oliver + s

Oliver + S News—

January, 2009, Vol. 7

Happy 2009! I hope you enjoyed the holidays and had some time to relax with friends and family. With any luck, you also got the opportunity to spend a little time by yourself, as well.

No matter how you spent the holidays, I hope you’re looking forward to a year full of new projects and activities. Something tells me this is going to be a terrific year for creativity and handmade items, and I can’t wait to see what you and your customers make next. We have lots of fun ideas and projects in the works for you.

Since January is all about new starts and resolutions, I thought it would be fun to organize this month’s newsletter around a New Year’s, as well. Have a great month, and do something fun, will you?

Cheers,
Liesl

Plan ahead image

We were surprised during the first week in January by the number of website orders we took for spring patterns. The Tea Party, Puppet Show, Swingset, and Bubble Dress have been flying out the door at the studio.

Frankly, I'm not thinking about spring yet, but I guess our customers are. And I'll bet yours are too. Now is the perfect time to start a post-holiday project that will be ready just in time for the warmer weather that is just around the corner. So it’s not too soon to start merchandising and selling the spring line.

Your quilting customers will be specifically looking for Oliver + S patterns when they read about us in the February/March issue of Quilt magazine which is arriving on newsstands now.


A Day in the Park convertible backpack tote


At the studio we just received another printing of the A Day in the Park Convertible Backpack Tote pattern.

I like the tote because I can push a stroller, go to the playground, run errands, and carry the essentials along while leaving my hands free. Many of our customers have called and written to tell us that they love the pattern too and that they have made multiple versions of the bag for friends and as gifts for family members.

I originally developed this pattern for a sewing class I taught. It’s a great project for an advanced beginning sewer working on her own or for a second-level sewing class. I wrote the pattern because I wanted to teach the skills of sewing from a pattern, making pockets (a patch pocket and a simple zippered pocket), and sewing curved seams. My students had great success with the pattern, and it became so popular in the shop that I decided to publish it.

The class for which the pattern was developed was a three week class that met for two hours a week. With some simple homework between sessions, that’s about the right amount of time to teach these skills. I hope you’ll consider using the pattern for a class at your shop.

We’re happy to offer this pattern (and the required hardware) at wholesale if you’d like to carry it. Download an order form here. You can see many more backpacks in our Flickr group, if you’re looking for more inspiration.


We now accept PayPal! Contact us for details if you prefer to pay for orders using this method.

And over the next month we’ll be launching a wholesale section of our website to make ordering directly from us even quicker and easier. Stay tuned for details. We’re very excited about this!


the size of it

Ever wonder how all those pattern sizes are developed?

As it turns out, developing the various sizes for clothing and clothing patterns is a very involved, intensive process. You can learn a little more about the process on our Oliver + S blog, where I recently discussed the various intricacies of grading a pattern into different sizes and how it is accomplished.


oliver + s flickr pool

See what other people have made with their Oliver + S patterns. Have you visited the Oliver + S flickr group lately? Your customers have been busy, and their finished projects may give you and your customers a little inspiration for your next creations.

And we’re seeing some wonderful spring outfits as well:


for more information

email us: information@oliverands.com
website: www.oliverands.com
phone: (866) 231-9639