Spider Senses!
I miss the sound of staple guns firing off. Being able to tell the automatic guns versus the manual ones. The rapid fire of the automatic guns ran along the lining. Each sound was glorious. The springing guys gave off the sound of a shotgun, the way the compressor kicked in and shut off with a hissing sound. The way some sewing machines squealed when the belt was loose. The jammed framing gun as it tried to pump air in the chamber to rid itself of that staple.
The way a scissor hit the floor and how everyone frowned at the person who dropped it. How the heat guns and the electric forklifts all made similar sounds though they were of completely different uses. I used to love watching the CNC cutters fly through piles of fabric, watch the automated gluing machines, and listen to the soft air release of each solenoid. Those little things I miss.
Do It Again?
Often people ask me and my brother. Why don’t you guys start up Zsemba again? Because no one out there, not in Canada or North America understood or will understand what it took to get to where we were. Would we do it? The short answer is no. The long answer is yes, if… if a partner was willing to do and create what we had, maybe.
I have yet to meet that person, I don’t think I ever will!
Because to do what we did, you need to be as involved as we were. Understand the process and start up the machine each morning with a go, go, go attitude. Someone who started where we started and had knowledge of all the moving parts as we did.
Do I Miss It?
Do I miss it, hmmm? In a nutshell, I miss the days when I was on the floor and I could make a difference. I do not miss the days of shaving costs because the world’s largest retailer was coming to negotiate prices. I do not miss the days when the big yellow and blue were controlling us because we were in bed with them for the long run.
I miss the days of creating amazing designs on Solid-Works with my guys, miss the days of working with a dear friend and sample maker named Randy. Miss the days of sitting in the lunchroom and chatting with the staff and being one big family. So I guess I miss the results of the hard work we put into 35 years of that family business and being f#cked over by the Yellow and Blue. Check out John Doe Vs Evil for the full story.
