Current Owner: Ƙу'тнιяα Ɛтαєяι Ɗαмηєɗ (mandigyrl)
The Mythia Dress Shop (Name pending) specializes in fabric made from imported wool, silk and flax, however also makes use of the native flora in both the creation of dyes and special threads made from poppy and nettle stems. The Dress Shop works primarily on a commission-based basis, where customers may come in and hand-select every ingredient used in creating their desired garment, from the type and color of material used to make the thread to the embroidery, trim and other finishing touches. Fully custom pieces can take several weeks to complete, however, the shop does keep some fabric in stock for sampling, smaller projects, or for the less particular shopper. Prices are set based on the quality of materials used as well as the work time to complete. Most jobs within the shop will consist of multiple tasks until the business becomes large enough to take on enough employees to lighten the load, and so the shop's employees can expect to be kept quite busy. Labor has been broken down into two types depending on both skill level and the amount of responsibility/trust required.
Employees of the Dress Shop
Paid Labor/Employess OR Skilled/Trusted Slave Labor:
- Weaving: Weaving prepared thread on looms. This is a time-extensive task and one monitored very closely to ensure the highest quality of work. Arguably one of the most important jobs, mistakes in this will result in harsher consequences than any other.
- Sewing/Embroidery: More advanced sewing. Those assigned to this task are trusted to do higher quality work and are never assigned to patchwork tasks as their time is better spent on trickier projects. These tasks will often involve more expensive materials, and will be expected to take longer than simple sewing tasks.
- Fullers: Those assigned to this task are responsible for washing, refurbishing, scouring and sometimes dyeing cloth fresh off the loom to make it smooth and soft in preparation for sewing. This is a hard task, but a very important one, and only the dyeing can be completed in the shop itself. ((Pending approval on this next part, but Roman clothing was washed in aged urine and I don't forsee anyone wanting to do this task under those circumstances, so this was the best I could come up with as an alternative)) Clothing itself is washed using clean sea water - read 'away from the harbor'. While this would normally leave clothing stiff, the water surrounding Mythia seems to have slightly different properties and thusly is ideal for washing. Riverwater brought in from the village is used for rinsing, and the clothes can then be hung to dry before going to the seamstresses.
Unpaid/Slave OR Beginner:
- Gathering: Nettles and poppy for thread, herbs (namely madder, weld, and woad), and various colored lichens from the fields and forests beyond the Town. Depending on the type of item being gathered this can be a very easy task or a very physically demanding one. Do not expect to return from gathering nettles unscathed.
- Delivering Garments: Safely and quickly delivering completed commissions, or, in special circumstances, delivering messages of completion to customers who might like to either send their own person or pick up their garments themselves.
- Collecting Damaged/Scrap Garments: Going door-to-door, or to locations by request, to pick up any cloth items that are in need of repair, or are being thrown away. These will be either mended and returned or re-purposed and offered to those who own slaves (more on this further down).
- Fetching Water: Water is used by more skilled workers to rinse clothing and mix dyes, and needs to be fetched from the river or oasis near the village.
- Preparing and Spinning Fibers: Combing, cleaning and spinning the various fibers we offer using a drop spindle to create thread. Additionally, those assigned to this task will be responsible for ensuring that no product goes to waste - any fibers too coarse or rough to make it into finer products will be spun into thicker yarn and used for lower-quality and less expensive clothing.
- Sewing: **IF they are deemed to have small, even enough stitches** this job will include sewing fabric into garments, mending clothing, and stitching scraps of clothing into cheap patchwork garments.
IC Rules for Employment
- No hired help is to set any looms up. This is a very particular task that the owner insists on completing herself, as a single misstep can ruin the entire piece. Once they have been set up, the weavers will be free to work. This may only be broken if properly trained and given express permission.
- All fabric, regardless of quality or cost, is to be treated as precious and handled with care and reverence.
- No product is to be wasted. All leftover bits from combing or processing product will be re-purposed and are not to be discarded or taken.
- If permitted to leave the shop with any items, they must be returned by nightfall or else they will be presumed stolen and the guard will be alerted.
- Working on tasks above your proven skill level or above the level assigned could lead to damaged product, and thusly harsh punishment. As said before, all fabric is precious. Stick to your tasks, if you feel that you are ready for a more skilled role you may speak with the owner about proving yourself.
Possible Business Ventures:
- Providing discounted or free lower-quality clothing to slavers in exchange for the labor of their wares.
- Providing washing services for the bath house in exchange for baths for employees - clean laborers = clean products
- Perhaps provide politicians with patchwork clothing to give to the poor if they seek to gain public favor