Guiding Principle: get the good stuff

Thread

I know, not the most exciting topic but allow me to momentarily sing its praises, because our thread is the perfect thread. 

It's not the stuff Hermès uses (we don't have 25 apprentices, we don't have time to faff around with twisted linen). 
It's not the stuff Céline uses (they primary machine stitch, but hey, respect the é).

Our perfect hand-sewing thread is a flat polyester tape from Germany.  Essentially a woven material, the thread can double-lock onto the needle - locking prevents the thread from slipping out of the eye as we sew, which is very annoying and time-consuming.  It's embedded with wax, which coats the inside of each hole to further protect against future rot. It's available in a thickness that is wide enough to highlight the hand-sewing without looking DIY.

Other virtues:
It's smooth texture is gentle on hands.
It makes a lovely "zzzzip" sound when pulled through the stitching hole with gusto.
It will last forever.

It is also expensive. So like our ancestors before us, we hoard.
Or to put it more generously, we rely on good old frugality. 
We save the thread.

  You might recall that saddle-stitching is done with two needles on one piece of thread, so we're always left with two ends.  It's also important to over-estimate the amount needed to get a clean stitching line, therefore we're often left with tails of excess thread at the end, about 6" or more. We literally save all of these tails in a little nest  to be used on smaller projects like holes, key rings, or strap ends.  That's right, we save 6" of thread.  Yes, it's fanatical, but it's one of a few gestures that enables a small, self-funded enterprise to afford the best materials.  It's a little extra effort that allows our business to be guided by cost-saving rather than cost-cutting.

Our thread nest looks like a pile of rubbish, but it's just how we prefer to work:
Put in a little effort to afford what we really want.
Get what we love, not just what the Big Boys have.
  Get the good stuff and use it well.