Change is good, right? I’m not sure if you can tell, but there’s someone new writing our blog! And let me tell you, it’s a welcome change for everyone involved. Jordana is much more fond of making things pretty (she’s a designer after all) and would rather leave the writing for someone else.
Enter me, the writer. My name is Rebecca and Jordana has asked me to introduce myself. I’m stoked to be writing for her blog, as I am an author at heart, and I adore fashion, art and being crafty in general.
I grew up in Minnesota where I worked in the newspaper industry for a few years. After decades of complaining about winters, I decided it was time to move to California. Santa Cruz was the right choice.
Since then, I’ve been writing for magazines and corporate blogs, but working for Jordana is by far the best. Writing about fashion, knitting, design and crafts? Marketing beautiful (and functional) purses as well as patterns? How can you go wrong? I hit the jackpot.
One good thing about Minnesota cold: You *had* to have lots of jackets and hats.
When I’m not writing here, I blog on my personal site, have my nose buried in books, collage, and make new things out of old clothing (a stained angora sweater turned beach bag is my personal favorite).
Guess what? I don’t know how to knit. I’ve always wanted to learn and Jordana is going to teach me. I am so excited! Occasionally I’ll report on how it’s going here, but you can find me on Ravelry and Twitter for the latest.
We’ve also got some new ideas for the blog, so definitely check back. One of the new features will be coming in the next few weeks, and it’s all about you, Jordana Paige fans. I think you’ll like it. And I definitely like feedback, so leave comments if you’re ever inclined. It’s nice to meet you all!
Last night I invited some friends over to the loft at JP Headquarters to teach them how to knit. There were lots of us so I was grateful to have my sister there to help teach. Even guys showed up. Way to go guys! I got them started on beanies which will be donated to “Beanies of Hope.” It’s a project to provide beanies to young adults who are homeless in Santa Cruz. The winter months are cold and a beanie is such a simple, quick project to make a difference.
Speaking of cold, we were very. As you can tell from the pictures of everyone bundled up, the loft is cold. I have a few space heaters, but blew a fuse early in the evening so we were only able to have one on. Plus, the warehouse is too big to heat the entire space and the walls aren’t insulated. Everyone was a trooper though, despite their cold hands.
If you’d like to donate some beanies to Beanies of Hope, you can mail them to PO Box 1361, Santa Cruz, CA, 95061. They’re being collected until February.
Beanies are a great project for using up random yarn from your stash. Below is a pattern for a basic garter stitch beanie. I wrote it so that you can use whatever yarn you’ve got lying around. This pattern is knit flat because I was keeping it simple for brand new knitters, but it certainly makes more sense to knit it in the round. Just be sure that instead of knitting every round you alternate between knit and purl rounds.
Basic Garter Stitch Beanie
MATERIALS
• Depends on the weight of the yarn, but around 150 yards
• Needles
• Darning needle
Knit a swatch to determine gauge. Multiply your gauge stitch for one inch by 21. Round up or down to the nearest ten. Cast on this number of stitches.
Knit all sts until piece measures 7 inches.
SHAPE CROWN
To shape the crown you’ll be evenly decreasing 10 sts on every odd numbered row. In the example below there are 90 sts to begin with. Decrease in this manner until 10 sts remain.
Row 1: K2, k2tog, *k7, k2tog, repeat from * to last 5 sts, k5. (80 sts)
Row 2 and all alt rows: Knit all sts.
Row 3: K2, k2tog, *k6, k2tog, repeat from * to last 4 sts, k4. (70 sts)
Row 5: K2, k2tog, *k5, k2tog, repeat from * to last 3 sts, k3. (60 sts)
Row 7: K2, k2tog, *k4, k2tog, repeat from * to last 2 sts, k2. (50 sts)
Row 9: K2, k2tog, *k3, k2tog, repeat from * to last 1 sts, k1. (40 sts)
Row 11: *K2, k2tog, repeat from * to end. (30 sts)
Row 13: *K1, k2tog, repeat from * to end. (20 sts)
Row 15: *K2tog, repeat from * to end. (10 sts)
FINISHING
Cut yarn leaving a tail approx. 20 inches long. Using a darning needle, thread the yarn through the stitches on needle. Slide stitches off needle and pull tight. Fold beanie in half. Sew seam and secure. Weave in loose ends.
There’s a loft space at my warehouse/office that was occupied by another tenant. I’ve been eyeing the space ever since I moved in. It recently became available and I snatched it as fast as I could. Now I could do the responsible thing and use the space for additional product storage or for my tradeshow displays, but I really don’t want to be carrying boxes up and down the stairs.
The answer, a cozy little spot to hang out with friends. Yesterday the family came and we fixed it up. My dad built a railing because it was too dangerous. Wouldn’t want a friend to reach for a ping pong ball and fall off the side.
There’s still some finishing touches needed, but the major stuff is all done. I love before and after pictures, so here ya go.
I felt like I was on a home makeover show yesterday. Us ladies bought all the furniture while our carpenter (Dad) built the railing, then we returned to clean, paint, assemble and decorate…all in 12 hours.
Although I didn’t choose the responsible route for The Loft, I can justify my choice in stating that it has provided me with some motivation. After finishing Catalina, I designed a garment for a book and then put down my needles for over a month (this is a long time for me). I’ve had no inspiration to design something new. Today, I can’t get my office work done fast enough. I just want to sit in The Loft and knit!
Do you absolutely love Jordana Paige bags and patterns, so much that you want to talk about them all day? If you do, we might just have a job for you. We’re currently looking for independent sales reps to sell our patterns and bags to yarn shops, gift shops and womens boutiques.
We’d like to hear from reps who are looking to add products to their line and also those just starting out.
To apply, send an email to infoATjordanapaigeDOTcom with the subject heading “Sales Rep”. Be sure to replace the AT and DOT with @ and . respectively. Include a cover letter in the body of the email and your resume either in the email or as an attachment. Also include what territories you currently cover, or would be interested in. Serious inquiries only please.
Nothing excites me quite like receiving a shipment of new product. So imagine my how absolutely happy I am now that Rio is sitting in my warehouse. The warehouse has never been so full, nor have I ever had so many styles in my product line. Think me odd, but I really like staring at all the boxes. It’s a physical way of seeing my little business grow. I just love experiencing every growth spurt!
I’ll be resting up tomorrow to put in a full day of shipping on Sunday. All pre-orders will go out on Monday so you’ll have your bag by Monday, October 13th at the latest. UPS tracking numbers will be available by logging into your account on Monday.
This has been the most exhausting week. What we expected would take two days to complete, turned into five days and counting. In between we’ve been packing up the tools to help my sister fix up her new condo. The family is so worn out and we’ve only just begun. But, all the hard work has been worth it. I love my new space. It’s even better than I pictured.
I’ve learned a lot about how a room goes together. I had no idea this would be such a big project. I thought we’d put up a couple pieces of wood for a ceiling, paint the walls and call it a day. No, my dad (the foreman) does things right. No little step was missed in constructing my office, right down to the caulking on the baseboards.
Here’s my mom, she was there every day way too early to even say. She always says, “You have to get up pretty early in the morning to get ahead of me,” so we don’t even try. She’ll do any job and attacks the grungiest jobs no one else wants to do, like cleaning the disgusting bathroom and scrubbing the floors.
Here’s Tyler, my sister’s fiance. He came on the first Friday to help my dad move the wall out and put up the ceiling. Wow that sheetrock is heavy. The gals held it up above our heads while my dad and Tyler got it to fit. The two existing walls were put up by the former tenant and were not square. This made everything from the ceiling to the floor that much more difficult.
Mom and my sister, Elizabeth painting. Everything got painted. It’s amazing how much soap, water and some paint can really clean a place up.
My timeline since last Sunday has been lost. It’s like one really long day that will never end. I know it was Sunday that we moved all the product in. Good news, it all fits. I think it might need to be stacked a bit higher for when the next shipment comes, but I’ll worry about that later. Here’s Elizabeth just after we unloaded the all that product. I promised her I wouldn’t post this picture, but she looks so happy to be done.
Here I am painting peg board. This one was taken the morning of the first day. I can tell because I don’t have any paint on me. The peg board was hung in my shipping area. My dad built two tables of the perfect height for me to ship at. I will hang my tape gun, stickers, etc on the peg board.
The bulk of the work is done. My mom and I laid the floor one evening. We are really proud of ourselves. I even used the chop saw to cut the pieces. All the electrical and painting is done. We just have little jobs left like hanging pictures, installing the new sink and moving all of my office stuff.
I will give you a real tour when it’s completely done, but here’s a couple shots that show the office from top to bottom. Isn’t my family amazing?
I visited the new JP Headquarters (I love saying that) today to take measurements. Friday the crew, more lovingly known as the family, will turn this room into my office. The plan is to clean, move the wall out to make it large enough for two desks, add a ceiling to accommodate more storage, paint, lay a floor, add outlets and install lighting.
Here’s the window in my “window office.”
The view to my left isn’t so cute but on the right there is a little potted garden. Oddly, there’s also a hot tub and lounge chairs. It’s part of the warehouse’s property, but I don’t know who tends to it.
Sunday we will move all the product in. I am so looking forward to organizing it by color and style. Right now it’s all randomly jumbled. The color I need always seems to be the bottom box with four more stacked on top.
Notice how the warehouse is dock level. This will make it much easier when I have a delivery. No more up and down with a lift gate. Now the pallets can be rolled right in.
Yes, it’s just a simple warehouse, but having a warehouse and office is a dream come true. I anxiously await getting to hang my sign. I am so overwhelmed with God’s blessings and where He has brought me today. Let’s face it, when I started this business at 18 years old I had no idea what I was doing.
I’m moving! The time has come to move my office out of my apartment and into a real office. I’ve been searching for the past several weeks for an office/warehouse space. While moving into an office is exciting, the process of finding a space with the right combination of location, price and square footage has not been fun. It’s been very frustrating. Most, no, all of the spaces felt like the office area was a closet. They were depressing.
But, last week I found the perfect space. It was waiting for me. I’ll be moving to Santa Cruz in just a few weeks. The new Jordana Paige headquarters is only a couple blocks from the beach. It’s on Swift Street. How appropriate is that? Only Purse Place would be better, but that can wait until I buy land and build the Jordana Paige campus.
To do list:
1. Find local SnB: Check and check
2. Find LYS: The Swift Stitch is just around the corner! I will be able to walk there. I told you this place was waiting for me.
3. Find somewhere to live.
I will take the camera next time I visit so you can watch it transform from warehouse to JP headquarters.
Working in a yarn shop…well that’s just fun. Last night was my first day at Commuknity. I worked just three and half hours, but enjoyed every minute. Erin and I chatted all evening, of course stopping to help customers. I was very impressed by Erin. She knew the first names of just about everyone who came in to shop.
In project news, I’ve been working on the Katrina Rib since September. In my defense, I did write and knit two patterns in between that time for Knitty.com and Knit Simple (VK’s new mag). I really prefer only to have one project going at a time, but sometimes exceptions have to be made. When I start a project I have to finish it before starting another. Maybe it has something to do with my mom only letting one box of crackers be open at time when I was little. If I wanted the Cheez-Its, the Wheat Thins had to be finished first. Anyway, I thought I had finished the sweater. I bond off, did two rounds for the sleeves and then tried it on. Oy, it’s too short. I made it 12″ from the underarm, but I think it needs 3 more inches. This seems odd as I have a shorter than average torso. Oh well, back on the needles.
It absolutely poured with rain yesterday. I don’t mind the rain, but it’s a pain when I have three orders that have to go to the post office (I’d UPS them with the rest of the orders, but overseas orders with UPS costs too much). The challenge: load the boxes into the back of my pick up truck without ruining the product. The situation: five inches of rain in the bed of my truck. The solution: drive around the parking lot, slam on the breaks to get the water to slosh out (no hills around). Wrap the boxes in a tarp and go. Or, hope for a sunny tomorrow.
Yesterday I returned a call from Nathania, the manager of CommuKnity. She was ordering more product and then asked me if I’d like to work in the shop a few days in December. Of course! I’m really quite excited. It’s just a few hours on Sundays and Thursdays, but it will be a nice change to my routine. And it will give me some human interaction, other than via the phone and the UPS guy.
