2021: A Preview
2020 is nearly at an end—thank the sweet Lord!
Which means my retirement date approaches.
Yes, in case you missed the news, I am “retiring” from pattern design at the end of the year, moving on to hopefully more lucrative, if less fun, work.
Which leaves me in an interesting position.
Patterns, currently my bread and butter, will become a source of passive income. I will no longer be relying solely on that income, which means I have a little more flexibility in terms of where and how I sell them.
So, in the midst of my retirement, the biggest change for 2021 that you will see is related to pattern pricing— I will be implementing the somewhat new “flexible pricing” scheme you may have seen some designers using for all of my indie patterns, both on Ravelry and Payhip. It will include 3 tiers:
Fair Wage (default): a price point that reflects the true value of the pattern and the labor that went into it; this will usually run between $10 and $12 for a garment, $6 - $8 for an accessory (more complexity, more sizes = higher price)
Market Value (coupon code I): The widely accepted market price for patterns, which will remain at the current $8 for garments ($7 for kids’ garments) and $6 for accessories
Financially Accessible (coupon code II): The minimum I can accept for my work, designed to accommodate knitters who truly face financial hardship in purchasing patterns—$2 below my set “market value” across the board.
Am I aware that 99% of people are going to choose to pay the lowest price? Of course. But since I will no longer depend solely on this money, I can accept that. However, it’s important for me, personally, to still present the fair wage price, if only to make a statement on the value of patterns and pattern designers’ labor, and hope to be a voice in pushing wider acceptance of higher pattern prices for all designers.
Other changes to be made as I shift my pattern business to the back burner will be less dramatic.
While patterns will no longer be my focus in the coming years, I will continue to work to update older garment patterns to include more sizes, to republish 3rd party patterns independently, and maybe even to drop a random pattern or two if the mood strikes—all as time allows, with no deadlines and no promises.
I will be redirecting my attention to focus on two main areas in the new year: translation—particularly pattern translation—which will be my actual job (spread the word!), and the MediaPeruana Designs YouTube channel, which will be expanding to include more tutorials and other content, in addition to hosting the Hilo & Stitch podcast, which will continue to be a creative outlet for me (I mean, other than actually knitting for FUN!).
My Patreon will be updated to focus on supporting the YouTube channel (which is not monetized) so I can continue to create tutorials, virtual “events” and other content to help knitters meet and exceed their knitting goals.
I will continue to offer my e-courses Swatch Master and Sweater Siren (possibly developing a third e-course) and offer both live and self-study versions of each. And if we’re ever allowed to leave the house again, I will also continue to pursue in-person teaching gigs—designing teaches you so much about knitting, all of which non-designers can benefit from too!
I will maintain my newsletter, which will serve to let subscribers know about newly re-published and updated patterns, podcast episodes, tutorials, events, contests and e-courses, and to bring attention to other designers and their work as well. (So if you don’t want any of that, be sure to unsubscribe!)
All of these changes will begin to take effect on January 2, 2021. Some bits will take longer to implement than others, but I hope by the end of January to have my pattern business shifted to passive mode and be focusing my time and energy elsewhere—mostly to knitting myself tons of gorgeous SWEATERS!
Again, my most sincere thanks to everyone who has purchased a pattern, participated in a KAL, enrolled in an e-course or watched the podcast over the years, your support has been invaluable. And I hope you’ll stick around for whatever the future holds!