Sewing Business Blog » competition

Enter the Make It With Wool Competition

S. Denise Hoyle — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:06:00 +0000

Be a winner with wool – enter the annual Make It With Wool contest. Sponsored by the American Sheep Industry Association, the competition is intended to promote the beauty and versatility of wool fabrics and yarns. Anyone can enter to win awards and prizes on both the state and national level, including fabrics, equipment, sewing books, notions, cash prizes and scholarships.

Categories include one-piece garment, two-piece garment, ensemble (3 or more garments worn together at one time), and wearable accessory. Garments must be constructed from 100% wool or a wool blend. The entire garment body must be wool, however linings, interfacings, and trims may be fabrics other than wool.

Entries will be judged based on appropriateness to the contestant’s lifestyle, coordination of fabric/yarn with garment style and design, contestant’s presentation, construction quality, and creativity. Garments must have been completed after January 1, 2009, and entries must be received by November 1, 2009.

For information on how to enter your state’s competition, visit the American Sheep Industry website, or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: National Make It With Wool Competition, Marie Lehfeldt, Box 175, Lavina, MT 59046.

Keep An Eye on Your Competition Online for Free

S. Denise Hoyle — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:44:00 +0000

Would you like to see how your website traffic compares with your competitors? You can get that information for free from Compete.com! You can compare numbers for your site and any two other sites without even signing in. Signup for a free account and Compete.com will report and analyze the traffic for up to five websites. You can even signup for daily digest emails if you’d like.

Compete.com boasts the largest pool of online consumer behavior data in the analytics industry, and they provide their basic services for free. Upgraded services for large businesses start at $199/month and give much greater detail. Take advantage of their generosity and use this outstanding tool so that you can keep track of how others in your industry are faring online and be better prepared to face your competition

You can setup a portfolio to track five sites – typically your own and your closest competitors, but you could also choose to compare your site to that of a large presence in the industry (think localquiltshop.com vs. joann.com) so that you can see if variations in traffic appear to be occuring industry-wide. We have several proprietary websites in addition to our blog, so I’ve setup my portfolio to track the traffic patterns for a handful of our own sites so that I can monitor their progress individually and easily compare them to each other.

Although the data isn’t 100% accurate, it does describe your competitor’s users and their behavior, which gives you the tools you need to get ahead!

Hancock Fabrics Sponsors “The Ultimate Prom 2009″ Competition

S. Denise Hoyle — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:53:00 +0000

“The Ultimate Prom 2009″ competition will see three students from the High School of Fashion Industries in New York City competing to design a prom dress that will impress a panel of fashion industry experts. The competition will be aired via online “webisodes” at YouTube and at teen magazine sites like Cosmogirl.com and Seventeen.com.

Hancock Fabrics will provide the budding fashion designers with all the notions, fabric, and embellishments their designs require. The winning design will be worn by Kat de Luna, a Universal Motown artist, to the Ultimate Prom in Manhattan this June. Additionally, Simplicity Pattern Company will produce a pattern based on the winning design. Look for the pattern in 2010 at Hancock Fabrics stores.

The competition runs from mid-March through June. Visit HancockFabrics.com for more information or to view the webisodes starring the competing designers Larissa, Havanna and Laquasia.

Announcing the Sew Jo-Ann 2009 Prom Contest

S. Denise Hoyle — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:06:00 +0000

Students from ages 14-19 can enter to win cash and prizes in the Sew Jo-Ann 2009 Prom Contest! Sew your own prom gown with fabric from Jo-Ann’s and you can win up to $1,000 in cash plus some other great prizes:

1st Place Prize - $1,000 plus a Singer Electronic Sewing Machine and a Dritz Deluxe Dressform

2nd Place Prize - $500 plus a Singer Serger

3rd Place Prize - $250 plus a Dritz “My Double” Dressform

The student must be the primary sewer and may only submit one entry. Entrants must be photographed wearing their Prom garment, made with fabric purchased at a Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store. Submit two color photographs, front and back views, along with the completed entry form and a photocopy of the fabric receipt from Jo-Ann’s. Entries must be postmarked by June 30, 2009. Click here to view the contest details and last year’s winners.

How To Gain A Competitive Advantage During A Recession

S. Denise Hoyle — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:26:00 +0000

Often, during times of economic instability, businesses will cut their costs in any way they can, usually starting with their advertising budgets. You can use this to your advantage – if fewer of your competitors are advertising their services, you can step in and command the market. This technique not only improves your sales now, but in the long run as well because it gives you a chance to gain customer loyalty, and people will remember your ads in the future and will realize that your business has been around long term.

Research studies on hundreds of companies after recessions in 1981 to 1982 and 1990 to 1991 indicate that those companies that aggressively marketed their businesses during the downturns, captured and retained more customers and continued to dominate the market after the recessions were over.

According to a Marketing Sherpa study from September 2008, approximately 60 percent of online companies will cut expenses, starting with their advertising budget, in response to one of the worst retail markets in the past couple of decades. The absence of these companies in the advertising market will leave a sort of vacuum that other, more savvy businesses can fill.

If you’re not already using pay per click advertising you should start. If you already have pay per click campaigns going you should consider adjusting your bids and adding new keywords. Since other companies are reducing or dropping their budgets completely, you may be able to pick up the same keywords or better ones at cheaper bid prices.

To maximize your budget, seek out niche search engines in your market, or other smaller general search engines. For example, SewVillage.com is a directory that is designed specifically for sewing and craft related businesses. You can sign up for free and even receive $20 to kick start your campaign. Smaller general search engines such as Ask and Search123 can also give you more bang for your buck, or you can advertise through Yahoo and get your listings on AltaVista and CNN as well.

A JupiterResearch and BuzzLogic study from October 2008 reported that more than half of regular blog readers say that ads in blogs influenced their online purchases. Blog advertising is typically inexpensive, but can be very influential. Since the advertising arena in blogs is relatively new, rates are still very cheap and are unlikely to increase in a recession. Seek out blogs that appeal to your customers and consider advertising in them to attract new customers.

Even though the economy is slow, people are still buying. Even if they’re buying less than before, you can encourage them to spend their money with you through good marketing. Promote your business during this recession and your sales will improve, both now and in the long term.

American Sewing Guild’s 2009 Creativity Contest

S. Denise Hoyle — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:19:00 +0000

The American Sewing Guild and Simplicity Patterns invite you to enter the 2009 ASG Creativity Contest. There are six award categories and lots of terrific prizes, plus its free to enter if you are a member of the American Sewing Guild!

To enter the competition, you will need to select one or more of the following Simplicity patterns – 2903, 2925, 2938, 2939, 2940 (pictured at right), 2958, 2977, 3588 and 3807. You may select one pattern or you can mix or match items from different patterns. Entrants may adjust, adapt, re-size or embellish to create a one of a kind outfit. Design an outfit for yourself or for someone else!

The award categories are:

Most Creative Use of Fabric and/or Trim

Most Interesting Wardrobe Concept (minimum 5 piece wardrobe)

Gold Star Award for Sewing Excellence and Couture Details

Shining Star Award (for ASG member age 18-30)

Rising Star Award (for anyone age 14-17)

Sewing Starlet (for anyone under age 14)

The grand prize winners in the first four categories will each receive a $500 check and a serger from Brother International Corp. There will be three runners up from each category, who will receive a one-year subscription to Threads magazine and two issues of the Simplicity Pattern Catalog.

The grand prize winners in categories 4 and 5 will each receive a sewing machine from Brother International Corp, and three runners up in each category will receive a copy of “Simplicity’s Simply the Best Sewing Book”. Additionally, all winners and runners up in each of the above categories, will receive five Simplicity patterns of their choice.

Download a copy of the American Sewing Guild’s membership application to get started, if you’re not already a member. It costs $40 to join, with annual renewal fees of $35, and you’ll receive many benefits including all the latest news and updates, plus discounts at JoAnn’s and on other sewing related materials and tools. Keep in mind that categories 5 and 6 are open to anyone under 17 and that ASG membership is not required for these categories. Fill out a contest entry form and submit it along with photos of your garment(s) by the contest deadline of May 1, 2009. Finalists will be notified by May 22, 2009 and they will be asked to send their designs in for the final judging. Winners will be notified by phone no later than June 12, 2009.

Win a Sewing, Embroidery or Quilting Machine and a $1,000 Shopping Spree

S. Denise Hoyle — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:32:00 +0000

SVP Worldwide, the parent company of Singer, Pfaff and Husqvarna Viking, along with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, have announced their GIFTS BY YOU contest where lucky contestants have the opportunity to win a sewing, embroidery or quilting machine PLUS a $1,000 shopping spree.

Sew a gift this holiday season for a friend or family member and upload a picture of your project at www.marthastewart.com/sew anytime from November 17, 2008 until December 31, 2008. All uploaded photos of sewn projects will be displayed on the Martha Stewart Living website at www.marthastewart.com during the contest period.

Contestants must choose to enter one of the following categories: home decor & crafting, fashion, machine quilting and machine embroidery. Everyone that uploads a photograph of a project will automatically receive a $5.00 gift card for use at participating Singer, Pfaff and Husqvarna Viking retailers throughout the US. SVP Worldwide considers this their holiday gift to sewers.

There will be one project selected from each category and the selections will be made by a panel of sewing experts. The following prizes will be awarded to the winners of each category:

Home Decor & Crafting – Singer Confidence 7470 sewing machine

Fashion - Pfaff Expression 2.0 sewing machine

Machine Quilting - QBOT-the robotic automatic quilter, Imperial Quilt Frame, and the Pfaff Grand Quilter sewing machine

Machine Embroidery - Husqvarna Viking Designer Diamond sewing and embroidery machine

Grand prize - The Grand Prize Winner will choose one of the three featured sewing machines, PLUS the lucky winner will receive a $1,000 shopping spree to their local authorized Singer, Pfaff, or Husqvarna Viking retailer. Additionally, the winning project will be featured in a future issue of Martha Stewart Living.

We encourage all of our readers to enter your favorite projects – you never know, you may just win yourself a special gift. Please be sure to share your entries with us so we can all root for our favorite projects!