Let’s talk about your customers asking for free patterns...

Let’s talk about your customers asking for free patterns... 

So, I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because I know many designers, particularly you newbies, you’re struggling with pricing your designs. Drop an emoji in the comments if this resonates with you.

This is not a judgment, just a statement.

So, you’re saying that your customers want free patterns or they don’t pay your price.

I have 2 quick points to make on this, and I mean this with love even if it hurts.

🔆Here’s the thing:

✅If they want free patterns, they are not customers. Customers buy! It’s not about being mean, you can build free patterns into your business model, but if you want to be in business if you want to stay in business, you need to be profitable and that comes from selling. Period.
✅If they don’t pay what you change, they don’t understand the value or think the value of the pattern is worth it. 

I know that was some tough love, but sis, we’re not here to play. Your head is probably spinning from those 💎and you have lots of questions, like:

1) how do I turn those freebie seekers into paying customers
2) how to share the value of the pattern to get the price you want
3) and a million others.

These are great questions and just a few of the topics we’ll cover in the Pattern Partnership.

How the Pattern Partnership will work is...

🔆Each month we’ll cover a topic (like this one), digging into it with examples that are actually applicable to YOUR business and not just some generic and unrelated talking points.
🔆There will be live Q+A sessions that you can jump on and get into the nitty-gritty of YOUR business.
🔆There will be a private FB group that you can chat, connect, and collaborate with like-minded designers.
🔆In addition, there’s the roadmap that goes from Design➡️Launch➡️Grow.

Phew, I’ve said a lot here and that’s because I’m super pumped about this program. If you’re excited, get on the list.

❗️Registration is going to go pretty quick. Signups will be open for about a week, so if this is something you're interested in, keep watch for when the door opens and if you have questions, ask.

❗️If you miss it the October registration, no worries, we’ll open the doors again in November, but note that when we open up registration again, the monthly investment will be near double. So, getting in during the October registration will be your best option for locking in the Founders monthly recurring price of $27/month

Click here to join the waitlist NOW!!! 

Yarn choice: because it's your business

 Pre-P.S. Don't forget the price for the 32 Market Street Tee is going up. Get it before October 15 for the best price. Know a knitter that would love this design, forward this post to them.

  
So, we’ve talked about what’s in a name, right? A name can be the foreshadowing of what to expect. And that’s what 32 Market Street Tee is all about. From these humble beginnings was borne a great leader.

Now, let’s talk bout the choices we make to get us to the end goal we want. We know that Garvey sought to unify and connect people of African descent worldwide. Despite your feelings on Garvey’s view and how he went about his activism - Universal Negro Improvement Association, a fraternal organization of black nationalists, a group that advocated for “separate but equal” status for persons of African ancestry, and sought to establish independent black states around the world on the west coast of Africa, despite whether you agree or not, given how Black people were and are treated, you can understand why he wanted to protect his people.

And it’s that mindset that I approach all my designs, right? We can agree to disagree while acknowledging the underlying reasoning.



As such, when I recommend KnitCircus Yarn Greatest of Ease (fingering weight) for this design. Sure, you may not want to use this yarn for whatever reason. You might have a different color in mind that works better for your skin tone. And that’s okay. You might decide, heck, I don’t want to use fingering weight, and again, that’s your choice. In the voice of Tabitha Brown, that’ your business.

But we can all agree to appreciate the underlying reasoning for the choices made for the sample and not make it mean anything - good or bad - if you choose something else. So, if you want to use Knit Picks Hawthorne or a more budget-friendly brand, go for it.

You have the ability to choose what works for YOU! You have the power to change who you become and what you want for the world.

You got this!

xo
Tian

What’s in a name? Why 32 Market Street?

 What’s in a name? Why the name 32 Market Street for this tee?

Pre P.S. If you’ve had your eye on the 32 Market Street Tee and haven’t pre-ordered yet, get it by noon ET today, Thursday, before the price goes up. The pattern will be available October 15th.   Now, on to talking about the tee. So, like I mentioned last week, the name of the tee is paying homage to my heritage and social justice and to not being able to travel. When I started this design, the pandemic hadn’t hit yet. I had grand plans for the summer which this tee was going to be center stage. But with traveling not an option and to support all the social justice work happening around Black Lives Matter (let me be clear here that Black Lives Matter… my life, the lives of my son and my brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., the lives of these and all Black people matter at the bare minimum, so if you don’t believe that Black Lives Matter, this is definitely not the space for you). Anyways, with everything happening around race, and the need to dismantle the patriachy and white supremacy, I wanted to create a piece that could shine a light on important social issues. A piece that could encapsula what I'm feeling and what many are feeling.   With that being said, a few of you guessed correctly that the pattern name’s reference to 32 Market Street. If you guessed that it’s the birthplace of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jamaica’s first National Hero, you are correct. What I love about Garvey’s story is his humble beginnings and his desire to serve his people and fight for justice. And with the 32 Market Street Tee, that’s the type of feeling I wanted to bring to the design. Its simple construction is reminiscent of Garvey’s humble beginnings. The bold statement the lace pattern on the front illustrates how from simple beginnings you can make a big impact. And quite frankly, you have to have to have some confidence to wear this tee and it leaves little hidden if you choose (wink, wink). So, while you might be thinking “what can I do as just one person” in this environment, start with believing you CAN achieve a lot.   "If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life." ~ Marcus Garvey   I’ll be sharing more about the construction and yarn choices next week. So stay tuned for that. In the meanwhile, hit reply to this email and let me know if you have a yarn in mind for your 32 Market Street Tee. Also, I'm working on a worsted weight version. Would that be interesting to you? Should I add information to the pattern about changing yarn weight? How about adding sleeves? Oooh, so many options. Talk me off the ledge. I want to add so much to the pattern, so, let me know what you want to see. Until next time,  Stitch on P.S. A NOTE ON PRICING: If you want the 32 Market Street Tee pattern, get it today. The price will go up by $0.50 every week on Thursday until it hit its regular price of $10 on October 15th. i.e. the price will be:  $8.50 on Sept 24th $9.00 on Oct 1st $9.50 on Oct 8th $10 on Oct 15th (pattern release date) You got this! xo Tian TianConnaughton.com || Facebook || Instagram || Podcast