Time flies....
Well, hello again!
This is going to be a common complaint throughout this blog - the problem of time. Or lack of it.
As I have previously mentioned, I work full-time to pay the mortgage & bills which leaves evenings & weekends for designing & stitching. Hmmm. Take out the time needed for housework (sorry, I do apologise for swearing), eating, sleeping and talking to my neglected OH, friends & cat - and you're left with a couple of hours on a good night & maybe 2-4 hours at a weekend....
That's not long.
I can design at work during quiet times & lunch-hours, but at the moment I have loads of designs & no time to stitch them all! Now it has been suggested to me that I employ a model stitcher - sounds like a good idea, doesn't it? After all, that's what most designers do!
Unfortunately, for me it's just not going to work for various reasons:
1. One of the problems I find is that a design can work beautifully on paper while losing its impact in three-dimensions when worked on fabric. If I am stitching the piece, I can see this & make the necessary adjustments or scrap the design entirely. The key elements to my designs are the textures that you can create with different stitching - how can you duplicate this on a two-dimensional piece of paper?
2. My paper designs are merely a sketch of the finished item. They allow me to organise spacing, calculate size and ensure the colours work. The choice of stitches, the backstitch detailing and the design specifics stay in my head until it comes to putting them onto the fabric. This means that I can allow the design to grow naturally without becoming blinkered by a piece of paper - I have found that I can become almost hypnotised by a detailed plan & not see the inherent problems in the piece.
3. Why should someone else have all the fun?!! I love to stitch & embroider - that's why I started to design - so why should I give the enjoyment to someone else? They'll get their chance when the design is published!
4. How can I write stitching & finishing instructions when I've not made the piece? Each box, notebook or needlecase comes with its own set of challenges. The card backing needs to be measured to the exact millimetre in some cases and I would not understand this unless I had constructed the piece myself. I do research finishing methods, but for example, what works for a Miladys Needle design won't necessarily work for one of my Blue Coppice designs! One of the key points with the designs for me is that each piece is treated as a whole. I don't design the stitching & then think "What shall I make this into?", the final shape of the piece is fundamental to the design.
Okay, you might say, well what about the Floral Sampler? That was a picture so didn't need construction diagrams - why didn't that go to a model stitcher? Well, it certainly had a lot of changes in it! The woodland trees that are now worked over one thread? They were originally intended to be worked in french knots. The colonial knots for the forget-me-knots were originally cross-stitches. The tulips had been planned to be worked in satin-stitch - they are now worked in cross-stitch.
None of these decisions could have been made if someone else had worked the piece for me!
5. Money! The profits to be made from designing are pretty minimal! The majority of the money from sales goes directly to pay printing bills, the rest goes towards supplies of fabric & threads. How could I afford to pay a model stitcher the rate they'd deserve?
Yes, I could cut corners by producing the charts without the instructions or colour highlights. I could produce them on a low-grade paper. I could find a cheaper printer. Well, sorry, I'm not going to. I took the decision when I started to produce the charts on good quality paper & card stock that would stand up to the rigours of stitching! Flimsy paper, blurred images, illegible charts, poor instructions - these are all problems that myself & many stitchers have experienced, and we vote with our feet. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard stitchers say "I loved that design but I'd never buy another chart from that company." It is a competitive market & I want my customers to come back to me!
So, my high printing charges will stand, my profits will be minimal & I will never be able to afford to pay for a model stitcher - but I am proud of the quality of my charts & that feeling inside when someone says "What a beautifully presented pack" is worth more than an extra couple of pennies profit! :D
Hmm. Ended up getting a little side-tracked there!
Anyway, it looks like I'm going to have to carry on squeezing in odd bits of stitching here & there, dreaming of the day when I can stop working in the corporate jungle & run Blue Coppice as a full-time business from home....
Oh, and if there are any millionaires out there with some spare cash that's just hanging around in the bank? How about subsidising the arts? I've heard it's a good way to get a peerage....
This is going to be a common complaint throughout this blog - the problem of time. Or lack of it.
As I have previously mentioned, I work full-time to pay the mortgage & bills which leaves evenings & weekends for designing & stitching. Hmmm. Take out the time needed for housework (sorry, I do apologise for swearing), eating, sleeping and talking to my neglected OH, friends & cat - and you're left with a couple of hours on a good night & maybe 2-4 hours at a weekend....
That's not long.
I can design at work during quiet times & lunch-hours, but at the moment I have loads of designs & no time to stitch them all! Now it has been suggested to me that I employ a model stitcher - sounds like a good idea, doesn't it? After all, that's what most designers do!
Unfortunately, for me it's just not going to work for various reasons:
1. One of the problems I find is that a design can work beautifully on paper while losing its impact in three-dimensions when worked on fabric. If I am stitching the piece, I can see this & make the necessary adjustments or scrap the design entirely. The key elements to my designs are the textures that you can create with different stitching - how can you duplicate this on a two-dimensional piece of paper?
2. My paper designs are merely a sketch of the finished item. They allow me to organise spacing, calculate size and ensure the colours work. The choice of stitches, the backstitch detailing and the design specifics stay in my head until it comes to putting them onto the fabric. This means that I can allow the design to grow naturally without becoming blinkered by a piece of paper - I have found that I can become almost hypnotised by a detailed plan & not see the inherent problems in the piece.
3. Why should someone else have all the fun?!! I love to stitch & embroider - that's why I started to design - so why should I give the enjoyment to someone else? They'll get their chance when the design is published!
4. How can I write stitching & finishing instructions when I've not made the piece? Each box, notebook or needlecase comes with its own set of challenges. The card backing needs to be measured to the exact millimetre in some cases and I would not understand this unless I had constructed the piece myself. I do research finishing methods, but for example, what works for a Miladys Needle design won't necessarily work for one of my Blue Coppice designs! One of the key points with the designs for me is that each piece is treated as a whole. I don't design the stitching & then think "What shall I make this into?", the final shape of the piece is fundamental to the design.
Okay, you might say, well what about the Floral Sampler? That was a picture so didn't need construction diagrams - why didn't that go to a model stitcher? Well, it certainly had a lot of changes in it! The woodland trees that are now worked over one thread? They were originally intended to be worked in french knots. The colonial knots for the forget-me-knots were originally cross-stitches. The tulips had been planned to be worked in satin-stitch - they are now worked in cross-stitch.
None of these decisions could have been made if someone else had worked the piece for me!
5. Money! The profits to be made from designing are pretty minimal! The majority of the money from sales goes directly to pay printing bills, the rest goes towards supplies of fabric & threads. How could I afford to pay a model stitcher the rate they'd deserve?
Yes, I could cut corners by producing the charts without the instructions or colour highlights. I could produce them on a low-grade paper. I could find a cheaper printer. Well, sorry, I'm not going to. I took the decision when I started to produce the charts on good quality paper & card stock that would stand up to the rigours of stitching! Flimsy paper, blurred images, illegible charts, poor instructions - these are all problems that myself & many stitchers have experienced, and we vote with our feet. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard stitchers say "I loved that design but I'd never buy another chart from that company." It is a competitive market & I want my customers to come back to me!
So, my high printing charges will stand, my profits will be minimal & I will never be able to afford to pay for a model stitcher - but I am proud of the quality of my charts & that feeling inside when someone says "What a beautifully presented pack" is worth more than an extra couple of pennies profit! :D
Hmm. Ended up getting a little side-tracked there!
Anyway, it looks like I'm going to have to carry on squeezing in odd bits of stitching here & there, dreaming of the day when I can stop working in the corporate jungle & run Blue Coppice as a full-time business from home....
Oh, and if there are any millionaires out there with some spare cash that's just hanging around in the bank? How about subsidising the arts? I've heard it's a good way to get a peerage....
posted by Bethany | 4:57 pm
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