Brixton Purl

Demystifying search engines so you can be found  Searches and being found in search results is key for designers. Depending on the search engine used to look for patterns the designer needs to provide the information in different ways, this is called search engine optimisation and you probably recognise it by the abbreviation SEO. One thing that they all have in common is that you need to try to figure out what the users are searching for. You can add all the fancy names and words you want, but if that’s not what customers are searching for, then your page/pattern won’t be found. The search engines also work differently and take different information into account in the search. Google works in one way, but if you also sell patterns on Ravelry and LoveKnitting they both have internal search engines that you need to think about. Ravelry The internal search on Ravelry searches in the pattern name field, but doesn’t take the pattern description into account. The filters enables

Winter has arrived to UK, and we've even seen a little bit of snow in the capital; something we haven't had much of the last couple of years. For us knitters it's a perfect excuse to wear more knitwear! So what are we wearing this year? Looking at social media among knitters it's quite clear that knitted sweaters, especially with a little bit of pattern on the yoke,  are a strong trend at the moment; and for a good reason! Imagine an Icelandic or Bohus style round yoke with colour pattern, and then you update it with a little bit of graphic patterns, and also delicate botanical inspiration. Update the colours to the latest trends and the yarn choices are plenty to suit any taste and wallet. There are 3 names topping the trends, Jennifer Steingass, Caitlin Hunter and the ever so talented Isabelle Kreamer. These designers are definitely topping the design game! Check out my Pinterest board for the winter 2018 trends  here . Jennifer Steingass has so far released 12 p

The year is nearing its end and we'll start a new year with new energy! Oh, who am I kidding...let's end the year with Christmas stress and start the new year just as tired as we were in December. I don't have any New Year's resolutions, but I have goals I'm striving towards, but it's not a failure if I don't reach them. I want to exercise more, eat more healthy, reduce my yarn stash and publish more patterns, but I'm not feeling guilty about buying yarn, taking the bus if it's bad weather or indulge in chocolate every now and then - It's not about living the perfect life, it's about living my life and enjoying it. When I look back at 2017 there are definitely some tough times, but also some fantastic highlights. I went on an amazing holiday to Japan, I saw two of my patterns make mega success on different platforms, I tried out screen printing (It's super fun!) and I got to see my family a lot and celebrate some of the highlights of

I often wonder what I have to say to the world, why should anyone listen to me? My day job is with a multiple brands with very specific brand identities and I often work with people to encourage them to find their own brand, but then I stand here as a bad example, with no brand identity at all. I am versatile and know a little about a lot, and that is great and super useful for me in many ways; but it's not at all helpful when it comes to create and promote my own brand. I'm drawn to neon and strong colours, at the same time I love muted dirty pastels and neutrals. I listen to all kinds of music, jazz, blues, hard rock, pop; they all have their time and place. I'm drawn to both big cities and the country side, noise and and silence, and I need both to feel good. Loving one of them doesn't mean you have turn your back on the other. Being versatile gives me too many options, but it also gives me opportunity to try out everything before I decide what I want to keep doi

Communication is important. We live in a society where we have 100's of communication channels in our mobile phones and most of us spend a significant part of our work day in front of a computer communicating with other people. Upping your communication game can change everything for you. I don't claim to be an expert, in fact, I fall into a LOT of communication traps all the time. This post is just as much for me as it is for you, I need to remind myself of some very essential points of successful communication from time to time. A message not understood is a useless message, and you can't blame the receiver for not understanding. If you want someone to understand your message, you need to make sure it's optimised for your reader. The most obvious mistake is sending a message in a language the receiver doesn't speak, but it doesn't end there. Words are only a portion of a language, there are cultural and traditional nuances to take into consideration as well

I'm going to stick my neck and say something that shouldn't be controversial; it's ok to buy commercial yarn from big brands. Don't get me wrong, I use a lot of yarn from indie dyers and small mills and absolutely love it, but I don't have to choose one or the other. They serve different purposes. I work for a yarn company/retailer, we're somewhere north of 100 employees and we sell commercial yarn. Buying yarn from a larger company supports all the employees and the suppliers as well. It takes a larger customer group to make enough sales to pay the costs, but there are a lot of people making a living. One of the arguments used to encourage buying from indie sellers is that you support local, you support the people working there. I want to make the same claim for buying from bigger companies. There are a lot of people involved making a living, and the area they live in might not be your local, but it still benefit from all these people in work. Without my sal