PPC5- The PortaPockets Purse Insert REvisited

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)
The Pattern That Almost Wasn't

So in our last post in this series, we showed you the inspiration behind what will be our new design for Spring 2012, and we told you that we're actually revisiting one of our most popular patterns, but with a significant "twist". So now it's with great pleasure that I tell you that the pattern we're revisiting & revamping is none other than our PortaPockets Purse Insert.

Still not seeing it?

Don't worry- It should be very apparent to you when I reveal my original sketches in our next post on Tuesday, Jan17th, but before we do that, I thought it might be a good time to take a look back at how the PortaPockets Purse Insert pattern came about.

For example, did you know that the PortaPockets was originally intended to be a FREE pattern? Yep, that's right. I had just finished the Gadabout pattern and fooling around with the idea of designing a removable purse interior that could be switched from bag to bag. As is my norm, my first prototype was extremely basic and of course I carried it for a couple of weeks to critique it, but the more i used my new accessory, the more features I added to my sketches and soon the pattern was too complex to be a giveaway.

Still, I wasn't convinced that your average woman would be willing to buy a pattern for an item that basically no one would ever see but her. That's when I decided to get an unbiased opinion. Enter Mary, my best friend & the perfect product tester. (Picture a marriage between the infamous Samsonite gorilla who breaks everything & "Mikey", the Life cereal boy who hates everything new.)

So I gave Mary a prototype to carry for a few weeks,and was pretty surprised to hear from her just a few days later. She was effusive with praise! Not only had she enjoyed using her purse insert, but she was enjoying it so much in fact, that she was refusing to give it back, declaring it to eventually be my best-seller. Mary encouraged me in the strongest possible terms to proceed full-steam ahead and given this stellar review I continued developing the PortaPockets Purse Insert, eventually offering it in 2 sizes and to use a cliche... the rest is history.   :)

So what's the moral of the story? 


"Listen to your instincts"? -  Nope, If I had done that I would've been the only carrying a PortaPockets Purse Insert!

"If in doubt, solicit the advice of a trusted friend"?  Maybe. Who could argue against that being a good plan? But for me, I thought that the real object lesson from this experience was that ...

"Sometimes the best things in life can take you totally by surprise!"

So... has something like this every happened to you? Has the course of your life ever been altered by a person or an event that was totally unexpected? If so, I would just love it if you shared it in the space provided below!

And now- here's our winner in 
the Purse Pattern Chronicles 5 Giveaway - 
The person who actually came the closest to guessing which of our patterns we're "revisiting w/a twist" unfortunately did so anonymously. So....join me in congratulating SWAKINS for providing the 2nd most accurate guess in our Giveaway from our last post. She wins a FREE 12" X 29" piece of Soft & Stable.
So Swakins... the ball is in your court now. If you'd like to receive your prize, you're going to need to email me. I've tried a number of ways to contact you, to no avail.  :(
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