Breaking the Rules

‘Blog.’ ‘Write blog.’ ‘Blog topics: Singer/Market/Orders.’ ‘BLOG.’ ‘WRITE BLOG, WOMAN.’ ‘Blogitty-Blog-Blog-Blog.’ Did you know that if you write a word down often enough it’ll slowly begin to look like gibberish? ’Blog’ has been written down so often on my weekly to-do list that the word has lost all context to me. Just say it out loud - right now. It’s more like a noise you make when someone tells you some unappealing news: “Hey, did you hear Grumpy Cat just signed a movie deal?” “Blog.” (No hate toward Grumpy Cat, I love her - but a movie? Really, Hollywood? Blog.) Or when you've eaten too much: “I ate too many of those devil biscuits. My food baby’s making me feel all blog.” See? Gibberish. I can promise you that this will be the last post where I start off with excuses for not writing. Not because I will be regularly updating it, but because life for SobeSata Co is completely unpredictable, and there are a lot of things that hold precedence over writing about it. At the moment, business is great. Really great. I've been working on a lot of custom orders, selling my wares weekly at a local farmer’s/artisan’s market, rebuilding my inventory after said market, designing new patterns, and writing excruciatingly detailed instructions on those patterns. I've also been occupied figuring out the features of this delightful new machine…..

That, my friends, is a Singer Quantum Stylist 9960. And it is one bad-ass sewing machine. It’s got a mini-computer built right in. It sews, has over 150 different embroidery designs, has an automatic needle threader and thread cutter, and is able to stitch out dirty words (in cursive or block letters; in English, or Russian, or Greek) whenever I give my friends demonstrations of its power. I was so intimated by it at first that all I could do was stare at it for a few days. I scoffed at the needle threader - how hard is it to thread a needle? ..It’s not, but it’s mighty convenient to have now that I use it. The automatic thread cutter saves me a lot of time too. I didn't realize how much time I’d been spending going back over my pieces and cutting all the dangling threads until I didn't have to do it anymore. I love this machine - in the morning when I turn it on it greets me with a little whir and a click of the needle being shifted into place. Makes me smile every time. It’s unbelievably quiet as it stitches. Especially when you compare it to my old comrade - which still has a home and a use, not to worry. I would never completely abandon my first sewing machine for a newer model. So I have 3 sewing machines in my studio - 2 working, 1 inspirational. Now I just need 2 more of me so I can get more work done.

Know what that print is? Some call it chevron, others say zigzag stripes. In actuality, it's money. And free advertising. And what everyone wants. It's one of the top keywords searched for on Etsy. If I post a listing on Etsy for a chevron tote bag, I can guarantee you that bag will have more clicks and likes in one day than some bags have had in a year. This print helped me to land a large order of tote bags for a bridal party of 16. I just finished making 3 chevron jewelry cases for a different custom order. At the market, people tend to gravitate toward my chevron pieces. I'm not sure why it is, but this print appeals to everyone and never seems to go out of style. Needless to say, I have chevron fabric in every color of the rainbow now.

Most of my Thursdays and Saturdays are spent in my hometown farmer's market. From May through September, in a quaint area of downtown Rock Hill, people come to get fresh produce, goat cheeses and meat, fresh flowers, handmade jewelry, wood carvings and pottery and listen to music from local musicians. One of my goals when I started SobeSata Co was to be a vendor here - when I got approved to do it this year I was over the moon. Now that I've done several of these, I can say that I am still over the moon about it. Some days are busy, some are not - but every one of them has been fun.

The feedback I've received on my bags as people see them have been wonderful - which gives me a boost and encourages me to keep on. Word about my bags is getting out there. On slow days I can sit back, tap my toes along with the music and look at the handbags and purses that pass by for ideas and figure out how I could put my own twist on them. Every market is win/win for me. If you're a fellow Rock Hillian, get more information about ithere, and be sure to stop by and say hello! I get a lot of requests and suggestions for other items and bags that people want and need. I take every one of them in consideration. A lady on Etsy asked me if I could make something she could store her plastic grocery bags in. There were no patterns available for such a thing, so I made my own pattern. She loved it, and now my grocery bag dispensers are top sellers at the market. A friend wanted a small hip bag with an over-the-shoulder strap that she could take to concerts - just enough for a cell phone, keys, etc. She was very specific in what she wanted, so I had to create a pattern to meet her needs. The prototype bag I made to test out before I made hers got noticed at Merlefest (bluegrass festival in NC) and at parties. My friend was ecstatic when she got hers. Most recently someone asked if it was possible to make a jewelry case for his wife to store her earrings in when they travel. He loved the design I came up with so much he ordered three more for all the ladies in his family. This led me to realize that I should probably start writing down the steps to all of my designs. Not for me (although I am pretty forgetful), but just to have. To patent? Sell the patterns to Simplicity? Write a bag-making pattern book? I'm not sure, but they'll be there when I decide. If there's one thing I've learned in this SobeSata Co adventure, it's this - don't learn the rules first. To anything in life, really. Knowing the rules tends to put you in a box, and it limits your ability to think outside of that box. If I come across a problem, rather than being told I can't do it because of some rule, I figure out a solution to the problem. Sometimes there is no solution, and sometimes I come up with something that is genius. Once you've established yourself, then go over the rules. Some you may agree with, while others are nonsense to you because you've figured out how to bend it to your will. That's all for now, folks. Until next time..... blogitty-blog-blog-blog.