Author Archives: Cell Block Seven Design Co

I recently transferred a lot of my hosting/registrar stuff from GoDaddy & Google to Squarespace. I’ll also be transferring off of HostGator soon to KnownHost. These changes take time to propagate through the multiverse, so at times the site may be unresponsive for the next couple days.

It also involves forwarding e-mail records and changing NameServers, so some e-mails may get lost in the ether over the next couple days as well. I’m hoping that making these updates will improve the site’s responsiveness, but it will also help me manage things better on the back end. If there are issues with usability please let me know via the contact form (assuming it works…)

Provided that the pages themselves are working, these updates should not have any impact on the order flow.

Quick update for the site. I have streamlined the checkout process and it seems to be working now. If there are issues with it, reach out to me via the Contact form to let me know so I can fix it.

I also was getting something like 60+ spam registrations every day. Instead of an e-mail verification system, which is cumbersome and not streamlined very well, I decided to disable user registration unless you are making a purchase. It makes sense to do this anyway.

So if you don’t have an account, you’ll make one during the checkout process. If you have an account, you can login via the account page or during the checkout process as well. This should streamline things and reduce the spam burden I was having to deal with.

I made a lot of updates to the site. I have no hair, but if I did I would have pulled it all out. The site now supports custom orders that will be invoiced upon fulfillment. Right now there’s only one product listed.

If you’re looking for a custom leather patch, head on over to the shop and add a quantity to your cart. I was going to (and still may) offer customization options online, but every project is pretty unique and probably best quoted individually. I may at least add the various stain colors I have to choose from, and as I become more proficient with the finishing process, be able to offer some cool design options.

In the meantime, I’m going to start producing some stock quantities of morale patches that you’ll be able to buy directly. Those you’ll be able to pay for @ purchase. For custom work, you’ll be able to order by quantity, and then provide a description and image file (if you have one) for me to reference. That’ll create the order in the database so fulfillment process can begin, and I can reach out to you discuss final pricing.

Right now patches are priced at $20/ea. That is an optimistic price based on my current workflow/pace, and even at that price, I’m not coming out on top by much, if at all. When I refine my processes a little further, I’ll hopefully be able to bring that price down for bulk quantities, but it will likely go up for single and small batch orders. Probably $25/ea.

I’m also updating my shipping costs to $15 per order. This covers flat rate shipping for the vast majority of orders I’ll push out. On a case-by-case basis I’ll be able to adjust this. Finally there will be a $30 flat fee for image processing (separate from design time) if concepts submitted by customers need to be converted to usable formats. I don’t like having to charge this, but converting unsupported image formats to usable vectors costs me money and time in addition to everything else.

These are pretty high prices. I get it. I’m hoping that the quality of my work justifies it.

I’ve been back in the shop after a lot of summer and early fall travel. I’ve fixed a few bugs on the web site, where e-mails weren’t being sent via the Contact form. That form should work now.

I will continue to update the “shop” with products you can purchase as I produce them. In the meantime, anything in the online shop represents custom design work, and is basically listed to give you an idea of price points and production flow.

If you want some custom work done, whether it’s leather or wood, please reach out via the Contact form. These types of projects are too diverse to list in an online shop with a fixed price. Some take 10+ hours to manufacture, so putting that into the same product listing as something that takes 45 minutes just isn’t feasible.

As I get additional projects under my belt I hope to streamline the process a bit more. So how does it work for now?

• Contact me with a brief description of what you’d like to have done.
• I will review and get back to you ASAP with details and estimated pricing and turnaround time. If you’re happy with this estimate, we will go over specific details such as design, material, colors, etc.
• Once we’ve slapped the table on the goals, I will quote you a final price and I’ll get to designing (if required).
• I will send you a digital proof of your design for approval, and depending on the size of the project I may request an initial 25% deposit before beginning production – this will usually just be to cover material costs, and typically I will do my best to only collect payment upon completion.
• Once we have approved final cost, any changes from you may require additional payment. Any changes made by my recommendation will be at my expense. I have occasionally found certain design elements look better while I’m in the process of manufacturing, and I will reach out to you if I think the product/design can be improved. None of this will cost you anything, as I really just want the products to look good, so I often will eat the time and material expenses to make it better.
• I will send you progress photos along the way to ensure you are satisfied. When manufacturing is complete (or, depending on quantity ordered, when some of the initial products are complete), I will send you completion photos. If you require any changes at this point, I will have to re-quote you on pricing, but am happy to make changes.
• Hand-stitching on patchwork takes a long time. Production will be complete, but it may take several days to stitch, depending on quantity. I am a one person shop.
• After all is complete, I will package it up and ship it. I will typically charge a $10.00 flat rate for shipping. Larger/heavier projects may cost extra, but that will be disclosed up front. Tracking # will be provided, and usually they will go via USPS. Local pickup is free if you are in the local area, but local delivery will also be $10.00.

Other random considerations:

WHY SO EXPENSIVE?!?!

I typically charge $45/hour of design time for custom work. I will quote you on this up front and it will be included in my pricing estimate to you. Any design time beyond my estimates will be at my expense. Changes made by you after project approval will require a minimum 1 hour design charge. This is typical, but not set in stone. If your project is more simple, and not a lot of quantity, I will work with you and be reasonable about cost so you aren’t paying $45 + $x.xx + $shipping for a single patch, for example.

Design is a time-intensive process, often requiring various angles of approach and multiple software programs to achieve a good end result. As it is a back-and-forth process between you and I, please understand that it is not a one size fits all process.

Machine time expense will typically match my design rate. i.e. 8 hours of machining on the CNC mill will usually run near $360. Again, I will work you to keep these prices reasonable, but machine time and design time are considerable time expenses for me. Machining is not an idle process, as it requires constant oversight, bit changes, maintenance, as well as manual machining (sanding, chiseling, painting/staining, etc.). We aren’t yet at a point in technology when you can “just push a button,” unfortunately.

Those are just some random updates, as I iron out my workflow, and hope it answers some questions about pricing. Once again, these are not static processes or prices, and I will do my best to get you an affordable product you’re happy with, while also being fairly compensated for my time, experience and equipment.

Hope everyone has a good holiday season! Reach out to me if you’d like to get something started!

Hello everyone.  Just wanted to notify that I will be traveling in July.  I’ll still be able to discuss new orders and requests (likely a little slower though), but any new projects will not get on the table until the last week of July.

Feel free to reach out if you have something you’d like to get done, and don’t mind waiting until then!  Otherwise, I’ll be back in action end of July!

Hi everyone, and welcome to the site! The site is a work in progress and I’ll be constantly making updates to it as time goes by. For now, feel free to look around at some of my work in the galleries.

More information about the company can be found in the about page.

I’m not a big corporation with a ton of machines, employees, and automations.  I am a single person in a small garage with an insane work ethic and attention to detail.  I personally see every product through from start to finish, and I rarely batch things (often to my detriment), because I feel every project should get my full attention until it’s done.

Because of this, my turnaround time can sometimes be a bit longer, but the quality of my work benefits from it and hopefully speaks for itself.

I hope you give me a chance to make your designs come to life.  There are lots of options out there to get such products made cheaply, by a production line of poorly paid “workers” overseas, and I appreciate anyone who is willing to give a local small business a chance, support a starving Marine (haha), and keep things made in the good ol’ USA by real people.

Thanks for visiting my site.  Let me know if you have any issues with it or recommendations!