\\\ Colfer's Imperial Inks – Crashed & Burned ///

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

As many of you have seen, thanks to Rhuidari, my surname is Colfer and we have a Coat of Arms; however, I strongly suspect I was left on the Colfer’s doorstep as a wee lad and my real name is Murphy, (no offense R)- because the “luck of the Irish” I do not seem to have. This venture has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt- Murphy’s Law is indeed a fact and deserves the title- Law.

 

Late yesterday morning I received a phone call that I still cannot believe. The sales rep for my dye manufacturer told me that my order has been cancelled; the company is under a major reorganization/reprioritizing project and as part of that, all inventory has been frozen and the company is moving to China, (I’m thinking they may have been bought out- hence the frozen assets).

 

He went on to tell me that since the dyes will have to be exported here, to keep it cost effective, the minimum order would now be 500 lbs.- per color! I don’t know about you folks, but I haven’t the space for several tons of powdered dye. (I called back this morning for some clarification and was told that my sales rep is no longer employed there but what he told me was true).

 

At any rate, I am now in the ugly spot of having to find a new dye supplier and the chances of me being able to exactly reproduce the colors I created – (and the colors you ordered, for my loyal pre-order customers), - of the original dye is going to be a steep challenge.

 

Furthermore, I do not know how long it will be before I can find another dye supplier who meets my special needs, i.e., the best quality available, a dye able to withstand my unique process without breaking down and a company who is willing to fill reasonable sized orders.

 

So, to be completely fair- I have cancelled all orders and gave everyone a FULL refund- if you didn’t get yours- please let me know, there were a lot of them and I might have missed someone by accident, but I’m pretty sure I got everyone covered. I’m sure there will be those of you who would be willing to stick it out; however, I cannot in good conscience, hang on to anyone’s money faced with such a difficult hurdle.

 

On a bright note, I did say there were survivors- and that is true. The first survivor is me; I grew up in Jersey, so I’m used to hard knocks- this was a sucker-punch, but it wasn’t my first. Secondly, Colfer’s Imperial Inks™ survived, we received a bad blow, but I’m going to continue to seek a solution- there has to be a suitable, high-quality aniline dye out there somewhere with my name on it. Finally, Old Griz Brown has survived, I have a little brown ink left- and I am going to send that to Tom, so Mari can see her father immortalized on an inkbottle. I hope it won’t be the last of its kind; just so you know, I wouldn’t say OldGriz Brown is an endangered species just yet- but he may be hibernating for a while.

 

I’m going to hang around here in the meantime, I really like this place and the people who make it up. I want to thank you all, especially the 28 people who had enough faith in me to order my ink sight unseen. I am hoping I will give you another chance to do just that again.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

 

PS: Please forgive any rambling or spelling and grammatical errors as I just threw this together.

Edited March 1, 2007 by corniche

[MikeLip]

Ooooooooooh MAN! Talk about a punch in the gut! I am really sorry to hear that. While I haven't been saying much about your company since I am not smart enough to comment on inks in general and yours in particular, I was certainly going to buy your inks. I sure hope it comes back together for you!

[vacuumkid3]

I am really sorry to hear about this! I really do hope you can find another dye company! Best of luck to you!

 

~~K~~

[umenohana]

Phew! I am glad you and your line of inks survived all this. I will be waiting for the future release of your inks. Maybe you can even make a phoenix color then, to symbolize the return of your inks!

 

-Hana

[sonia_simone]

Aw, Sean, that is just rotten rotten luck!

 

I'm glad you're going to stick with it.

[kmj]

I'm so sorry to hear your story. It's such a good idea. I was really looking forward to trying some of your inks. You're certainly taking it well. Good luck with finding a good supplier. Karen

[dwmatteson]

Wow, Sean. That's a drag!

 

I'm sure that we'll all be here waiting to see the next incarnation of your inks. I know I'm still behind you 100%!

 

Don M.

[pyrguy]

Good luck in the future.

I didn’t pre-order but I’ve been waiting for the release of your inks.

 

[French]

Sean,

 

Sorry to hear about the sucker punch you were dealt. I'm glad to see you are sticking with it, and you can count me among the first orders when you secure a new dye supplier.

 

I wish you all the best, you have been a stand up guy from the start of this venture.

 

French

[goodyear]

Man, that's rough.

 

I had been looking forward to picking up a few of your colours - and I still am

 

It will be worth it in the end, and I salute your determination. Many would have chucked it in long before now.

 

Best to you and your business.

[JimCouch]

Sean,

 

Well this is one of the worst things I have heard in a while, a real disappointment. I can only imagine how big a disappointment it is for you! Best of luck in finding a new supplier. I, for one, will be waiting here ready to order when you do!

 

Jim Couch

[Taki]

Hi Sean,

 

I was not in the 28 people but was about to place an order. I can't believe all the obstacles you are going through creating Colfer's Imperial Inks!!! There's gotta be some luck somewhere!!! We have a saying in Japan, "Fall down seven times, get up eight". Good luck the next time!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y117/Takif/d_daruma_16.gif

 

[Dan Carmell]

Sean--

 

Your refunds were a very principled act. I am sad you had this set-back but hopeful that you will overcome this obstacle and when (not if) you do, I will certainly pre-order again.

 

best, Dan

[southpaw]

Sean,

 

I too wish to commend you for how you have handled this. No doubt it has to hurt, but you are showing true character by sticking it out and persevering. This fiery furnace will only serve to further strengthen your character given the course of action you have set before you. The refunds were certainly the high road. Count on another pre-order whenever you're ready! Until then, I look forward to seeing you around FPN.

 

All the best,

Michael

[lefty928]

I'm so sorry to hear about your temporary setback, Sean. From your posts here, it's evident that you are a survivor and I know that eventually I'll be purchasing your ink.

[FrankB]

I am so sorry to hear about the hassles you are going through on this venture. I hope you continue to share them with us. I find your journey very interesting, though I can imagine the frustration!

 

I was also not one of the 28, but I was waiting on the sidelines. I still am. I am on your side, buddy. You get those inks up and selling and I am buying.

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

Thank you all for your patience, support and encouragement. Please understand that when I mentioned the "Famous 28," I was not excluding all of you have supported me throughout this process that didn't buy ink. I only mentioned them specifically, because they should have all received a refund from me.

 

Thanks again- everyone, and hopefully we can resurrect this company yet.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

 

[jfedv]

Ouch, man that has got to hurt.

 

Looking forward to seeing the inks come back to life when you can.

 

I wonder if you could get the new sales rep for the dyes to point you to a customer you could "piggy back" your order onto.

 

I am also trying to imagine how many gallons of ink you could make with 500lbs of dye. The mind boggles.....

 

Joe

[Arkanabar]

I've seen some of Colfer's Imperial Inks in the 2007 Sampler, and they're gorgeous. My knee-jerk suggestion (that jfedv posted before I did): ask the sales rep if he would be willing to provide a list of small to medium sized textile mills amongst his clientele, and ask such mills as he sells to if they will piggyback your order onto theirs. Emphasize to the rep that this will allow his company to keep your business, albeit in a back-channel sort of way.

 

The reason to stick with the smaller mills is that it's a lot easier to get hold of the decision makers, and they usually have more autonomy than at larger companies.

 

(And my Dad thought nothing good would come from fantasy role playing games. Indirect and creative assaults on problems have become a strength of mine..... )

[Latro21]

too bad about the ink. i just read up on it after seeing this post, and i am definitely interested in buying it whenever it is that you get everything going again.