Be Square

So when we at the Quilt Market in Houston last Fall, one of neighbors, (Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero of Kaleidoscope Software), had a little bitty plastic doohickey attached to her phone that was to DIE FOR!

Here's the deal... while I was sweating it out  in my booth frantically fighting the glare while trying to write down credit cards numbers with each and every transaction, Jeanie was nonchalantly swiping her cards through this little device and receiving instant confirmation....

While my customers were growing increasingly agitated (j/k, all of them were nice!) as I manually processed each sale, Jeanie's customers were in and out of her booth in a flash!

And when I left the floor for the night, I knew I had a several hours worth of work ahead of me keying in every one of those credit card numbers manually on the phone, but Jeanie was relaxing with friends over a nice Cabernet.

And worst of all, just as I was losing one of my best sales of the day, because I couldn't accept an American Express card, Jeanie was not only able to accept American  Express, but Discover as well, and with no additional fees!

So of course I had to find out how she was making it all look so easy, and her reply was..."I got "squared-up" before I left home". And she was NOT kidding!

So I did a little research and it didn't take me long to find out that Square is a new cutting edge device that lets anyone take credit card payments using smartphones or iPad tablet computers.

Square charges a 2.75% fee, on par or lower than I normally pay per transaction if the sale went directly through the bank or credit card company, but has the BIG advantage of no set up costs, no monthly minimums, no required phone line and no bulky equipment.

Some say that for many small businesses, Square might just eliminate the need for cash registers, eventually letting people run small businesses almost entirely from iPads using inventory, billing and other features in the software.

So here's the specifics!

• the little plastic doohickey?:  FREE
• the Mobile app for my smart phone?:  FREE
• being able to process MasterCard, Visa, American Express & Discover cards with only a smart phone?: PRICELESS

And that all adds up to the fact that- 
I can't wait to be "Square" in Kansas City! 
 So.... have any of you seen this little device yet? 
and how did you like being on the customer end of the sale?

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Four Reasons to Answer Your Email

As a small business owner, one of the things I find both annoying and baffling, is how often my emails go unanswered. OK, just so you know, I'm not sending out junk or phishing emails, and I'm certainly not sending out requests for cash from a foreign country like Nigeria, or Uganda. I'm talking about emails that contain legitimate & respectful business requests for information or advice.

For example, I've been expanding my online advertising this year, so last week I sent emails to the owners of 7 different Blog sites that indicated that they were currently taking ads, all of which were either sewing or craft related.  I felt they might be a good match for our products, yet I only received a reply from 3 of these owners, and sadly, this is about average.

Now I suppose it's possible that these folks just weren't interested in advertising our products on our Blog, but even if that were true, is it really too much to ask for them to send a very simple reply?
Such as..

"Sorry, we're not interested"..... or

"Don't call us, we'll call you.?"

To these individuals, I just have one thing to say, and that would be, You really should treat your business like a business, and a good place to start is by doing this,

ANSWER YOUR EMAIL! 

It seems to be very commonplace right now to not answer email, and since I can only guess at the reasons why, let's look at a few of the consequences of not answering your emails.

1) It can give your business a bad reputation- Nothing can turn away business faster than a word of mouth bad reputation and let's face it, word of mouth travels faster now than ever in social media. New customers and site visitors are constantly evaluating how you interact with them and unanswered email sends a pretty clear message to them, that being, You are not important enough for me to hit the reply button! It's immaterial to them that you've been out of town, or have more pressing (revenue generating) things to do, all they get is that your business probably doesn't care (and maybe you don't!). On the other hand, if you make an effort to reply to even the most routine emails, it makes a good impression on your customer or visitor. I'm not implying that you have to answer your emails within minutes of their arrival. I try to answer mine within 12 hours or less, and I think that's fair.

2) It can increase your sales- Once you have established a rapport with your customer, they may actually want to buy something from you. Want to lose a sale or a repeat customer? Don't answer the email. But here's the deal- I can certainly attest to the fact that many of the emails I receive involve questions that the customer should have been able to easily find an answer to on my website without contacting me. But that really doesn't matter to the customer. In their minds, if you don't answer their question BEFORE they actually buy the products from you, how likely is it that you will answer their question if they have a problem with the product or service AFTER they have spent their money?

3) It can circumvent problems- One of the fastest ways to solve a problem, or fix a potential one, is to respond to customer questions. They just may have found a problem with one of your products that you didn't know about. For example- no matter how many times one of my new patterns is proofread, there's always a little mistake that makes it through to the final edition, so when a customer emails me about this, it gives me a chance to correct it before it becomes an even bigger problem.

4) It can build your network-  This is something worth considering when deciding whether to reply to that email or hit the delete key. It may actually be from someone who can help you build your business, or just wants to give you something. For example, every month I send out 5-10 email offers for a FREE trial ad in our monthly newsletter. With a large readership of over 19,000, it's a really great, "no-strings-attached" way to test drive what advertising in our newsletter could do for their business. But would you believe we only received THREE replies from the 100+ free offers we extended during 2011?

So... as far as I'm concerned, there really is only one conclusion!

If you have an online business, and someone takes the time to send you an email, the least you can do is respond to it. Who knows, you just might be surprised by who is on the other end
or by what they can do for your business. 

If you want to be successful online, you gotta 

ANSWER YOUR EMAIL! 

And what about you?

How does it make YOU feel when a business

don't respond to your emailed questions or comments? 

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Any thoughts? Please feel free to share them below.

Table Talk

So in our last post, we not only told you what we liked and what we didn't like about our table displays at last Fall's Quilt Market, but we also detailed for you our plans to make our displays more effective at the upcoming Spring Market in Kansas City, MO.

And if you've been reading our Blog for any length of time, you know that we always do a mock booth set-up on the floor of our Studio before we ship everything off, because how else are we going to know that we're taking everything we need, but nothing we don't need? Right?

So, the first thing we do is mark the "foot print" of our display tables

 on the Studio floor with masking tape. (Please notice that the smaller 4 ft table

 on the right is not positioned where it should be. That's because I don't

 have 10ft of clear space in that direction but that's OK, I can make it work this way.)

Next, I assemble the portable shelves my Dad made for me

so I can determine which bags I want to take and which bag
stands I need to bring. (I have bag stands in three different heights, but the bases
 are VERY heavy, so I only want to bring the ones that I actually need.)

So after careful consideration, here's the selection of bag samples I decided on this time.
This is actually the very first time we've displayed at Market without the debut of a
new handbag pattern (this time we only have a new purse insert to show)
and it feels a little weird. I usually try to give the new design the
primo display positions and without that being a factor, it was harder to choose which
 bags to place in those spots.

I'm going to reserve the 4 foot table on the left side for Purse Insert demos.

I know there will be LOTS of questions about how the PortaPocketsPLUS compares

with the original PortaPockets and the Encore, so I'm going to leave myself plenty 

of room for show and tell. I plan on having one of the Plus samples in it's assembled

state, and a second one disassembled to show the versatility of the design,
and how velcro can be substituted for the zippers.

All that remains is the 4 foot table on the right side, which is really my work/sales station. 

I want to have a PortaPocketsPLUS sample there as well, because inevitably, the 1st 

question I'm asked by every customer, is "What's new?", and this way I can show them. 

This is also where I place my notions carousel, (represented here by the tall box). 

So there you have it. Having these pictures and a detailed diagram will

greatly reduce the time it takes to put our booth together in Kansas City. 

Additionally, we'll be confident that we'll have everything we need, but we won't

 be wasting time or resources shipping unnecessary items. 

Now it's YOUR turn to sound off. 

Any thoughts you'd care to share about our display 

for this year's Spring Market? And most importantly,
 Can anyone recommend some great places to eat
in downtown Kansas City?

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The Floor View

So it's that time again.
Time to start making our plans for the Spring Quilt Market, which will be held this year in Kansas City, MO from May 18th-20th. 

And one of the first things I always do, is take a good long hard look at our last booth (at Fall Market in Houston) and assess what I liked and what I did not like about it.

So, let's start off with the good points.

In a pre-Market post last Fall, we revealed a brand new floor plan for our booth, and for the most part, it worked out great
The traffic flow thru the booth was smooth and it was terrific having the extra display area on the tables, but there was also another unanticipated benefit, and that was the extra storage space we picked up UNDERNEATH! And I took full advantage of it!
I used one of the new tables as my work area, and the other as additional display area.

But there was a couple of things about the new floor plan that I wasn't crazy about, so take a look at the next picture and I'll tell you what they were.

The first thing you'll notice are the two bold arrows, (one pink and one orange), pointing to the areas behind both of the two tall aisle tables and that's because those two areas were being partially obscured by my two new tall tables.
Not the end of the world, but it was a little disappointing. I felt like I should have anticipated those areas being blocked from view, but I know how I want to resolve this problem at Spring Market in Kansas City next month.

But first, let me tell you about our booth placement! The floor plan to the right represents about 1/4 of the total floor space in Bartle Convention Center and I circled where our booth will be, and here's what's exciting about that...
We were allotted a center aisle booth, and for the first time in Market history, the center aisle is going to be 20 fee WIDE, which tells me that it will probably be the main thoroughfare which should really increase our exposure.

All the more reason to make sure that the view into our booth is as unobstructed as possible, so with that in mind, let me show you how I plan to resolve the afore-mentioned table dilemma.

I want to keep one of my tall tables as my work area because it's just too hard on my back to be bending down all day to write, and the elevated work surface encourages more eye level customer contact. I'll locate it however so that it's parallel with the side aisle, NOT the center aisle.

BUT I plan on using a LOWER table alongside the center aisle. (You can see the new table's height indicated in the picture to the right by the bold orange line.) So... since this table will now be the same height as the lower level of bags in the main display, it should open my whole booth up to the main source of customer traffic in the center aisle.
I plan on using this aisle table as my primary demonstration area for our new PortaPocketsPlus pattern. And the best new is... it's a pretty easy change to make. All I'll have to do is shorten one table skirt by 12 inches and we'll be good to go.

So there you have it? Stay tuned for our next post in this series when we'll be showing you our plans for our this Market's table displays, but in the meantime, what thoughts might you have about these changes?

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Which Purse Insert is Best for YOU?

So... since now we have THREE different purse inserts to choose from, I've been getting quite a few questions from folks trying to decide which purse insert is the right one for them, and I can see why, because there really are some pretty big differences between the three of them. 

 But hey- once again, rather than try to write down all the differences and similarities, I think the best way to explain the details of each of these units is to SHOW you...

So without further ado, 

just click on the link below and we'll get started-

Which Purse Insert is the Right One for YOU? from Kathy M Southern on Vimeo.

So... what's the verdict? 

Which purse insert suits YOUR needs best? 

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The Makeover of a Singer

A little while back I did a little post featuring some featuring some uniquely embellished sewing machines that I had found while surfing on the web, and I mentioned that I was SO inspired that I thought I might try it myself sometime with my old Singer.
I knew that my best chance to play around with my machine would probably be AFTER I completed work on the PortaPocketsPLUS pattern, but BEFORE I started a new design, so when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance!
I've been documenting my progress on my Facebook page, but I thought I'd use this venue to show a few more pictures and provide you with a bit more info on how I achieved the final look (at right).

Here's my old Singer in it's original unadorned condition. It still runs OK, but I haven't used it in years. But even though its been languishing unloved in the closet upstairs, I didn't want my "additives" to render this machine inoperable. (I still love it.)
For this reason, I'll need to be very careful about keeping my embellishments away from the moving parts.

So... with Mod Podge in hand, I started dragging out some of my favorite fabrics from my stash.
In retrospect, I guess I really should've made some rough sketches before I began, but you know... I really didn't have a clue as to what I wanted the final look to be, so I just made myself start, opting instead, to use this project as a way to showcase some of my all-time favorite fabrics.

Here's a partial list of what I used-
"On the Rio Grande"-Terrie Mangat
"Early Birds"- Jane Sassaman
"Larkspur"- Alexander Henry
"I Dream in Color"- Dianne Springer
"Catkin"- Julie Paschkis
and various fabrics by Laurel Burch and a host of other black and white favorites.

Overall the project was tedious but rewarding. I started by cleaning the surfaces thoroughly with carefully applied windex and the alchohol.
Building the design was very similar to applying applique. I found it worked best to 'build' the design from the bottom layer up. Once I had my pieces cut, I applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to the appropriate area of the Singer, and also to the back of the fabric. It was pretty easy to shift the fabric around to get it positioned correctly this way and the air bubbles were easy to remove using this method. There was a learning curve involved, so I quite naturally chose the easiest areas to work on first and saved the toughest for near the end. So here goes!

So, here's my Day 1 progress. 
I made the decision to go with a black & white striped base. 
Can't go wrong with that, right? (You know how I LOVE black and white!)

Here's my Day 2 progress.
I enclosed the main upright with a nice black dot and applied cut out leaves
and other decorations around the stitch selector. 
(Dont' worry!- The stitch selector still works fine.)

Here's my Day 3 progress.

I decided I did not like the red/blue & purple stripe I had placed on the sewing deck at ALL, 

so I replaced it an entirely green dotted deck. I like this look WAY better.

On Day 4, I continued decorating the main upright. 
This picture is the first showing progress on the machine back.

By Day 5, I was feeling brave & confident enough in my skills to attempt 
covering the machine top (and all of its important orifices) with fabric.This was 
definitely the hardest area to cover and I chose to do it in sections. I guess that 
was wimping out in a way, but it just seemed so much less intimidating than 
attempting to cover  the entire top with one piece of fabric. 
I did my best to match up the design.

By Day 6, the back of the machine was pretty much enclosed. This was not an easy area 
to work on either, but the fabric I chose was easy to segment and build upon, so 
the process was easier and less stressful than the top of the machine was.

In comparison, Day 7 was a piece of cake. With the entire machine enclosed in a 
base layer of fabric now, the only thing left to do was to finish the decorating. 
This picture shows the details we chose to add to the back. It also shows you a good shot
 at how we 'dressed up' the deck extender, which I LOVE! We modified the design 
section that surrounded one of the block prints from the 
"Catkin" collection and it worked out super. 

Here's a sideview closeup. I still may go back and add a few
details here. I just couldn't find what I wanted to use in my stash,
so for now, I'm stopping. Who knows, it's still a work in progress, and the 
perfect fabric  detail may crossmy path in the next few months! 

And here's a closeup view of the machine deck which I embellished 
with black & white polka-dotted buttons from my button box. . All in all- I'm thrilled 
with the finished look. I think my Singer looks happier now and I'm going to give it a place
 of honor in my Studio where I can enjoy it everyday 
(which is WAY better than being stuck in a closet upstairs, right?)

And you know what? This was such a nice diversion and I enjoyed the process so much, that I might just try it on something else in the future, like maybe an old piece of furniture. Besides, it's a cool way to use up scraps of fabric that I can't bear to throw away ! And speaking of pimping up the looks of other household items, one of my alert Facebook buds sent me the link to this post detailing how to adorn a keyboard with Washi tape. 

 Great job Kira! I love it.

So what do you think? 
Go ahead, you can be honest! (just be nice) 

 And if any of your projects ever been  inspired by a photo you found online, 
we'd love to hear about them!

Feel free to share your thoughts in the space provided below!

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PPC5- The PortaPocketsPlus- If it Fits...

(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.)

Since there's so many different ways to configure the PortaPocketsPlus Purse Insert, I figure there's bound to be a few questions about how each of these set-ups fit into our various handbags, and the easiest way to answer these questions is to actually SHOW you!

The PortaPocketsPLUS- If it fits..... from Kathy M Southern on Vimeo.

So I hope this video was useful in helping you determine which PortaPocketsPLUS configuration works best in each of our bags. Hopefully it'll give you some perspective for making the same determination for some of your leather store-bought bags as well.

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April 2012 Handbag of the Month Contest

The March Handbag of the Month contest was a really great contest and the winner was Maria Boyle of Farmington, NY. She wins a $20 virtual gift certificate and her "rock-star-pieced" Quattro will have a permanent place of honor on our website.
(Honorable mention goes to Lina Martel of Advance, NC. If you loved her Baggalista, you'll get another chance to vote for it in January 2013 when we hold our annual "2012 Battle of the 2nds)

But now, let's kick this month's contest off!

and the lineup we have for you this month is an interesting combination of entries! And don't forget, if you'd like more info about any particular entry prior to voting, check out our newsletter (available in our archive on 4/7/12) So...without further delay, here's our April entries. When you're ready to vote, click this link, or use the link at the bottom of this post, to be taken to our official voting page!

Lori's leatherette Quattro

Jan's beautiful Baggalista

Jan's yummy Baggalista

Carol's classy Harmony Handbag

Amy's expertly crafted PortaPockets Purse Insert

Theresa's embellished Quattro

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So there you have it...It's gonna be tough, but you can only vote for ONE bag!

Are you ready to cast a vote for YOUR favorite?

Click here to vote.

PPC5- A Triple Test

(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.)

One of the most underestimated, and least understood parts of getting a pattern ready for release, is the pattern-testing phase, but it's arguably one of the most integral to its success. And having released patterns both with, and without benefit of pattern testing, I can attest to the fact that the whole process is infinitely easier for me AND for customers when patterns are pre-tested.

by Judy Graf of Tyler, TX

So.....in order to let you know exactly what is involved in testing a pattern, I thought I would just take undertake an interview of myself. So here goes.

1) How much sewing experience does a tester need to have?
I like for my testers to have a variety of sewing experience. Our pattern line is NOT aimed at beginners, so, while I really do not need beginners in my testing base, I do like to have testers with different levels of expertise, just like our customer base.

2) At what point in the design process do your pattern testers receive their materials?
Once I'm basically satisfied with a design I set about making a working set of templates, writing the first draft of the instructions and adding the accompanying drawings. These items are decent enough, but are by no means have they been perfected.

by Lori Gates of West Henrietta, NY

3) What exactly is the tester's assignment?
I generally allot my testers 3-4 weeks to work up a sample of the new design using just the draft instructions, templates and drawings and provide feedback on the how the process went for them.

4) What kind of feedback are you looking for from the testers?
I like knowing anything and everything about their experience. Was it fun? Were they able to finish the project? Were the material lists adequate? Were the directions clear or were there steps that were hard to understand? Were the drawings helpful? Were the spelling, labeling or grammatical problems with the draft materials?

Testers are not expected to solve problems they find in the instructions or drawings & they can call me if they get stuck.

by Susan Koch of Greenwood, AR

  
5) Do your testers receive any compensation for their efforts?
My testers receive no monetary compensation for their efforts. (To do so, MAY subvert the process, afterall, a paid tester might resist giving me HONEST feedback if they're afraid they won't get paid.)
I do provide them with most of the notions they will need, but they choose and buy all of their own fabric and fusibles. The project is of course theirs to keep and use when completed and they get a free copy of the pattern when it's hot off the press.

6) How do you find your testers?
I've always found it awkward to ask folks to test for me. After all, it's not a glamorous job, there's basically NO compensation, and it can be VERY time-consuming. Ideally, I'm looking for folks who WANT to be part of this process, and lucky for me, there are women out there who get a kick out being involved in this venture. Without exception they have volunteered for this 'punishment/honor'.  :)

Occasionally folks grow tired of testing and drop out. That's OK. And sometimes a tester will need to sit a cycle out or stop testing completely, due to illness or other family obligations. That's OK too.

So...in conclusion,
let's give our team of pattern testers a round of applause because our patterns are much more user-friendly because of their valuable input!

And now... its YOUR turn to be the interviewer:

Do you have other questions concerning the testing process? If so, please feel free to leave them in the space provided below and I'll do my best to answer them for you there.  :)

PPC5- The Eye of the Storm

(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.)

So in an earlier post I described how unpredictable the run-up to a pattern release can be, but no matter how wild and chaotic the run-up to a new pattern release turns out to be, there's always a little respite, a little oasis of time so to speak, that comes AFTER the last pattern task is completed, but BEFORE the official release in the newsletter.

It's kinda weird actually. There's SO much to do trying to get ready to release, and with a deadline looming, you really start to wonder if you'll accomplish everything on that list in time. But here's the deal, there's quite a few items on that list that just cannot be done until the day of the official release, when the REAL craziness begins anew, but in the meantime, we sort of find ourselves in the "eye of a storm".

It's a strange feeling... a time to wait... to exhale...and to gather strength for what comes next. It's usually about a week, sometimes as much as two, but you never know...because in the now legendary case of the Baggalista, the eye of the storm lasted less than 12 hours! At any rate, since it's impossible to predict the amount of time we'll have, and since I simply can't start a new project until I've put the current one to bed, I need to find a way to redeem this interim time.

And check it out, I've actually gotten so I enjoy this forced sabbatical. I purposely make myself to do something totally different, completely "un-pattern-related". For example; I painted my old office waiting for the DittyRoo release, and the master bath waiting for the Lollapalooza. I've also been know to do a little personal sewing, or take in a very rare day of shopping. I generally get some yard work done during the spring respite, some Christmas shopping during the my free time in the Fall, and I always try to get some casseroles and other dinner items into the freezer for the crazy port-release days that lie ahead.

So what do I have planned this time? I might just try my hand at embellishing my old sewing machine with some Mod Podge and fabric scraps. I've been dying to try that, but up until now couldn't justify taking the time. I've got a couple of books I've been wanted to dive into and you never know, there might just be an impromptu trip to Charlotte in my future. (Nothing recharges my battery like my grandson!)

But you know what? As much as I enjoy the break in the routine, I'll be ready to hit it again when the winds changes direction on the 7th of April.

So how about you? When you take a break from your normal routine, what activities recharge YOUR battery?

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