How to Start an Indie Pattern Company with Helen from Helen's Closet // EP09
Helen's Closet
Hey everyone!
Do any of you have entrepreneurial ambitions? Or an interest in learning what it takes to create all of your favourite indie patterns? Or just a love of listening to two gals geek out about sewing stuff for almost an hour?
If you fit into any of these three groups, you're going to love this episode - Money back guarantee! ;)
I was so fortunate to have a chance to chat with the WONDERFUL Helen from Helen's closet a few weeks ago to learn all the steps that are involved with releasing an indie pattern from start to finish. Helen shares the resources that have helped her along the way, the lessons she has learnt, and how aspiring pattern designers can be successful in the current market.
Without a doubt, this is a HUGE topic, and we by no means covered everything in the almost HOUR that we chatted together, but I hope you can learn from and enjoy the information Helen has brought to the show today and use it however you'd like in your sewing practices.
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#SewingWin
Show notes
- Helen's first pattern was the Winslow Culottes - check them out.
- Helen has taken Pattern Workshop by Lauren Dahl and really enjoyed it!(Ps: so have I, it's great!)
- Helen used the Winifred Alderich Textbook Lauren recommends to draft her culottes.
- Helen uses WooCommerce to power her shop.
- This really swap by Helen and Kelli from True Bias really demonstrates the amount of class these two business ladies have! Check out Helen and Kelli's post for more info on what went down.
- Kim from Straight Stitch Designs just launched a Print Pattern Workshop for designers looking to branch into print. Definitely worth checking out!
- We talked about how to handle mistakes with honesty and grace when they happen. Sarai from Colette is someone that Helen and I discussed during this episode. We both liked the way that she issued a statement on her blog about the mistake, fixed the mistakes, and is now taking is through her process of making sure they don't happen again. I haven't always had good luck with Colette patterns around the shoulders and was pleased to see that they're reworking the blocks. Since then, some kind members of the Pattern Review community shared some of their experiences with Rue and Colette patterns in the comments that make this solution seem less like a clear success. I would encourage everyone to read the comments and gain a better understanding of some of the things that happened on their forum. I have also emailed Colette patterns to pass along the information that I've been given to give them a chance to address what's been said.