Aprons and coolness

Finley

Grumbler
Joined
Jul 25, 2003
Posts
44
Loc
Bridgeport, NE
I am getting to the point where I am seeing the usefulness of a shop apron. I am fighting this due to the coolness factor. If I were certain pants, I normally keep stuff in my back pocket, constantly removing, using, replacing blades, cutters, drivers etcs., And then, that darn tape measure. I'll set it down, forget where it is etc.,
So..... I'm I indeed destined for an apron? Will my friends call me "Aunt Bea"? Are there any other options?
 
There is nothing better than "brand identity" for your shop.

By having an apron or shop lab coat with your company name and or logo there is instant recoginsion of being a professional. We have had both lab coats and aprons in assorted sizes for at least 15 years. They are blue with yellow lettering, our company colors.
 
I feel the apron has a certain cool factor to it. I keep two tape measures attached to my pocket at all times and an immense number of writing untensils as well. I also keep two retractable utility knives, which come in handy more than you might think. I feel quite cool because if an item is needed while working with a customer I don't have to wander around looking for it, I just whip it out of my pocket.

Go for the apron, you'll be impressed with its utility.
 
Instead of a full apron, why not use one of the "half" aprons? Nothing to put around the neck, and everything is still in pockets? I know I personally can't stand aprons pulling at my neck when the pockets get weighed down, so I was always folding mine in half so I could utilize the pockets.
 
My daughter, who is in her early twenties, always puts an apron on when working in the shop. She feels that she is treated more as a professional when she wears it.
 
I think branding using logo'd item is a great idea. We have logo'd shirts, aprons and caps(worn to the front). I have been very pleased with the items that we purchased from Queensboro Shirt Quality shirts and good prices.

Tim
 
I'm working on the idea of a shop "vest". It would be a simple, stylish, short vest in store colors and would be made in both a man's and woman's version. It would have specific pockets or storage for pencil, tape, and utility knife. I just don't like aprons because being below the waist they restrict movement and cover the pockets in my pants.

PS - have you seen the new folding, lock blade utility knives? Blade change is simple and it folds putting the blade inside the handle so you can drop it in your pocket. Half an inch thick and 3 inches long when folded but uses a standard utility blade - always in my pocket when at work.
 
Finley,
When Mr. Rodgers got to work, he put on his sweater. The Captain, hung up his coat to expose his vest. (BTW both were HIGHLY decorated combat souldiers of WWII)

A full apron can save your nice shirt from damage caused by erant: nails, v-nails, razorblades, glass, paint, wax, shelving, coffee, dogs, pizza, chinese food, Thai peanut sauce, well you get the picture with out the graphics. Not that <font size=4>I</font> would know anything about this..... :eek:
My "uniform" on occation includes one of our three aprons supplied by suppliers. The rest of the time, its black t-shirt and shorts, unless it's a formal afair then I break out the Hawaiian shirts. :cool:
But then, we live with our customers and we are known outside of our shop, so a little less "uniform" goes a long way. At one shop, I did very little "back room" so I was known for my uniform of dress shirt (sleeves rolled up) shorts and light Rockports. (Southern California).

I don't carry tapes, or pens around so we have about 6-8 tapes up front and 7 steel rulers that hang from ONE place. Pens I aquire by the dozen, and we bought a gross of pencils a long time ago for $5....to "take us into the next century".
help.gif


So: IMHO, go for the apron. Get em free from a supplier or have them imprinted with your logo, if you have to pay for them.
thumbsup.gif


baer
 
Cheers,
I think the key is to get functional, professional, and maybe a slightly cool waist apron. Thanks all
 
No aprons here.

Like Sharon, I find them supremely uncomfortable. But mostly, I just don't like the look.

Put yourself in your customer's place. Where do you see people wearing aprons? Home Depot. Builder's Square. Michaels. JoAnn's.

Would you really want decorating advice for your home from a person in an apron?

Kit
 
Why not Kit.
Most people get advice about their health, from a person in a "Smock".

My hair cutter wears an apron and I trust her with in millimeters of my juggler vein with a straight razor.

A whole lot of people trust their spiritual well-being to a man in a really ugly dress....

Would you feel better about your mechanic if he/she wore a tie?

My butcher wears an apron, and a bow tie. I'd tell him how whimppy the tie makes him look, but he has a 4th degree black belt in Karate and a 3rd in Judo and is my guide at Go Han. I would want to tick him off, or his boy friend.

Your uniform is what YOU want to make it. The stores you mention use aprons to 1) place to carry the tape measure and 2) customers can see that they work there. 3) it irritates the workers, 'cuz they look like dorks.

baer
 
I don't feel there is a need for an apron if the worker does nothing but design and work with customers. They can really save your clothing in the back room though. Between the disc sander and the saw I get pretty dusty and the apron keeps me from taking it home or getting it in my car so much.

I think my friend and I have found the very BEST apron available. It is fom Rockler, the wood working supply company. It is sort of like the regular aprons that hang around the neck, however instead of the neck strap it has straps that go over the back and crisscross and attach to the sides. There is another strap that hooks near the waist in the back. It never slides around and gets out of place. It is from dark blue denim like jeans and has pencil pockets and 4 large pockets along the bottom. It has Rockler printed on the top but I wear my gold metalic magnetic name badge with CPF on it over the Rockler name. I ked you not, it is the best ever.
 
If I was framing, it'd be hard for me to get used to an apron. When I worked for the Fone Co, I'd have occasion, much like the back room of a frame shop, to use various tools. We used a pair of +/- 6" longnose pliers, which would cut AND strip all the wire we needed to mangle. We also had a really small, narrow-bladed screwdriver, also about 6".

I tried various sizes and configurations of tool belts over the years, and ended up only carrying the long-noses, with only one handle(grip) in my back pocket. Also the screwdriver, and, if exploring unknown territory, a 6" pair of dikes(sidecutters), also in my back pocket.

When we started framing, we got some aprons once from, I believe, LJ. They were sorta burgundy, nice weight and very embroibable. But neither Janet nor I wore them. I agree with Kit. Maybe the back room folks might like aprons, but the jury's out, IMHO, on wearing them at the design table. If I were a customer, it just wouldn't 'feel' right for the person that was helping me spend my money to be wearing an apron.

I kept all the necessary implements of construction on my table. Glass cutter, glass nippers, Phillips and straight screwdiver, T-squares, straight edges and tape measure. That's where I did all my work, so that's where I kept my tools. Always had a cup, or a box for scissors, stapler, etc.

I used the small Stanley(non-speaking) 12' tape measure. The artist that shared our building would occasionally borrow the tape measure, and once in a while, it'd end up on the design table or the mat cutter table. After buying several tape measures, I had a brainstorm one day and tied some mason cord around the clip on the tape measure, and affixed it to the table via a screw underneath. That way, the tape, which I used most, was always there.

One morning I came in to the shop, and the artist, and Janet may have had a hand in it, had tied EVERYTHING, I mean EVERYTHING on the table down! Pliers, glass cutters, even the cup I kept various pens and pencils in. The pens and pencils as well!!! We all had a good laugh, but I kept the tape tied down, with enough slack in the cord to measure anything it would reach.

We had T-shirts with the shop logo embroidred on then as well as some regular button-up shirts that were the most comfortable.

I don't think I'd like the design person in an apron. Reminds me too much of Michaels or Wal-Mart.

[ 09-21-2004, 10:32 AM: Message edited by: CharlesL ]
 
We opted for polo shirts, oxfords, and caps instead; in a variety of colors and 3 styles. LL Bean Corporate Sales embroidered our logo on the shirts, and included a lifetime warrantee.

There are cheaper places (www.bestbuyuniforms.com, etc), but these have worn very well in over 2 1/2 years. The shirts are very durable and keep us branded.

One advantage to aprons is that you can wear anything you want underneath, another is that it hides the belly :eek: Maybe we should get some aprons too!


Mike
 
Uh, Baer? My mechanic DOES wear a tie.

But then, Roch is a dressy town. If an invitation says 'casual' it means that tuxes and evening gowns are optional.

Kit
 
Originally posted by Kit:
Uh, Baer? My mechanic DOES wear a tie.

But then, Roch is a dressy town. If an invitation says 'casual' it means that tuxes and evening gowns are optional.

Kit
Oh geez Kit. You think like my wife. Casual to here is linen or silk slack (DKNY) Silk blouse, (AK), scarf (CD or CP), and Mary Janes (ferris gumbo's or something like that)
faintthud.gif


Roch may be a snappy dressed town, but is the tie you mechanic wears a Bow tie? And we're not talkin clip here!
party.gif


baer
 
shrug.gif
1st - Baer who gives out free aprons - I would really like to know - My guys laughed at me, even when I threatened to stop using them.
- 2nd Go to your local fishing shop and look at a fly fishing vest - tons of pockets fot everything and they make you look like an outdoorsman. Walmart might have one for less.
 
I recueve free aprons from Larson Juhl, Nurre Caxton, and Valley- the best way I've discovered to get a free apron is to wear another company's apron in front of a sales rep, and tell them that you would wear theirs if only they would send one! They have been invaluable for saving clothes in the back room. I wear at least one completely out every year, which tells me that it could have been my clothes!
 
I have three aprons in the back room. One from Larson that they "gave" me when I took one of their framing courses. One from FramerSelect that they "gave" me when I joined. (I'll bet there are some of these around. They're a nice denim look.) And one from Crescent that is a "waist only" white apron with nice pockets that came in a "new framer kit" from crescent with a nice pen and paper weights and some other stuff. Haven't paid (separately) for an apron.

I would like to promote the shop logo more, but I am thinking shirts so I get some visibility with it outside the shop.
 
I only wear my long denim apron when I am painting something. It has one of those loops down from the neck that slips onto the ties around the waist so I don't get that strangled feeling.

I have a shorter canvas apron from DECOR years ago that is emblazened with a huge ornate gold frame and the words "How do you like my frame?" but I am usually too embarassed to wear it.

John Gornall - Thanks for the tip about the folding mat knife! I saw one at Canadian Tire tonight and now it is MINE!!! It is bright blue anodized aluminum - folds up like a jack knife. LOVE IT!!!
 
I think they are a good idea, but they kill my neck. So I was one of the fold over folks when I used one. I think it is not needed if you have equipment that goes in specific areas and stays there. Front counter tools, work station tools, then other stations about the shop. I know this is a bit more money, but who wants to carry around all of this stuff? Even when I wore an apron I never had what I needed on me. I would go with shop name on a shirt and leave the aprons to the kitchen. My neck wont be red and irratated.

d
 
I have two aprons which don't see enough action according to my clothes. One is from Larson when I got partnership and the other is a Doctor Who apron my dad got for me during a begging for bucks on PBS in the mid eighties.
 
I suppose aprons are okay, if you like wearing them (I don't). I think vests have a "discount store" look to them.

When I was thinking about stadardizing store attire, I opted to order a sweatshirt for cold weather, and a shirt for warmer weather with printing on them. I wore navy or black Dockers-type pants which were cheap to buy. When they wore out, I didn't mind buying new ones. I thought the khakis looked better than jeans.

I had my name printed on one side, and "Frame Corner, PPFA Award Winning Custom Framing (three lines) on the other.
 
Pamela,

When I say "vest" I'm not talking about a store smock type thing of bright blue with red edges - I'm talking about a traditional man's suit vest like the one my Grandad wore with his watch and chain. The watch pockets would hold the tape and knife and then a pencil slot higher up. Made of nice fabric or even leather. Probably a darker color to match the pants and worn over a light shirt. The cut would be somewhat more modern with a simple waist cut and not the traditional bottom pointed cut.
 
Back
Top