I gotta say, the Bead & Button Show may just do me in this year. I am making so many kits. And I am so tired. And there's only 22 more days until the show begins. That may seem like a long time to you - but I'm barely a quarter of the way through the kit making. As a matter of fact, most of my humongous supply orders won't arrive until next week! But I keep slogging away at it, and I do see glimpses of progress here and there.
You guys know how I love to bite off more than I can chew for the fun adrenalin rush I get from panic, right? So guess what we decided to change about our kits yesterday? (And please note: this was a joint mother/daughter decision, so I can totally blame Mom for leading me down this path. Well, her and Marcia DeCoster and Nikia Angel. More on that in a moment.) The big announcement is....we're going to move to providing the instructions on CD instead of paper copies. No more printing reams and reams of paper! Farewell burning through laser toner cartridges like nuthin' at $200 a pop!
Hello new set of challenges! Like figuring out how long it's gonna take me to burn all those CDs. And designing labels for the CDs. And printing the labels for the CDs. And figuring out a new storage system for the CDs.
Honestly, I'm excited about the switch. In the long run it will be more cost effective and more time effective and certainly more storage effective. Plus you've got to keep up with the Jones'! Or in this case, the DeCosters and the Angels.
It all started a few days ago when Marcia posed a question to all the fellow kit makers out on Facebook about we each make our kits. It was an interesting thread for me to compare my ways with theirs, and in the mix I discovered that I was coming late to this instructions on CD party! I asked Marcia if she got much dissent from her customers over the CDs and she said very very little. Nikia Angel (Buy the Kit) says she's in the process of switching over all her kits to CDs. Since that's the way the trend is going, I think it only makes sense for Tapestry Beads to jump on the bandwagon too.
At Bead & Button next month, we'll have mostly CDs, but will still have some paper copies for those who would prefer the instructions the old fashioned way. It's going to be a bit of a test market for us. But I do see us moving to all CDs in the future unless there's mass mutiny at the show. Don't get any ideas, you rabble rousers who read this blog and will be attending the show!
My work for the day is done. Time to recharge. I'll be dreaming of burning CD after CD after CD....zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Hi Jill,
ReplyDeleteAn interesting concept, but will we be able to print the instructions from the CD? Since I don't bead at the computer, I would find the CD instructions cumbersome. However, if the instructions were just stored on the CD and we could print ourselves, I think it's a great idea.
Good luck at the show. One of these years I hope to be able to attend the Bead & Button show. I bought two of your patterns in Tucson, but have yet to make them. Hopefully I'll get at them soon.
Gretchen
Maybe Kinko's could burn the CDs for you.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, Jilly. Kills fewer trees, offers a medium that will last longer... good call. I'm sure I'll end up buying a couple kits (always do!), so can't wait to see them!
ReplyDeleteHi Gretchen - yes, you'll be able to print the instructions off the CD. Which is great! Because if you lose your paper copy, you've always got the CD file to print another one out.
ReplyDeleteCarol - I think this first time around, it's gonna be me burning while I get it together. Then I'll assess if it makes sense to farm out the burning. I'm kind of a control freak and hate to put it in the hands of anyone else.
Jill, Great move. I'm getting frustrated with storing all that paper. Love going to my computer to search patterns for all my crafty projects. Let me know if you need assistance, I've got computer with burner sitting ideal.
ReplyDelete