Until We Learn Otherwise…
Somebody told me once that their company had a common saying in meetings: “until we learn otherwise…”. It was meant to convey an expectation to all present that they needed to move with the information they had, and adapt to new information as it became available. Even though I found it abrasive in that context, I find myself reaching for that phrase in understanding where Mockingbird is right now. I don’t have a lot of externally supplied data, and I shouldn’t expect to have it anytime soon. But, moving in a good-ish direction until you know what you actually need is usually a better strategy than sitting still, as long as you know how to not fall off a cliff when moving in the dark.
On the subject of data: If there isn’t a model of holster for your firearm in the shop and you’re interested in a holster made our way, feel free to reach out with the details (sales@mockingbirdholsters.com, Instagram @mockingbirdholsters). Time and resources are limited, and knowing what models to prioritize is going to help make the best use of both. New products will be announced on the mailing list and the Instagram.
July saw some refinements to Mockingbird’s processes. The assembly workstation (singular) now has a parts bin rack, the slicing profiles have been tweaked for more reliability, and there is now a better resource planning tool that can better handle a combinatorial list of styles and SKUs. I also got some business cards designed and printed, which seems to have created a small amount of direct website traffic, even if nobody is picking them up from where I’ve left them.
Product development is going to continue: scanning blue guns and designing holsters to fit them, sticking to the one class of holster that I can design well enough to my taste (AIWB, non light bearing). Even if that doesn’t do well, the reference library and the related skills will be important enablers if I start getting feedback, or if I’m lucky, requests. This will also result in content for the Instagram. There is a disadvantage to this: I have to try a little harder because I don’t have the real thing to verify against. The advantage is that I can afford it.
I’ll also be looking into setting up more customization options now that the new resource planning tool is set up. However, it won’t be feasible to truly verify and photograph every unique combination of color and style before listing all of them, which makes me nervous. I think I should at least produce photo samples in light grey for each style before making the related SKUs available to order, because it will keep me honest about what I can actually make.
There’s a lot of really good holster makers out there already, and I know everyone who wants one probably already has five. If you’re reading this, I appreciate your consideration. Your local bird is going to keep at it.
-🦀
