Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The nose and the tail and all that lies between... including a few downloadable patterns.

Since I changed the direction of this lil 'ol business of mine last year, I've felt a sense of relief at not having to keep up with the whole story, from design to retail... but the enormity of the task of changing tack, when the ship I'm steering is such a big beasty, has been a source of constant anxiety.

I've found myself referring to the process as "steering the Titanic".  There have been many references to icebergs (and the avoidance of), and a sense that I can't take my eyes off the job for a minute.  It's been a juggle between planning and working on the future, catching up with the backlog of rebranding and re-working and all the while, trying to keep the whole thing afloat.  It's been a case of paddling very fast while making very slow progress.

Throw into the mix some very large real-life stresses and upheaval and the whole she-bang could sink quickly... OR... I have to step back a bit and do what I can, when I can.... and just keep paddling at a manageable rate. 
...which is the reason it's taken me this long to get the downloadable pdf pattern section up on the website.  I've had to pare things back and prioritise a bit.    Apologies for the delay.

Anyway - at last it's done!  DOWNLOADABLE PATTERNS ARE HERE!

You'll see a new pattern there - the Zip-Away Shopping Bag.  I talked about it here, expecting to have it ready within the fortnight, but it was one of the things that had to wait.   We're currently re-working a few of the other smaller patterns into a downloadable format and I hope to make some new ones soon, as well.  



We won't be converting any of the larger patterns to digital format in the forseeable.  It's too difficult to stick lots of printed-out pages together accurately enough.... and really, there's already enough to keep me busy

There are a few large projects on the go for the next 12 months or so, and there is still a website and a bunch of patterns to overhaul, classes to teach and a life to sort out.  The change in business structure has been good so far and there is smoother sailing ahead.  I'll keep you posted on updates as they happen (and won't make any promises about timeframes!). 
If you don't do "downloadable" (or want to purchase a fancy printed-and-packaged pattern as a gift for someone), we also have the paper version of the Zip Away Shopping Bag ready for wholesale, so you can ask your favourite stockist to get it in for you!

9 comments:

A Peppermint Penguin said...

reminds me of that video that was going the rounds a couple of years ago "the front fell off"!

No icebergs for you dear, you sail on. Stately as a Galleon. (which would make you Joyce Grenfell ;P)

Katy Cameron said...

Sure, you've been doing it swan-like, paddling furiously underneath as we see you glide along!

Unknown said...

I can't help but wonder if there might be another large ship that you could be metaphorically steering and paddling? One that has a better ending? Maybe the QEII???

nicole said...

you really are a legend of a lady :D

Anonymous said...

Keep steering your own course in your own time Nikki. Lets have coffee and a chat soon. x

anna said...

I've downloaded the zip-away shopping bag and look forward to making it up. With so many fabrics in my stash, I can see many being made as gifts.

ozgrkdn said...

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Jenny from Ohjoh said...

One word for you madam .... AMAZING!
Your boat is floating in the right direction.
May your icebergs be small and easily avoidable!

Now to get my boat out of dry dock ... :)

خياطة وتفصيل said...

thank you so much