A New Machine for OneTruePatch!
Donation protected
OneTruePatch is expanding!
OneTruePatch is a cool new start-up that is making huge leaps and bounds! Our storefronts on Etsy and Storenvy were officially opened and begun promotion in May 2015 after the owner lost one of his jobs to an acquisiton/merge. He feared it would not take off quickly enough to make up the difference in wages but so far things are going very well!
'If things are going so well, why do you have a fundraiser?'
Things are going so well that we literally cannot keep stock! Our machine is running at all times when we are at home and we're still getting more orders than we can handle! We don't want to stop such a healthy momentum for both promotional and monetary reasons, so we're looking to expand more quickly than our budget allows for!
'That's a lot for a machine, isn't it?'
Actually, most single needle machines come in around $1000 and very quickly go upward, and a machine with a large working area and multiple needles increase that average dramatically! Our dream machines easily range $4000-$15000, so this is more than affordable in comparison.
The machine we want is another 2-in-1 machine, which means it does embroidery as well as regular sewing. These machines are meant for hobbiest and entry-level embroidery and are priced to match.
We specifically chose this machine for the following reasons...
The Working Area
This machine is the only machine we've found <$1000 that features more than a 5"x7" stitching area. It comes with both a small hoop and a large hoop and has multi-hoop capabilities built into the machine and software allowing it to stitch up to 18.5"x11"! That's enough to do large projects such as the backs of jackets with ease! It also allows for more patches to be made without having to swap out the hoop and stabilizer, meaning we don't waste as much time during high-volume production!
The Formats
We use a 3rd party software to do our digitizing that is capable of outputting many different types of embroidery patterns, however this machine can also use a large number of formats including the PES files that our Brother machine already uses! That means we can load our existing patterns and start stitching immediately without worry about glitchy conversions or formatting issues!
It's Old
This model is several years old and lacks the built-in computer that our Brother machine and all other current machines enjoy. It runs by connecting to a computer via USB and receiving data and instructions from the software. Though this may be a dealbreaker for some and reduces its portability, combined with the size of the machine, we don't assume we'll be moving it very much once we're set up. Dedicating a USB cord to it shouldn't be a problem for our set-up and getting an older model shaves a great amount off the price.
It's Used
This is a caveat that comes with some danger. The machine we've got in our Amazon cart is listed as 'Very Good' condition with only cosmetic issues on the packaging, not on the machine itself. Still, there may be some issues therein from previous use or storage that we won't know about until we receive and test the machine.
That said, getting it used shaves $100 off the original price, which is enough to get the machine serviced if it needs it upon arrival.
Double the Output
Having two machines means we can literally stitch twice as much in the same amount of time. We're chronically a few days behind on manufacturing at this juncture and fall even more behind every day we don't spend making product (it took us 3 days to catch up on a weekend off!). Having two machines going while we're working means that we would, theoretically, be able to not only stay current on our orders and reduce the wait time to our customers, but we could actually make up back stock so that we could handle orders same-day and make enough extra to take to conventions and events.
'Wait, why are you asking for $550?'
There is a service fee for each donation and we're trying to hedge that by asking for a little more than we need so that we don't end up paying a large sum out of pocket to cover a gap. We're still not out of the woods as far as making up for lost wages is concerned, so every penny that goes toward rent, utilities, bills, transportation and food, the better. We also have to pay upfront for all materials used to make these items, so for new designs and stock items, we will not recoup that until we make the sales and need to allow for the cost of running business.
'What do I get for donating?'
We can't offer any sort of tiered rewards but we can offer you a small piece of thank-you artwork for your donation as well as a coupon code to use in one of our store for one free patch. That code will never expire, so all you need to do is use it when a design suits your fancy, even if it is months down the road.
'What about the $500 goal on your Patreon?'
That goal will still exist, since this machine does lack a lot of features that we would ideally have in our next purchase. We want something computerized with a large stitch area at very least and, as we said earlier, those machines will cost significantly more.
If you are interested in helping us reach a point that we can start saving for another machine, feel free to back us on Patreon as well!
OneTruePatch is a cool new start-up that is making huge leaps and bounds! Our storefronts on Etsy and Storenvy were officially opened and begun promotion in May 2015 after the owner lost one of his jobs to an acquisiton/merge. He feared it would not take off quickly enough to make up the difference in wages but so far things are going very well!
'If things are going so well, why do you have a fundraiser?'
Things are going so well that we literally cannot keep stock! Our machine is running at all times when we are at home and we're still getting more orders than we can handle! We don't want to stop such a healthy momentum for both promotional and monetary reasons, so we're looking to expand more quickly than our budget allows for!
'That's a lot for a machine, isn't it?'
Actually, most single needle machines come in around $1000 and very quickly go upward, and a machine with a large working area and multiple needles increase that average dramatically! Our dream machines easily range $4000-$15000, so this is more than affordable in comparison.
The machine we want is another 2-in-1 machine, which means it does embroidery as well as regular sewing. These machines are meant for hobbiest and entry-level embroidery and are priced to match.
We specifically chose this machine for the following reasons...
The Working Area
This machine is the only machine we've found <$1000 that features more than a 5"x7" stitching area. It comes with both a small hoop and a large hoop and has multi-hoop capabilities built into the machine and software allowing it to stitch up to 18.5"x11"! That's enough to do large projects such as the backs of jackets with ease! It also allows for more patches to be made without having to swap out the hoop and stabilizer, meaning we don't waste as much time during high-volume production!
The Formats
We use a 3rd party software to do our digitizing that is capable of outputting many different types of embroidery patterns, however this machine can also use a large number of formats including the PES files that our Brother machine already uses! That means we can load our existing patterns and start stitching immediately without worry about glitchy conversions or formatting issues!
It's Old
This model is several years old and lacks the built-in computer that our Brother machine and all other current machines enjoy. It runs by connecting to a computer via USB and receiving data and instructions from the software. Though this may be a dealbreaker for some and reduces its portability, combined with the size of the machine, we don't assume we'll be moving it very much once we're set up. Dedicating a USB cord to it shouldn't be a problem for our set-up and getting an older model shaves a great amount off the price.
It's Used
This is a caveat that comes with some danger. The machine we've got in our Amazon cart is listed as 'Very Good' condition with only cosmetic issues on the packaging, not on the machine itself. Still, there may be some issues therein from previous use or storage that we won't know about until we receive and test the machine.
That said, getting it used shaves $100 off the original price, which is enough to get the machine serviced if it needs it upon arrival.
Double the Output
Having two machines means we can literally stitch twice as much in the same amount of time. We're chronically a few days behind on manufacturing at this juncture and fall even more behind every day we don't spend making product (it took us 3 days to catch up on a weekend off!). Having two machines going while we're working means that we would, theoretically, be able to not only stay current on our orders and reduce the wait time to our customers, but we could actually make up back stock so that we could handle orders same-day and make enough extra to take to conventions and events.
'Wait, why are you asking for $550?'
There is a service fee for each donation and we're trying to hedge that by asking for a little more than we need so that we don't end up paying a large sum out of pocket to cover a gap. We're still not out of the woods as far as making up for lost wages is concerned, so every penny that goes toward rent, utilities, bills, transportation and food, the better. We also have to pay upfront for all materials used to make these items, so for new designs and stock items, we will not recoup that until we make the sales and need to allow for the cost of running business.
'What do I get for donating?'
We can't offer any sort of tiered rewards but we can offer you a small piece of thank-you artwork for your donation as well as a coupon code to use in one of our store for one free patch. That code will never expire, so all you need to do is use it when a design suits your fancy, even if it is months down the road.
'What about the $500 goal on your Patreon?'
That goal will still exist, since this machine does lack a lot of features that we would ideally have in our next purchase. We want something computerized with a large stitch area at very least and, as we said earlier, those machines will cost significantly more.
If you are interested in helping us reach a point that we can start saving for another machine, feel free to back us on Patreon as well!
Organizer
Jay Domagala
Organizer
Pasadena, MD
