So You Wanna Be a Tester Rewind

September 24, 2021 / Kat /

So…

in our last post, which was the testing round post for the Elsie K Baglet, we only had two testers who took the pattern to completion and sent me pictures. Sadly after enjoying 4 years of tester stability, we’ve suddenly suffered the loss of several. One is dealing with long-haul Covid, and several are dealing with family issues, in particular elderly parents. (It seems like everyone I know is dealing with family issues, particularly elderly parents.)

So it seems we’re in the market for a few new testers…

and a while back I delineated how exactly we go about choosing new testers, (you can see that post HERE), because we’ve changed our approach to doing so due to successes and failures in the past. And here’s the deal… I’ve come to the conclusion that the most ineffective way for me to choose a new tester is to go out specifically LOOKING for a great tester. After all, they don’t advertise themselves and many are already testing for one or two designers already. So what I started doing about 12 years ago is to scout about for a fellow bag FANATIC (as opposed to someone who views this process as a passing novelty). Now I realize I can’t conduct a sit-down interview with potential candidates, but there are other ways I can “get to know” them. So… with this in mind, if becoming one of our pattern testers is an objective of yours…Here’s a few ways to help us get to know YOU!

(sample at left was created by Diane Rhodes)

 1) Send us email letting us know of your interest & your sewing experience-  FYI- while I love for our testers to have a variety of sewing experiences, I’ve learned that the sewing experience I value the most is a sewist who’s made one (or more) of our bags.

2) Stay connected with us! Mostly because of the reasons above, we’ve gotten so we never ask a prospect to join us without having developed a prior relationship with them. If you send us your name and we never heard or seen your name on our various Social Media platforms, then I can promise you will never be considered for the role of a tester. And here’s the thing, it’s SO easy to let us get to know you! Here’s a couple of ideas!

Let Us SEE the bags you make from our patterns!

This is important for a variety of reasons

  1. I like to see how well you handle zippers. Its amazing how many people have sewn for years, yet have never inserted a zipper.
  2. I like to see how well the bag is constructed. Bag sewing involves small turns, tight corners and pressing can make ALL the difference in a finished look.
  3. I like to see what fabrications you choose. The finished look is important to me because I publish the pictures of our tester’s bags, so I’d like for them to be interesting. Notice that I didn’t say anything about it being similar to what I would choose, as a matter of fact, different is probably better, but either way it gives me a pretty good idea of your style and capabilities.
  4. I like to see that you can take a decent digital photograph of your finished project. (see #3) It’s also surprising how many folks make a beautiful bag and then send me a picture of it all crumpled up in a bold, flowery chair. Staging matters to me. It doesn’t have to be any more elaborate than placing it thoughtfully in front of a non-competing background.

(sample at right was created by Shannon Maciejewski)

And lastly, but perhaps most importantly…

5. Be an active participant on one of our Social Media platforms- Commenting on our posts on any of our platforms is a really great way for us to get to know you. It gives us an idea of what you like, and what you don’t…  and perhaps more important, it shows that you have an interest in the success of our products and the growth of our brand.

So just in case you don’t know where are platforms are located, they are listed for you below in no particular order of importance;

So, anyway- I hope this gives you a pretty good idea about what we’re looking for and why? If you’re still interested in becoming one of our testers, please let me know of your interest by sending me an email at [email protected] or by sending us a message thru our website (HERE).

And just for the record, although we LOVE reading comments on our pictures and posts, I generally do not conduct business on my Social Media platforms, so please don’t try to contact us thru FaceBook. Due to the way FaceBook handles messages, I rarely if ever notice messages coming to us there.

(Sample at left was created by Beth Revere)

But, now it’s YOUR turn!

Do you think you’ve got what it takes to become one of our testers? We actually LOVE comments and questions too, so if you’d like to share yours, please feel free to do so the section provided below!

Check out the best sewing pins with me on Pinterest, join in on discussions or show off your work in our FaceBook Group, or get your daily sewing fix on our Facebook Business Page or get behind the scenes scoops on Instagram, and be the 1st to know about new patterns, discount codes and sample sales by signing up for our monthly newsletter.

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Kat

2 Comments

  1. RENARD Christine on September 24, 2021 at 11:23 pm

    Hello.
    I am French and new to your facebook group.
    With my daughter, we made a quattro bag, which we posted on the band.
    I do a lot of bags, I love it, I master it pretty well. I’m not a professional, it’s just for my pleasure.
    I would be delighted if you could give me a model to test it out, I will do my best to do something nice.
    I hope my post has caught your attention.
    PS. Sorry for my English, I have to have it translated, I hope it’s understandable.
    Regards.
    Christine RENARD



    • Kat on September 25, 2021 at 7:13 am

      HI Christine

      Thanks for your interest in testing patterns for us. I would encourage you to please continue on by communicating your interest to us via email. ([email protected])
      Kat