2010 Sew What? Rockin’ T-Shirts

You may recall that last December, I posted on the 2009 Sew What? Tee Shirt.  Each year we create a limited edition tee shirt for staff and customers.  In 2009, it was a really cool “Rock-n-Roll / Metal” design by John Rios of GrafixJam.

Well, John did not rest on his laurels – this year he created two awesome designs for us!

The first design was again a cool Rock-n-Roll / Metal design, with the “Drape Monster” design on the front and the back design distinguished by two wings surrounding a stylized version of our iconic question mark.  Pretty cool, don’t you think?

This year, we added a second design to the mix.  It is our cool female “Superhero” design (also courtesy of John Rios).  We also used this design on mousepads and coffee mugs.

I just love this design – it is so quirky and fun.  Great job once again, John!

October Anniversaries

Well, the Fall is upon us – it is hard to believe that Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is coming up in just a few months.  

We have several employees who celebrated anniversaries last month – we are so happy to have them on the Sew What? Team.

Ana, Project Manager – 6 years

Daniel, Quality Control – 3 years

Maria “Chuy,” Sewing Machine Operator – 3 years

Congratulations to all of you on your anniversary with Sew What?  Here’s wishing for many more.

Sew What? Star of the Month – Nov. 2010

Meet Ramiro, Driver

Ramiro has been with Sew What? for 1 month

 Do you have any children/grandchildren? Names/ages? 1 daughter, Rebecca, 8 years old.

Do you have any pets? No pets.

What is your favorite food? Pork in Adobo tacos.

What is your hobby? Music Production and Web Designer.

Where is your hometown? Jiquilpan, Michoacan, Mexico.

What are your favorite sports teams? Soccer: Galaxy; Baseball: The Dodgers

Creativity in Business

I just read a terrific article titled “Can you be creative and still make money in Australia?,” which was published last week in the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald online edition.  Yes, I admit that I started reading it because the author, Valerie Khoo, had interviewed Megan for the article (during her trip to Australia).  But I kept reading because it was a fascinating subject.

Ms. Khoo makes some very good points.  It’s great to be creative, but you can’t build a successful business based solely on creativity (that’s a hobby, not a business!).  And that is what Megan learned.  She was great at making custom stage curtains and theatrical backdrops.  But if all she had focused on were making drapes, and had not also tried to work on the business itself, I don’t know if Sew What? would be as successful as it is today. 

Through the years, Megan and Adam have consistently tried to find ways to improve the business as a whole – yes, to offer better, more innovative stage drapes, but also to make our company more efficient, our business practices more “business-like.”  We bought our own building, we contracted with a marketing agency for a new brand and website, we bought sophisticated integrated Enterprise Resource software, we worked with a programmer to develop our own software application to standardize our sewing plans…the list goes on and on.

And Megan and Adam have been right there, every step of the way.  Megan didn’t say, “Oh, I just want to be creative – find someone else to take care of this business stuff.”  Of course, as Sew What? grew, we began to hire people to take care of some of the day to day operations (such as accounting and purchasing), but Megan remains focused on the company and continues to look for ways to improve Sew What? Inc., both from a creative standpoint and from a business standpoint.  So great that Ms. Khoo recognized this and included Megan as the main example in her article.

Megan in Australia

As you may know if you are a regular reader of this blog, Megan is currently in Australia as part of Dell Computer’s “Take Your Own Path” launch.  It has been a whirlwind trip for Megan – first to Washington D.C. for the Inc 500/5000 Conference, and then directly from there to Australia.

It has worked out well for Megan – the first part of the trip was to Melbourne (her hometown), and so in addition to participating in a variety of activities as one of the TYOP Trailblazers, she has also had time to spend with family and friends.  Next up is Sydney, where more activities are planned for the Trailblazers.

On a related note, you may remember back in July I told you about an article about Megan and Sew What? that was published in the Sydney Morning Herald (the author, Lia Timson, met Megan at the DWEN Conference in Shanghai).  Well, Ms. Timson has an article out in My Business magazine in which she mentions Megan and Sew What?  Nice that the article should appear while Megan is there in Australia!  Click here to view the article.

Sew What? Star of the Month – Oct. 2010

Meet Alicia, Sewing Machine Operator

Alicia has been with Sew What? for three months

Do you have any children/grandchildren? Names/ages? 2 girls: Karla 33, Julieta 32.

Do you have any pets?  No.

What is your favorite food?  Soups and Seafood.

What is your hobby?  Spending time with family and co-workers.

Where is your hometown?  Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

What are your favorite sports teams?  Baseball: The Dodgers; Soccer: Las Chivas

Meet the Australia TYOP Trailblazers

Last week, I posted about Megan travelling to Australia to participate in Dell’s “Take Your Own Path” launch in Australia.  I thought today I’d tell you about the other entrepreneurs who will be a part of “Take Your Own Path” in Australia.   These entrepreneurs include:

Martin Port, Managing Director, Masternaut Three X

Based in the UK, Masternaut Three X provides tracking and related mobile applications for vehicles and other assets.  The company recently opened facilities in Sydney, Australia.

Kym Houden, Founder, Task Retail

Task Retail is one of the leading providers of Point of Sale (POS) technology in Australia.  The company was award the Dell Computers Small Business Excellence Award in 2008 (the same award granted to Sew What? in 2006), along with numerous other awards.

Tony Wheeler, Co-Founder, Lonely Planet

Founded more than thirty years ago, Lonely Planet now publishes more than 500 titles of guidebooks for locations throughout the globe.  Based in Melbourne, Australia, for much of that time, the company now also has offices in London and Oakland.

Inc 500/5000 Conference

You may remember Megan mentioning, in a post back in March, that one of the awards that Sew What? was been given over the years is the Inc 500/5000 award.  To tell you a little bit about it, it is an award presented each year by Inc. Magazine to the 500 and 5000 fastest growing private companies in the United States.

This year is particularly exciting, because Megan was invited to participate in the Inc 500/5000 Conference and Awards Ceremony as one of the Mainstage speakers!  She will be supporting Steve D. Felice, President of  Consumer, Small and Medium Business at Dell Computers, in a presentation on technology in small business, with Megan discussing the ways in which technology has helped Sew What? to grow dramatically over the last ten years.

The conference takes place in Washington D.C. from September 30th to October 2nd.

TYOP Heads to Australia

As you may recall, last year about this time, Megan was selected by Dell Computers as a “Trailblazer” for its “Take Your Own Path” Campaign.  It was a real honor for Megan and Sew What? to be selected, and Megan enjoyed participating in various events related to “Take Your Own Path.”

Recently, Megan was contacted again by Dell Computers.  They were launching the “Take Your Own Path” Campaign in Australia, and they wanted Megan to be a part of it.  As a native of Australia who is now a US citizen and resident, Megan was delighted to return to Australia to share her story about the many ways that technology has enabled Sew What? to grow and develop over the years.

In a few weeks, Megan will be heading over to Australia to meet her fellow trailblazers and share her story.  I’m sure she’ll have lots of stories to share on this blog – I’ll keep you posted!

August & September Anniversaries

Well, after a relatively light list of anniversaries for June and July, I am back with a longer list for August and September.

These staff members have a combined 29 years at Sew What?  Pretty great, don’t you think?

August

Michelle, Director of Operations – 2 years

Araceli, Production Manager – 6 years

Antonio, Sewing Machine Operator – 2 years

September

Esther, Sewing Machine Operator – 9 years

Silvia, Human Resources – 7 years (yes, that’s me!)

Gloria, Sewing Machine Operator – 3 years