!!

To combat the demand we hired a new Junie so that Jonathan and I could breath a little, once Dianne is fully trained we'll be moving along a bit faster. We're also trying to keep a good stock of fabric on hand, but we never know which fabric's going to be the it fabric. One day we sell out of a print buy two bolts and no one want's it again for months. Fabric is just like that, it goes in waves!! ; )

When I opened my Etsy shop in 2006 I mentioned this at check out...

... I insist that your happy, happy, happy with your Modern June purchase. 

I stand by that today. We pride ourselves on offering goods that make life easier, so please understand that waiting is a good thing!!

XOXOX,
Kelly McCants, the luckiest tablecloth maker in the land!

Lovely Laminated Cottons for March

I am so excited about our current collect of laminated cotton for tablecloths and splat mats.  March is looking good!! We have added 6 new prints and added a few back in. Ya'll missed them, so we got them back!

Modern June makes laminated cotton tablecloths that are round, rectangular, oval and square! Don't forget our latest addition, the fitted laminated cotton tablecloth. I can't believe the great response for these elasticized cuties!! Sweet!

As always, our laminated cottons are all BPA, PVC and lead free, so they are great for kids of all ages!!

Here's the list! If you want to see a larger view of the material, check out our swatches at flickr.

1. Graphic Mums Brown by Heather Bailey
2. Lounge Stripe Gold by Heather Bailey
3. Graphic Mum Turquoise by Heather Bailey
4. Lounge Stripe Turquoise by Heather Bailey
5. Treasure Box Charcoal by Amy Butler
6. Charisma Midnight by Amy Butler
7. Gypsy Cobalt  by Amy Butler
8. Royal Apple Chevron by Erin McMorris
9. Citron Apple Chevron by Erin McMorris

10. Scattered Roses by Tanya Whelan
11. Falling Roses by Tanya Whelan
12. Lanterns on White by Tanya Whelan

13. Tart by Anna Maria Horner
14. Fun Blue Bloom by Anna Maria Horner
15. Twist by Anna Maria Horner 

16. Passion Lily Green by Amy Butler

17. Honeycomb Dandelion by Joel Dewberry
18. Amber Rose Bouquet by Joel Dewberry
19. Sky Rose Bouquet by Joel Dewberry
20. Amethyst Block Print Floral by Joel Dewberry 

21. Green Hop Dot by Heather Bailey

22. Green Dandy Strip by Heather Bailey
23. Moss Picnic Bouquet by Heather Bailey

24. Kimono by Ty Pennington
25. Angel Wings Spice by Ty Pennington
26. Chartreuse Moorish Tiles by Ty Pennington
27. Indigo Lattice by Sis Boom
28. Blue Paisley by Sis Boom
29. Green Lattice by Sis Boom

30. Navy Tile by Dena Designs
31. Navy Floral by Dena Designs
32. Intermission in green and yellow by Jenean Morrison

New Elasticized Tablecloths

Introducing our newest product, a fitted laminated tablecloth that wraps snugly on to your table top with elastic!! In the last year my team and I made a few of these elasticized beauties, but I never made one for myself until now, I didn't know how great they were.

Let me just say that I am totally sold. No more wiggly, jiggly tablecloths! No more fabric on my lap while I work on my laptop. No kids (code for hubby) pushing the tablecloth around during dinner. This tablecloth stays put all day everyday and I love it.

I am really excited about using these outside! My new second story deck is already for spring with it's pretty Tart tablecloth. Let me tell you, this is the only tablecloth that I've ever made that survived 2 days of 20 MPH winds. Any other tablecloth would have ended up down the block after the weekend we had here in Richmond!

I am sure that all the mama's with wee ones will love that little hands won't be able to pull on the tablecloth any longer. You know how toddlers love to practice the tablecloth magic trick! I've so been there! Scary. We are using laminated cotton because its supple, waterproof and family friendly. All our laminates are BPA and PVC free, which is good for kids of all ages.

After making several prototypes I've devised a system that allows you to adjust the elastic from two sides of the tablecloth. This way you can get the tablecloth over the edge and tighten it up as snug as possible. You can then release the elastic mechanism when you want to change to another look. Easy-peasy!

So how do you clean it? Well that's the best part. (Insert cheesy TV announcer voice) Laminated cotton is so easy clean, just wipe it down with a damp cloth and gentle spray cleanser. But, for heavily soiled messes you could drop it in the washer on gentle. If you do so, let me suggest line drying it or tumble drying on low. Be sure to remove it RIGHT AWAY from both machines to decrease the amount of permanent creases caused by the machines and heat. My personal recommendation is to just wipe it down, I have the kids do it. (Every once and a while I need to give the cloths a good mommy-once-over to get it really clean -- I think you know what I mean!)  I've been using laminated cotton tablecloths daily for years and I've never needed to do more than that, even after messy cake decorating and science projects!!!

Check out the fitted table covers at Modern June!! 

Thanksgiving Table

I've been thinking about my first Thanksgiving that I hosted, way back 1996. Don and I were newly-wedded-love-birds and I was working on the set of the movie Contact. What was I thinking? I was working six 14-hour days per week.  But I did it. I pulled it off. I stressed over that meal for weeks, every detail carefully planned out.

Boy, how things have changed. I may still work 14-hour days, but extensively planning a meal is long gone. Heck, I didn't even buy a turkey or my fix-ins until late Wednesday. Despite my "I've got no turkey" mantra, the lack of a turkey really didn't bother me that much. I have a very picky family, so as long as I stick to the status quo, I'm okay. The hard part was finding time to get to the grocery.

But what I do love to fret over is the Thanksgiving Table. I love a good tablescape! What was I thinking? I had nothing for this year's table pre-prepped. Well, nothing except a mind full of ideas, and thankfully a studio full of fabric.

You may remember that I'd wanted to make myself a new oilcloth tablecloth for the occasion, but time and materials got away from me. After making more than a dozen tablecloths for Modern June holiday orders, I just didn't have it in me to make one for myself. So, Wednesday evening I finally got started on something for our holiday. The rules were simple... NO SHOPPING and NO SEWING!

My inspiration was a page from the November issue of Country Living, but instead of craft paper I went with Chalk Cloth. The minute I saw the photo in the article, I was reminded of an idea I had been meaning to do for over a year. It was such an easy-peasy project, I really did love making it! And, it only took me 30 minute to complete. Sweet, right? Check out the step-by-step instructions at my Oilcloth Addict Blog.

The morning of Thanksgiving, I started setting the table and I realized that all my napkins were less than pretty. What to do... what to do? Make some of course! Within my fabric stash I found some lime, yellow and orange polka dot cottons that I then cut into 18" squares using my crimped rotary cutter.   A set of 8 napkins in less than 45 minutes! Can't beat that! Nothing fancy here, just fun!

Around mid-morning I took some time to dig out my chalk cloth table runner, and I was able to plan out all the food placement in advance (and it looked really cute too!). This made enlisting help with delivering the food from the kitchen to the dining room even easier, because everyone knew exactly where to put each dish. 

I have to say that the causal Thanksgiving Setting befuddled my In-Laws at first. I really wanted to make the point that this was a no-stress holiday, and we were all going to let go of the silly stuffiness that comes with this time of year. Once everyone knew that the "black stuff" on the table wasn't a tablecloth pad that I had forgotten to top off with a crisp white linen, they all came 'round, and we all spent over an hour scribbling away. Now, that's a Thanksgiving we will never forget, and that is what it is all about, isn't it? Making happy memories!

  

Let's Talk Turkey

There are 28 days to Thanksgiving Day and I need help. We need to talk turkey!  I don't know about you but this fact really shocked me on Monday as I was flipping through Bon Appetite in a doctors waiting room.  One of my favorite things to so is to gaze at the delicious recipes in all the glossy magazines but truth be told I am not the worlds best cook and my family is so picky that even if I could pull it off no one would eat it.  So I don't have to worry about what to cook for thanksgiving, plain and simple food is all that is required.  But give me a tablescape to plan I am golden!

This year I am for sure using my new Chalk Cloth Table Runner, at 72" it now hangs over the edge of my dining room table but once I put the table leaves in it will make a nice long centerpiece for a casual or elegant  Turkey Day Dinner.

That about a new oilcloth tablecloth just for me, hmmmm?   Lime Dots would be fun and would work well with my Fiesta Ware and the upcoming Christmas season decor as well.  Or, I could go a bit more elegant and make a Brown Lace Tablecloth, this way I could bring down my mother in-laws china!

So, I need help deciding, fun lime dots or elegant brown lace oilcloth?  Please leave a comment with your choice.  And don't forget it isn't too late to order your own custom tablecloth,  deadline is November 1st!