saplanet originals

I know it’s still very early to think about this now. Since I don’t even have the concrete product out yet.

I have been cracking my small tiny brain lately (believe me when I say that it’s been at least a month or longer) ever since my mum had received notification that she will be laid off from her long-time employment, and ’sold’ to another company (the 1st employer sold the entire production line to another company, so the employees were going with the machines). 

I wasn’t sure if my mum could take the drastic change in the new environment. I am trained in HRM and counseling, I know what it is like for elderly when it comes to resistance to change. We didn’t need mum to bring back income to support the household expenses, but mum is not a home stayer, so she really needs to get out of the house. 

True enough, mum couldn’t adapt to the different business operating style in the new company, to make matter worse, she was assigned to a really mean supervisor who would shout at her in the production floor. My mum was a line leader, that was simply too much pride for the meanie to trample on. She hadn’t been happy, and the last straw finally arrived for her to leave the job. 

My mum used to sew when we were small, we used to have the old vintage Singer foot operated sewing machine which we dismantled when we moved to the new house. (I kept the leg portion for a long time before we really couldn’t find a use for that and decided to ‘donate’ it to the trash bin)

I have been thinking of getting mum help out with my business, so that her time is preoccupied and if all goes well, she may even flaunt her new found talent to her siblings or so. 

So, I had done quite a fair bit of things yesterday, mainly conceptual and some changes to my shop policy:

1. Pattern restrictions have been amended, with effect from 17 June 208, all pattern transactions will be bound with the new pattern policy, check up the new changes at my shop policy page. 

2. Tons of new project concepts listing up in mind for mum

3. More of less finalized a few of the possible projects which I think may be suitable for mum to manage

4. Wholesale opportunities opened up

5. New projects popping up in mind with the arrival of new craft eyes

There are always important lessons to pick up in whatever we do, with this business, I have dealt with all sorts of copyright infringements and creation credit problem. I know I may lose some buyers with my new policy changes, but in any business or in life, at times, we do have to look into the larger picture and cut the losses. 

Over the period, I had already dealt with some Russian forum pasting up my entire pattern on the web; buyers who claimed creation credits over my design; and the more recent case of a China factory grabbing some 26 of my product images to offer to mass production options etc.

On a lighter note, in every ‘crisis’ there is hidden opportunity, mum’s loss in the job could be my gain. I am not sure if she is really going to help out at all, she isn’t very thrilled with the ideas at all. I guess I have attempted a wrong approach too. This is still the transitional period for her, and she has to ‘grieve’ for her loss.. heee… This may come too overwhelming for her right now. I guess, many people do have problem visualizing concepts, they are better with seeing the real thing. So, this is what I am going to do, I am going to make a few samples out (well, I figured, it’s better that I go through the trial and error stage myself, then to drag mum in eh) and if all turns out well, I will test the market myself. If the response is good, she may find it easier to accept and may wish to help with the production.

This is going to be very much a reminisce line of product, which will bring back good old memories of my childhood which mum was heavily participated in. It has to do with mum’s food, my childhood games which mum handmade. I am not telling more now, I decide to keep the cat in the bag for now.