The Sewing Project's approach involves having Four Levels of learning, each taking what was learned in the last ones and applying it to a new phase in the life of a product. In the first two, participants learn the basics of making a designing a product. They will run through a series of workshops aimed at helping them understand what is the basic cost of a product in terms of time and materials. In the last two sessions, they take those products to market and learn how the product connects to the customer base. At the end of the program, the project participant will have developed a basic business plan for herself.
The goal here is not to end up with a home business. Participants may decide that they love it, want to try it, take the risk, etc. but if they do so, they will go into it with an understanding of what they need to do in order to succeed. Most likely, they will have developed marketable skills that can land them decent jobs in the Paducah area. We are hoping that area businesses will partner with us as placements for those of our women who do wish to seek employment. Others will choose to go back to school. Whatever they decide, it will be our job to open the world to them, to help them tap into their own gifts and dreams, and to offer the support and community that they need to succeed.
One of the core components of The Sewing Project is that the women will be paid minimum wage to study. They will also have day care available on the premises while they are learning. There are several reasons for this:
- Being paid holds them accountable to the program. They will be expected to dress appropriately, show up on time, be clean, and act as if they were at a job. This expectation will help instill good habits for when they do enter the "real" job market. If they show up late, are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or act inappropriately towards staff or other participants, they may be fired.
- Being paid holds them accountable to the community. This expense will be the largest in our budget and a great deal of time and financial investment will go into each program participant. They will be expected to participate at events at sponsoring sites, to share their learning process here on this blog, and to invest back into the community.
- The stresses of being a single mom who has hit a hard wall are enough without having to go through a two year program are already enough. Hopefully, the financial reward of learning will help alleviate some of these stresses and increase the appetite to want to earn more.
Session One:
Sewing Basics
This semester explores the basics of hand and machine sewing. Goal: To finish the semester with decent skills in constructing products like hats, bags, throws, and other accessories or decorative products.
Tentative topics to cover:
• Hand stitching
• Basic embroidery stitches
• Appliqué
• Cutwork
• Nine patch
• Making a pillow
• Making a hat
• Making a bag
• Making a throw
• Basic Weaving
• Basic Felting
• Basic Dyeing
Session Two:
Product Design and Production
What makes a product sell well? This is the main question asked in this semester. With all of the competition that is out there, participants will learn to “see” products in a new way, learning about many of the elements that make a product saleable. They will also learn how to use the internet as a way to learn about products and the market.
Tentative topics:
• Fashion and design trends
• Color
• Function
• Price Point
• Target Market
• Competition
• Creating a niche or signature
• Testing the product
Session Three:
Setting Up Shop
This semester introduces the participant to the basics of selling online. They will learn how to photograph products, how to edit the photos, how to list them on an online shop, what policies are involved in sales, customer service, and shipping.
Tentative topics:
• Photography (several weeks)
• Shop introduction: policies, customer service, etc.
• Listing a product
• Packing a product
• Shipping
The Sewing Project will also have its own brick and mortar shop where the women will have a chance to learn how to interact with customers, ring up sales, help with displays, and so on.
Session Four:
Marketing and Business Plan
The first half of this session would be dedicated to learn how to market a product online using social media and other networking tools. The second half would cover learning how to develop a business plan for a product line. Participants would learn how to set up their own blog, create a page on facebook, use Twitter, Youtube, Flickr and so on.
It's a short description, but there is a lot to cover in those sentences!
Graduation:
At this time, participants will clearly know whether they want to have their own business or whether they would like to work in a secure job using the skills they have learned. The Sewing Project intends to develop its own product lines that could be produced by the women who graduated from their program. It also hopes to partner with other job services in the City that could use the skills learned by the women, especially computer and retail related.
Seminole Women Sewing, 1938
A snapshot of the The Sewing Project in operation:
We will start small, with under ten women who will enter the first cycle. When the first is finished, the ones who completed it move to the next session and another small group starts through the first one again. This continues on until all four levels are operating at the same time. The reason for this is to build a solid foundation for each level. As the skills needed become more difficult for the women, they should have had clear guidance going through the earlier ones. This involves the staff learning what works best in terms of teaching. We will have to do a lot of brainstorming and revising as we go along. Once the first cycle is completed we may want to take on more women at a time, although my belief is that small groups have a better chance of success as they can each get enough individual time to understand what they are learning.
Each session will be about four months long with afternoon classes for four hours, from Mondays to Thursdays. There will be a break from classes between each session to give the instructors time to prepare for the next session. Participants will have access to the site during off hours. They can choose to use that time to practice what they have learned.
As our instructors are also artists, having a part-time schedule will allow them to pursue their other interests. We will also need time to mutate as we go along, making sure that we document what we are doing, so that we truly learn from the experience. This structure will also cut down on the program costs, making it realistic to secure funds for the time spent during instruction.
Please feel free to leave feedback on what you see here and take a look at the other pages for more information on other aspects of the program and on how you can become involved with The Sewing Project.
I am looking for feedback from people who are interested in this concept, so if you would like to share something, please leave a comment here. I will respond back here so that others can benefit from the discussion. Make sure to check the box to receive email notifications if you want to know how others respond.
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