That’s right, folks—I’ve started a Payhip store!
First, let me back up and explain some backstory. Fair warning—I’m going to break my general rule of not talking about industry drama (of which there is plenty) on this blog.
If you get around at all in the online knitting community, you’ll most likely have heard about the accessibility issues that have exploded on Ravelry in the last year. The short version of the story is that Ravelry unexpectedly rolled out a redesigned interface for their website last summer. The new design has triggered hundreds of cases of migraines and nausea in users worldwide, and there are also reports of seizures. Googling “Ravelry accessibility” will bring up more details. It will also bring up a trail of defensive/evasive responses from the leadership at Ravelry to repeated appeals for a rework. Over the past year their attitude has fluctuated between bullying, playing victim, and minimization/denial. There has been gossip, apologies that don’t actually admit to anything, surveys that are stacked to give favorable stats, and superficial “changes” that don’t alter any of the structural problems. Affected users (of which there are many) have been forced to limit their Ravelry activity or leave the site altogether. Many of these folks personally donated money, time, and volunteer work to build Ravelry into the industry hub that it is today.
There now; I’ve broken my rule.
Designers have been affected in various ways. Many have lost income, while others have lost their businesses altogether, since they are unable to access their accounts and run them. Some have stacks of medical bills from health issues triggered by the site redesign. What we all have in common is the loss of a centralized network where we could reach customers, collab with others, and ultimately make a living.
Now, Payhip.
Needless to say, anyone who didn’t have an alternative pattern sales channel immediately had to scramble and set one up. I’d already had one from early on in the life of Red Earth Designs, so I didn’t immediately look for another. However, the one that I’ve been using (LoveCrafts) has not proved to be an ideal alternative for numerous reasons. I can’t run promotions, so only Ravelry users are able to access my coupon codes/other special discounts. The LoveCrafts team has to manually review and approve patterns before publication, which means that I have no control over when my patterns become available (one of my recent patterns wasn’t approved for nearly 3 weeks). My shop there has no customization options and the platform is clunky to view and shop.
Meanwhile, my Ravelry sales have taken a nose dive since March, when Ravelry permanently discontinued their Classic look, the original interface. After consulting with more experienced designers, I’ve concluded that there are numerous factors that may have contributed, but the redesign-related exodus is almost certainly one of them. LoveCrafts sales haven’t picked up at all (they’ve never been more than a trickle). I won’t pretend that this fiasco hasn’t impacted me financially. So I’m going to try out something new.
I’ve started a store on Payhip and have started to upload my patterns, beginning with the best sellers. It’s not primarily a pattern sales platform—musicians, authors, and software developers sell there as well—so it lacks the search functionality of Ravelry. But the interface is clean, and the back end has options for me to offer types of products and promos that Ravelry doesn’t. I’ll continue to update the store and will announce news here when I have any to share. My Ravelry and LoveCrafts stores will still be available for anyone who would like to shop those. The issue of where to spend one’s money is extremely personal, and my concerns about Ravelry’s response to the issues that have been raised does not mean that I will ever think less of my customers for continuing to shop there. I’ll continue to offer my self-pub patterns across all 3 platforms as they come out. I will, however, be trying to lean less heavily on those platforms for reasons given above. There may also be adjustments ahead to the way I set things up on this site, so keep an eye out. I will be sure to announce any major changes if and when they are implemented.
I debated back and forth for a long time about whether to discuss this here; tempers have been running high in the yarn industry for the last few years over a variety of issues. It’s likely I won’t break my personal no-drama rule again. But all this, in a nutshell, is why I will be offering a Payhip option for my customers.
If you have a Ravelry coupon code from me (such as a tester gift code) that you haven’t used, and would like to be able to use on Payhip, please message me through the form in the shop (link below) and I’ll set you up to be able to do that.
I’d also love to hear your feedback. Where do you shop for patterns? How do you find the designers you buy from? Where do you network with other crafters? Any information you’d be willing to share will help me adapt my offerings and where I put my effort, in order to bring you a smoother shopping experience and keep Red Earth Designs in the black. And as always, feel free to ask me any questions. Leave a comment below or shoot me a message! My website contact form has been down for some time, but the Payhip form is open for communication.
Edit: You can now email me at ruth@redearthdesignstudio.com!
So we’ll see how it goes!
