Positive Yarn

I say promotional items; you say… what? Logoed pens? Stress-relieving squish balls? Wall calendars?

These trinkets have their place at community fairs or by your register, for example, but there are a host of other — still affordable — items that you can use to get your business name out there. Here are just a few ideas to think about incorporating into your 2010 marketing plan, and if nothing else, perhaps I’ve just made your holiday shopping for your team and favorite customers a little easier!

Please note that the links are just representative of what’s out there; they’re not an endorsement of any specific promotional product providers:

• private-label hand sanitizer: These 2-oz. bottles can be a welcome addition to your customers’ pockets or purses as they run their errands (including a stop back at your shop, of course). Pass the out before a class, for example, so that everyone’s hands are clean before they pick up their needles. A 1-oz. keychain gel version or pen-sized version on a lanyard are also popular.
• flip-top mirrors: Using a mirror can be helpful when trying to get a quilt design just right, for example, or when doing other crafts. If an upcoming project includes using a pocket mirror to help map out the design, why not use the kind that has your name, address and Web site on it, too?
• water bottles: As a modern alternative to the coffee mug, this product also encourages your customers to not only drink healthier, but also cut down on the risk of spilling coffee or soda on a project or merchandise (that is, if you even allow drinks in class to begin with!). If you have a core group that’s thinking about getting in shape, why not try the gallon-size bottles: The average person is supposed to take in 64 oz. of water per day, and these bottles are designed for you to fill in the morning and have them empty by evening. Make it a contest — who can lose the most weight by the end of a given period simply by substituting water for their lattes?

T-shirts and tote bags are perennial favorites, especially when they’re used to commemorate a special event. Zazzle.com not only lets you design your own, but its member “community” has uploaded a number of items ready-made that might be appropriate. Do a search for “Knitting Gifts,” and among the many gifts you’ll find T-shirts asking “If I knit fast enough, does it count as aerobics?”; mugs that warn “You can make fun of my knitting but remember…. I’m the one with the pointy sticks!”; and a tote featuring a humorous cartoon about what happens when a guy says knitting is for old ladies. There’s even a knitting-themed Christmas card! All of these items can be furthered personalized with your business information, or purchased as-is if you prefer.

Crocheters, cross-stitchers and needlepointers, you each have plenty to choose from as well (my favorites include a “Real Men Crochet” T-shirt, a poster that says “Never trust an acupuncturist whose license is in needlepoint; and an apron that asks “To cross-stitch or not to cross stitch… What a stupid question.”) After all, what student wouldn’t want a hoodie that shows her graduation from “Needlepoint University”?

So now it’s your turn. What promotional items have you used with success? Are you stocking these items as merchandise in the shop, or are you using them strictly as prizes for participation in a loyalty program, for example? Have you seen a genuine return on investment, or do you see it more as an investment in relationship-building? Sound off below or send me an email at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com.

Happy holidays, and here’s to a great 2010!

For some reason, the planets must be aligning for me to get the message that Scouts are a worthwhile program.

In about a week, my 9-year-old is attending a Girl Scout day camp at the bequest of her best friend, an avid Scout. I signed the check a month ago with some trepidation (will she come home with an application form and some Thin Mints to seal the deal?). But I was assured by the troop leader that she could be a “non-Scout” and still enjoy the week without any pressure.

Then this morning, I received an assignment to write a press release in an unrelated industry about an important product donation that benefits some Boy Scout camps out West. My husband, who made it to the Webelos level and 25 years later still fondly recounts his Pinewood Derby memories (to anyone who’ll listen), was duly impressed.

I’m really not adverse to the concept of Scouting. I distinctly recall begging my mom (a former Girl Scout, no less) to join a local troop when I was in third grade, but being turned down because of the time commitment. While I was bummed at the time, as an adult I can completely see the logic in that. Still, something tells me that with my daughter’s persuasion skills, I stand a good chance of becoming an assistant troop leader by the end of the year.

With Scouts in mind, I started looking online for what crossover marketing opportunities there might be for needlework and craft shops this summer. Here are a few interesting links I happened upon:

• The Vintage Girl Scout Online Museum. Check out its Sewing Room — and its needlework projects in particular.
• Scouting Web offers a Sewing & Needlecrafts page, with logo patterns that would make teaching a local troop how to stitch a breeze. It can help them grow in confidence, from stitching a logo to maybe moving onto something like a Project Linus blanket or quilt.
• Studio 2B is a Girl Scout Web site that is aimed at teens (and thus, pre-teens). Check out the Sew Glam page, which is showing how to sew and knit as an independent project. Help a Scout with her badge — or pin, as some troops are moving toward — and you’ve got a loyal customer for life. Better yet, she’ll tell a friend, who tells her mom, who tells her mom’s friend…
• Prism Patches takes artwork submitted by troops and turns them into a custom embroidered patch. Kudos to Owner Chuck Packer for doing this service, but it got me to thinking about how this could be a great troop project for a shop to lead. Not that you’re going to get a gaggle of fifth-grade girls to completely satin stitch a patch, necessarily, but perhaps they could learn how to applique felt or cotton pieces together and embellish with some easy stitches.
• In an older post over at The Thinking Mother, Christine points out that the Boy Scouts and their sewing skills are not something to overlook. She gives plenty of great links to a variety of Scout sewing information, and also raises the concept of putting badges on a blanket that the Scout then takes to camp. I particularly like this idea because while a grown Scout may not keep the sash on display, having an old, well-loved blanket casually thrown over a chair is quite a common sight in college dorms or first apartments.

So now it’s your turn: What has your business done to benefit the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or even other children’s programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America? I want to know! Drop me a line at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com or comment below.

After a long winter that provided your customers ample opportunity to curl up with that favorite project or play with the goodies they bought with their Christmas gift card (to your store, of course!), warm weather is finally upon us. Unfortunately, that also means customers may be thinking more about their gardens than their craft rooms. Let’s look at 5 ways to get them back to thinking about your business all summer long.

1. Have a stitch-out. You’ve probably hosted your share of stitch-ins during the colder months, especially when everyone was concerned about finishing up their holiday presents. But what about a “stitch-out”? Set up a canopy in the parking lot or in your yard, if you have one. Place some comfy lawn chairs and a table for some warm-weather snacks and invite your favorite customers to sit a spell. This is an ideal time to bring out your clearance inventory for display, too. After all, it’s primo garage sale season, so why can’t your store have one, too? By the way, if you feel like grilling out early on, May is National Bar-B-Que, Beef, Salad, Egg, Strawberry and Asparagus Month. It’s also National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, so maybe hold the eggs and strawberries.
2. Deck the halls. It’s never too early to start thinking about holiday projects. Pick an endcap and dress it up like a fireplace mantle. Scatter some fake snow all around and pick your favorite Santa, snowmen, mitten and other wintery patterns to showcase. Have a “Countdown to Christmas” behind the register — your customers may giggle at the “238 days till…” but it will also remind them that if think they want to have stockings done for all their kids, they better start picking up some threads.
3. Embrace sun and fun. Take the opportunity to have another part of the store reflect the season. Stock some pretty knitting needles and yarns displayed in an array of flower pots. Fill a kiddie pool with clearance kits. Highlight your kits for summer flip-flops, belts and sun hats.
4. Host a “staycation sweepstakes.” The economy has made staying at home for vacation chic, so why not help customers out even more? Try offering discount coupons with purchase for the local zoo, restaurant, or some other attraction that your customers might be heading toward soon. Better yet, network with other business owners to see if you can work out a swap — you offer a discount coupon for the local boutique and they offer their customers a coupon for your shop, for example. If nothing else, just offering customers a chance to win a gas gift card is always welcome.
5. Cater to kids. Kids get bored. I speak from experience here, as both a former bored kid and as a harried mom. Summer vacation seems like such a cool thing until a few weeks in, when they’ve mastered every game they own on their Nintendo DS, have gone swimming at every neighbor’s house they could, and are starting to recite SpongeBob Squarepants episodes from memory. If they get dragged along to your shop, why not keep them occupied? Devote a small space to a TV playing a kid-friendly DVD (the DVD player can always get repurposed during stitching times for a technique series, for example), and set up a children’s table and chair set with some paper and crayons. Some sewing cards and yarn could be an early introduction to basic stitches, although you may want to keep those on a higher shelf — toddlers might think the plastic needle is tasty. Also, set up a “hip” endcap (just don’t call it “hip,” you oldster!) showcasing patterns that might appeal to teens and yes, tweens, too. If you’re looking for inspiration, look to Knitty.com or Sublime Stitching for starters. If beading is in your repertoire, consider stocking Kalmbach Publishing’s new “Cool Jewels: Beading Projects for Teens” to keep the summer boredom at bay.

Ready, set, go? If you have summer success stories to share, let me know! Comment below or email me.

Easter is still three weeks away, so in the meantime I’m turning my attention to other events — namely, the Medina Needlework Guild Needle Art Show being held this weekend at the Brunswick Library. I’m helping check in entries on Thursday, and helping demonstrate (and keep an eye on “overly tactile” kids and adults) on Saturday and Sunday. I also need to figure out what on earth I’m going to enter myself, and whether I want it to be judged. I am in awe of our judges; I know Sandy Rodgers personally, and Carol Lynn Stratton and Carla Waggoner by reputation. I’ve also jokingly said that the five-year time limit on finished pieces is a bummer, as I’m so slow in finishing anything that it severely cuts down on what I’m able to enter. Still, I’ll figure something out.

How did you celebrate National Quilting Day, which was last Saturday? I went to the Medina Library to see my friend Kathleen Clark and her fellow quilt guild members sit and stitch. They were garnering some interest — and with some of their gorgeous quilts on display, how could they not?

But if you missed out on March 21, remember that according to the Craft & Hobby Association, March is National Craft Month — and if you haven’t already made your customers aware, you still have a week to do so. With household budgets ever tighter, show customers (and potential customers) that they can have family fun as well as a little keepsake of their bonding time. It’s much more meaningful than another movie ticket stub or fast-food meal receipt.

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention baseball this time of year — and The National NeedleArts Association is once again spearheading the Stitch n’ Pitch program. There’s even a “Stitch n’ Pitch Day” on April 19 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY, as well as the local-market events at MLB cities nationwide.

How are you getting in on the act of special events this spring? How are you working it into your marketing plans? Let us know by commenting below or emailing me at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com.

It’s getting to be old news, but it’s being reiterated nearly every day: Cheap is chic these days. In a CNN article this morning, even upscale consumers are finding that it’s much cooler to talk about how financially savvy you are than how financially sound you are — or as a consumer psychologist and professor quoted in the article puts it, “We have moved from an era of conspicuous consumption to an era of considered consumption.”

Now while no one in your core customer base will likely ever utter the words “Look at this $250,000 watch I got for $7,500″ (yep, that’s part of the article), it does make sense to appeal to their bargain-hunter side in your marketing program. Take a look at your inventory: What types of “champagne” projects can you get them to make on a “beer” budget? Is it time to promote a luxurious-looking shawl pattern, for example, that can be made up with lower-end fibers and still look great? To promote practical gift-making ideas, like a set of embroidered tea towels? To host a student fashion show where your classes can ooh and aah over their latest jewelry creations on display? Maybe turn up the upscale quotient of these programs by adding in a ritzy refreshment table, offering sparkling grape juice and chocolate-covered strawberries (which, if you do yourself, isn’t going to take as big a bite out of your budget as you might think).

On the evening of the event, have employees wear their most dazzling outfits — an old bridesmaid’s dress or a fancy sweater, just something that sparkles and isn’t something they’d otherwise wear to work. I recall a friend of mine who worked in a jewelry store when we were in college. For three days a year, she and the team wore tuxedo shirts and ties for a special “black-tie” sale that focused on selling their bridal sets and high-end jewelry. They stayed open late, and she said there was a unique energy that week — customers looked forward to the sale not only because of the good prices, but also because there was so much “special” stuff going on, with the extended hours, refreshments and gala atmosphere.

Perhaps you can also start helping customers pamper themselves for less with a display of eye mask patterns, sachets, manicure bags and other spa-like treasures that they can easily embellish themselves. With extras being fewer and farther between these days for many of us, make sure your customers know that your shop can still be their respite.

Potpourri

I want to recognize an organization called ZeroLandfill, which according to this Akron Beacon Journal article is “distributing 4 tons of samples from local architectural and interior design firms” to artists and art educators in Northeast Ohio. The program is considered “upcyling” because the art community can find treasure among what otherwise would have been considered trash in a landfill. The program might be expanded into other communities soon. Visit www.zerolandfill.net for more information.

I also just joined an online group called The Warm Fuzzy Brigade, which promotes needlework philanthropy. Bonnie Dillabough just founded the group and is looking for additional members to discuss projects, upload photos and generally, as she puts it, “create a movement that will warm our world.” As you may have read in my previous post, I’m on the hunt for good causes my local chapter of the Embroidery Guild of America can do a project for next season. Bonnie has a whole list of philanthropic needlework projects here.

Hey, wanna have kids?

Professionally speaking, of course. In this tight economy, it makes sense to appeal to all demographics — and where there are children, there are bound to be parents following close behind, opening their wallets to their darlings’ whim.

I know, because I am one of the wallet openers. And while my husband and I take great pains to ensure we keep our daughters from being spoiled rotten, we have certainly done our fair share of shopping for them.

We also shop — a LOT — for children’s birthday presents for the parties to which we are invited. This weekend alone, I need to buy a gift for my best friend’s daughter and another for the neighbor’s little girl who’s having a roller skating party. In fact, I’ve been to a myriad of interactive birthdays. The celebrations where a couple friends from school come over and help blow out your candles in the dining room is sooo passe. We’ve been skating, golfing, go-karting and bowling, jumped on inflatables, painted ready-to-decorate ceramics, baked cupcakes in a professional kitchen, and the list goes on.

So, why not grab a big piece of that birthday cake? Joanns does it, and so does Michaels. Host a party on otherwise-quiet Sunday afternoons, where a group of 8 to 10 kids can crochet a little purse, bead a keychain or stitch a bookmark. Even boys can get enthusiastic about it in a group setting — peer pressure can be used for good, not evil when it comes to overcoming their reservations about trying out something that seems so “girly” at face value. In fact, Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts troops would appreciate a chance to spend an afternoon at your shop. Make sure birthday guests know you’re available for troop events, and make troops aware of your penchant for parties.

Kids’ creativity never ceases to amaze me, and to introduce children to the needlearts is definitely rewarding. My fourth grader has crocheted leashes for every single stuffed animal she and her sister own, and has made bracelets and necklaces for all of her friends. (I hope to eventually interest her in progressing beyond the chain stitch, but for now, she’s happy.) Both girls also took full advantage this fall of the Stan Hywet Needlework Guild’s children’s booth at the annual Ohio Mart festival, where they learned how to stitch on plastic canvas for free and took home two very cool ornaments:

The best part about children’s parties is if you hold them in the back room, the parents will tend to wander out front. And when they see their child really enjoying the project, it gets the wheels turning about what they can buy to sustain the interest. Try making an endcap all about kids — the Disney patterns, the brightly colored threads and yarns, the plastic needles. Show they can not only make and take, but if the next party happens to be held at home, you can supply the parents with enough activites to keep the kids occupied until the pizza arrives. In fact, just last weekend my fourth grader went to a slumber party and came home triumphantly with a new elastic necklace and a silk poinsettia wreath she made by herself (with the help of the birthday girl’s mom and her glue gun). They beat the heck out of a goody bag, because she wears the necklace nearly every day, and the wreath is pretty enough we can display Christmas after Christmas.

Similarly, the look of pride and accomplishment on my first grader’s face when she finished her Dora the Explorer “Begin to Sew” finger puppets a couple weeks ago is one I’ll never forget. These are memories I want to make again and again.

If your store has reached out to the under-10 set, be it birthday parties or otherwise, please share your experiences by commenting below.

So here I am, ready to take Gooch & Gooch (my half, anyway — my husband can keep on plugging away) into a new direction and focus on helping people in a field that I love. I’m scared to death, but I just got back from a COSE conference and feel emboldened.

Based in Cleveland, COSE is an acronym for the Council of Smaller Enterprises. I’ve just spent two days with some fantastic small-business owners from all over Northeast Ohio. We’ve done a lot of talking about new media and how to harness it. Now it’s time for me to file the business cards away, quit talking about what I want to do and start doing it.

I’ve spent 13 years in business-to-business media, the majority of which has been spent on covering the professional pest management industry. But as great a group as the pest controllers are — Joe the Plumber seriously pales in comparison when it comes to being down to earth, loyal, patriotic and er, licensed — I want to shift my focus toward things that interest me personally. I want to write about, and help publicize, professionals who design with and/or supply the pretties I love so much: beads, yarns, threads, fabrics. What can I say? Sites like Etsy.com and IndiePublic.com were practically designed with me in mind!

Business Directions Owner Sherry Mulne, an absolutely fantastic person and a marketing communications consultant for The National NeedleArts Association, took a chance on me last year as her part-time assistant. I am delighted to report that working for Sherry has been great, and has been a wonderful introduction to the business side of the needle arts (defined as crochet, knit, embroidery, counted cross-stitch and needlepoint; tattoos are merely a matter of personal preference). While I hope to continue fulfilling assignments for Sherry, I want to start taking on additional clients involved in needle arts and related crafts. I want to help build a brand for an independent retail shop. I want to spread the word about some wonderful patterns someone has designed. I want to get someone’s handmade item into everyone’s Christmas stocking.

Want, want, want. I guess I should first pull back and identify the needs.

That’s where you come in. What can I do to help build your business, and in turn, help build mine?