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Makin' Gifts in the U.S.A.

Caroline Kennedy -- Gifts and Dec, 12/1/2011 2:00:00 AM

ON A BRIGHT AND MILD MIDSUMMER'S DAY, Gifts and Decorative Accessories had the pleasure of visiting the headquarters and factory of Fiddler's Elbow, a manufacturer of silk-screened gifts, textiles and home decor items in Middle Falls, NY. At the top of the long drive, only a small sign indicates that one has arrived at The Toyworks (the corporate name of Fiddler's Elbow). The company, founded in the early 1970s, originally produced cloth storybook characters for the children's market, but gradually shifted to gifts and home accessories.
The factory building resembles a barn more than a giftware manufactory. But the modest exterior is deceiving, as we soon learned upon entering and being shown around by company president John Gunther and Christy Phelan, art and licensing director. Fiddler's Elbow is a sophisticated operation that combines the latest computerized technology with a traditional printing art-form - silk-screening - to produce a selection of well priced functional and decorative items.


HAND SILK-SCREENED PRODUCTS BY FIDDLER'S ELBOW Best known for its popular pet and animal imagery, Fiddler's Elbow works with a number of artists to create its unique designs that also include nature and garden themes, retro and humor designs. From original art to finished product, each design goes through many steps - all done on site. On products ranging from door stops to tote bags, and aprons to tea towels, silk-screened images come alive with life-like detail. Its ability to capture and reproduce the subtlety of detail and richness of color tones enables Fiddler's Elbow to stay true to the original artist's vision.
	PICKING, PACKING AND SHIPPING: For all the sophistication on the front end of the business, its back end - picking, packing and shipping - is very old school, yet efficient. SKUs are organized on shelves and in cubbies from which they are pulled by hand according to each order, then moved to the long tables to be boxed, labeled and await pick up for delivery.
SILK SCREEN PREPARATION AND PRINTING: The process begins when original art is scanned into a computer graphics program, where it is prepared for output to the photo image processing area. There, the screens are coated with a photographic material onto which the image is exposed. The developing process opens up the areas of the screen for the ink to pass through the screens. Developed screens are quality-checked (right) before being installed on the screen printers. The screen printing area of the factory, filled with the most up-to-date equipment, is the heart of the operation (right).

	THE FACTORY BUILDING Tucked in the rural landscape of Upstate New York, the company's site blends with its surroundings; the casual observer driving by would think that the long, low building in the middle of a field was a farm building, perhaps housing livestock or farm equipment - at one time, in a former life, it did!
CUTTING, ASSEMBLY AND SEWING WORK AREA: Screened materials move to the cutting and sewing areas for the final phase - assembly into finished products. The work area (below right) is a long, openly flowing part of the building with defined sections for different processes. Individual workers are hands-on at every stage of the manufacturing process; most workers are cross-trained in more than one discipline to ensure there are enough skilled hands on deck when and where needed.

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