Sarah J. Doyle | June 30, 2008
Companies, large and small, are working harder than ever to become 100% customer sensitive as they attempt to gain and keep their customers. Yet the customers still leave. What can we, as small and medium size businesses, do to get the “edge” over the competition? This second segment of our three part series gives even [...]
S. Denise Hoyle | June 29, 2008
Joleen Rumsey (right) waits on customers at Field’s Fabrics store during the day, is a member of a band called The Icicles by night, and on the side she’s co-owner of fashion design label Flutter Fashion, along with Rachel Six (left), another local fashion designer. The duo, who met at the fabric shop, design and sew [...]
S. Denise Hoyle | June 28, 2008
Hundreds of local sewers in Fort Wayne, Indiana have been put out of work, at least temporarily, and a lawsuit has been filed against Vera Bradley in response to an announcement that the company would be bringing all sewing in-house and cancelling contracts with outside firms. The lawsuit describes a now soured long term relationship [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | June 28, 2008
The SimFlex Expanding Sewing Gauge gives you fast and accurate measuring. It is quick and easy to use.At first glance, you’d think it might only be for measuring button/button hole spacing. While it is PERFECT for measuring accurace spaces for buttons and buttonholes, it has many other uses.The SimFlex Expanding Sewing Gauge is great for [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | June 28, 2008
Amazon isn’t just about books anymore – you can buy almost anything at Amazon.com these days, including patterns and some sewing tools. Pretty soon you’ll be able to buy custom cut fabric there too! Amazon announced this week that it has acquired Fabric.comfor an undisclosed amount. Launched in 1999 by Stephen Friedman, Fabric.comhas developed a [...]
S. Denise Hoyle | June 27, 2008
Kiva.org is a website that allows individuals to lend money through microloans of as little as $25 to pre-screened entrepreneurs in the developing world, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. The purpose of the microloans ranges from supplying wood and better tools to a carpenter in Cambodia to purchasing materials for a sewing [...]
S. Denise Hoyle | June 26, 2008
Quilting has long been an art with the earliest American women creating beautiful quilts to adorn their homes. However, there is much more to it now than there was then. Today’s quilters can take partake in the massive technological advances sine then to create he most beautiful pieces. Instead of using a needle and thread, [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | June 25, 2008
For those of us in the sewing or craft businesses, there’s always hand sewing that needs to be done. Some projects require more handwork than others, but very seldom do we skate through a project without at least a little hand sewing to do. There are a lot of little things that can be done to make [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | June 24, 2008
It appears that everything about Michelle Obama is being analyzed this election year, right down to the size of her pearls and every other aspect of her wardrobe. Many of Mrs. Obama’s photographed outfits have been designed by Maria Pinto, a 51-year old Chicago native who was relatively unknown outside her local area until her [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | June 23, 2008
There was a time in this country when customers were fiercely loyal. Today, however, customers seem to have a “what’s in it for me” attitude, and will jump from one merchant to another to “find the best deal”, or whatever will satisfy their needs at that moment. They do business on a one-way basis. Yet, [...]
