I am often asked how this product came about and how I got involved, so here's a little bit of history....

In 1999 I trained as a Palmer Pletsch fit teacher, which involves altering paper patterns to fit your personal body shape.

The fitting process means adding or subtracting tissue from the paper pattern which is held in place by pinning to a gridded outline on a cardboard table.

I bought two of these tables for my sewing school, but when I tried to buy one for my mum a few months later I was told that Simplicity  www.simp.com.au were no longer manufacturing them.

I realized the implications for myself and the other teachers I had trained with as these tables were imperative for pattern alteration work.

I looked at my bank balance and did some research to see if perhaps I could afford manufacturing these tables, thinking all the time that one of the doors I opened would tell me that someone else had already done this or it would be much more than my savings could manage. The process went fairly smoothly and I was now the manufacturer of the tables.

I would have to store them in my carport, so that had to be prepared to accommodate them. To save money and to get a feel for the process of assembly, I paid my adult children and some of their friends to assemble the boxes, fold and put the tables and instructions into the boxes, seal them, stick a flyer on the outside then encase them in plastic, staple and stack them in the carport.

Quite a bit of research was then done to find an affordable carrier. As I was such a small business the volume of my trade was no where near as large as the bigger companies, so my rate was more expensive.

To ease the burden of this expense to my customers in other states e.g. Western Australia, South Australia, as well as remote areas of the country  I advise them that I can fit two (2) tables in one box for the same delivery rate as one. This enables customers to share this cost, with someone else who might like one or someone they might like to give one to as a gift.

For those who live locally they can pick up from me, but they need to have a hatchback car e.g. Mazda Astina, Nissan Pulsar, a four wheel drive or a station wagon.

My family no longer does the assembly. I outsource to a sheltered workshop ,Cumberland Industries www.pakitrite.com.au . It  is wonderful to know that you are giving a sense of purpose to those who may not otherwise have a job.

A Palmer Pletsch teacher is now the distributer for the tables in New Zealand and there is also a distributer in the States. I am getting inquiries from countries such as the United Kingdom, America, China, Malaysia and Germany, as the tables are now not available anywhere else in the world.

I am now working on how to make this an affordable product to the other countries, so if you think you would like to be an agent in Europe , Asia or the United States, please let me know, as this is the first step.

Regards,

Barbara Aquilina

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