A few weeks ago, I stayed up waaaayyyy too late and wrote down some of my (rather strong) thoughts on why the sewing community needs to attract millennials. But how?
In the flurry after publishing the editorial, several sewing-related companies reached out to tell me how impactful the information was, and that they enjoyed my fresh perspective.
What’s interesting – is that hardly anyone asked me for suggestions on how this can be accomplished.
And let me tell you – it’s a tall order.
This is far beyond one marketing campaign, or throwing up a couple YouTube videos. Attracting millennials will require a massive shift in how your organization currently operates. There’s no way around it.
Because most children are not learning to sew in their home growing up, a new model needs to be created as a replacement.
Ever since returning from QuiltCon, it’s an issue that’s weighing heavily on my heart. How can I make a difference? How can the community come together to entice a new generation to make things when it’s so much easier and cheaper to purchase them?
One of the most fascinating aspects about the sewing industry to me is that it’s at a crossroads, it could either explode or totally implode and I don’t know which will happen.
Recently, I took an informal poll with people in my professional and social circles. All are college-educated men and women in their 30s who occasionally sew and do own a sewing machine. None of them had EVER heard of Baby Lock, Bernina, or Juki. One was aware of Pfaff, and another did own an entry level Janome. But what I found was that even among casual sewists – they had absolutely zero awareness of the higher end sewing machine manufacturers. In their mind – Brother and Singer are all that exists.
When I talk to friends about fabric, no one knows names like Moda, Cotton+Steel, Riley Blake, Robert Kaufman, Michael Miller, Hoffman Fabrics, etc… They only know what they see at big-box fabric stores, and even then – they are unfamiliar about various brands.
According to Barron’s, millennials are defined around ages 18 to 37 – making up the largest population group in U.S. history. Their buying power is already HUGE – accounting for $1.3 trillion in consumer spending. Millennials are also highly educated, ethnically diverse, and team oriented.
In short, they don’t want to be marketed TO, they want to feel like a partner in your brand. Millennials crave a personalized, customized experience rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
You cannot use the traditional advertising and marketing tactics that you used on baby boomers.
Because of my media background, I have been asked about getting more coverage for the sewing industry. But that’s not where your target audience is at all – they are on their phones, online, and watching YouTube. Various research has shown that millennials prefer to get their news online and through social media. Even though it sounds promising, getting your brand onto local or national TV news is just not where your target customer is – online news organizations are going to be the new “mainstream media.”
So here are a few applicable ideas I think would give the sewing industry a boost:
SEWING MACHINE DESIGNS
Let’s be real here, none of the current model sewing machines motivate me to proudly display one in my living room as a sexy conversation piece. How about designing functional, yet aesthetically pleasing hardware that screams, “I’m gorgeous!!!” Look at Apple as an example – with such elegantly designed personal electronics. Young people will buy things they think are attractive, so looks matter. A LOT. In fact, I am definitely guilty of making purchasing decisions based solely on physical appearance.
So please, please, please – SOMEONE – design a sleek, modern sewing machine! (If it comes in various finishes like glossy ice white, stainless steel, rose gold, or jet black – even better!)
BUYING MUST BE CONVENIENT
Millennials are able to purchase just about anything by clicking on it. If you do not offer a convenient, easy way for those consumers to buy from you – they are going to buy it from someone else who can.
The traditional “standard” for purchasing a sewing machine is to physically go to a dealer, haggle over the price, and return to that store whenever the machine needs to be serviced. Um, I can see why this is a big turn off to young people. This way of conducting business is terribly outdated.
Yes – sewing machine makers – I’m looking at you again.
You need to partner with your local dealerships to come up with a system where customers can buy sewing machines online, they are delivered right to their door, and repair technicians all do house calls that don’t require owners to wait weeks while their machine is “in the shop.” Instead, their machine is serviced and repaired out in the field – with little to no downtime.
Prices also need to be transparent, younger people don’t want to be in the dark on what something costs. This also does not build up trust with your brand.
INVENT NEW TERMINOLOGY
As a whole, the entire sewing industry needs to create new words for “sewing” and “quilting.” No matter what you do, younger people are not going to be able to separate those words from the stereotype in their head – that it’s something old people do.
Take Etsy, the name is actually a made up word. In essence, it’s really an online craft show of sorts. But if the creator had called it “Online Craft Show” – do you honestly think it would have taken off?
Hell no.
In order to attract a new audience, the sewing world needs an image makeover and fresh buzzwords.
PUT THOUGHT AND EFFORT INTO YOUR SPOKESPEOPLE
As someone who has spent my entire career in television, this one drives me crazy. I do spend quite a bit of time on YouTube every week, looking for interesting channels and personalities.
What I’ve noticed about the sewing-related videos is this: the majority of them are awful.
Low-quality production, talent in desperate need of coaching, little to no storytelling ability, the list goes on and on…
Creating great television requires a tremendous amount of talent and hard work. TV writing is much different than print writing. If you’ve never worked in the business, you have no idea what it takes to make engaging, entertaining, and educational content. People on YouTube are looking for authentic people and stories – not canned messages.
It does not matter how much production value your video has if the content itself sucks. You might as well shoot it with an iPhone. (Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing…)
Also, let’s face it – very few people are cut out to be an on-camera personality. It is much more difficult than it looks and takes real skill and experience. You have to be extremely able to adapt to situations and think on your feet, captivate audiences with your voice in a way that’s natural and conversational, and be super aware of how you look on camera. Are you squinting? Is that a flyaway hair?
Industry leaders – it would be great if you hired more diverse, energetic people to be the faces of your brands. Mix it up a little! I’d love to see people from all walks of life, ages, genders, and backgrounds represented in your advertisements and videos. (Just be sure they’re actually a good fit for television)
I see this all the time where bloggers are chosen to do videos or attempt to make videos themselves – a handful are decent, but many are not. It’s one thing to be able to write for a blog, and incorporate good photography. But blogging may as well be a completely different hemisphere compared to television production.
Your biggest challenge will be finding personalities who are both great on camera AND knowledgeable about sewing.
Good luck!
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This is the tip of the iceberg, as far as I’m concerned, but wanted to throw these concepts out into the universe. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or email me at sewingreport@gmail.com.
See ya next time!
Jennifer
Oh how I would LOVE to have someone come out to me and service my machine! That is a brilliant idea.
Business idea alert for sewing repairmen/women!!!
Or what if, like windshield repair they came to your work. Had a tricked out Winnebago.
That’d be awesome too!
I agree. I work for a small shop with only one repair person. And, we also sell commercial machines located in large department stores. We don’t have the manpower, and transportation costs need to factored in. Finally, all the parts are on site. I manage the parts. There are over 250 parts for five brands, for machines produced 30 years ago to today. There is also the need to access tech notes for the increasingly complex computer guided aspects of these machines. . A simple maintenance is one thing (I believe ManSewing will have a maintenance video– and he is good– maybe next week). REPAIRING a machine is another animal altogether.
I encourage individuals to consider this field as an entrepreneurial opportunity. There is a dearth of trained repair people Going forward, it may not be a problem of how long you wait to get a machine repaired. It may be a matter if you can get it repaired at all in some parts of the country.
I hate to think what the charge would be for sewing machine repairer to come to your house!
I agree about the looks of sewing machines! One day I will convince Janome to let me design one… 😀
The Viking Husqvarna Jade 35 is a sleek looking entry level sewing/embroidery combo machine. The top of the line Epic is also slick looking. The top of the line Brother Dream Machine is also gorgeous, and men AND women stop to play with it, all walks of life and ages, even if they are not looking for that type of machine. Yes, there is a movement to more streamlined and attractive machines.
I love your idea for selling and servicing machines! Your comments about video production are right on as well.
Your comments about buying a sewing machine are spot on! It is very similar to buying a car – with little idea of what the price actually IS.
If millennials experience the benefits and rewards of quilting, they will be converts. After that happens, they will be interested in the many products that help them to pursue quilting. That being said, I think the initial introduction to quilting may need to be one-on-one.
We have bounced this around quite often at the dealership. If we list prices, some people, who do not dicker, walk away thinking that is the only price we will settle at. Others will ask for the price and dicker. Personally, I would rather have the price posted, but my observation is that both parties end up better by being acquainted with what machines do and then deciding on price, whether they sit down and try it or ask us questions. Finally, we are not allowed, by our manufacturers, to advertising our pricing online, at least not as a dealership. Big box stores, in most cases, carry lines we do not sell and seem to have more flexibility in what they advertise to the public through print and online media.
Your idea of a traveling repairman is great, but probably not practical due to costs involved. However, I do not see why a good repair shop should have your machine for weeks waiting for parts to be delivered from the manufacturer. To me this is not good business on the manufacturer part.
I do own a Brother, a top-of-line (at the time) Brother and, unlike your article implies, they are great machines, as well as being much more affordable than some of the “name” brands. I shopped around alot (the internet was very handy for this) before purchasing my Brother comparing price, features and service ratings. I chose the Brother because it had more of the features that I wanted for less money and had one of the highest service ratings. (Check out Consumer Reports) I could have bought the same machine, made in the same factory, but with a different, high-end name slapped on it for several thousand more dollars, but why? I then went down to the local Brother dealer and made a deal that saved me an additional couple thousand dollars for the machine I wanted.
As for advertising the price of their machines, I too wonder why the manufacturers are so afraid to say what their machines cost. (A good sleuth can find out online if you’re willing to spend the time digging for the information) Are they afraid of the competition from other manufacturers? If they make a great product at a reasonable price, they should not have to fear their competition. I suspect that competition is only part of the reason. I imagine that, like the car dealers, they want to get you in to see all the options so they can steer you towards a more expensive model with features they convince you that you want and need. So, my advice to the younger buyers out there is to go into the dealership knowing what you want and how much you want to spend, after doing careful research online and through friends. Don’t be swayed by flashy seller techniques into buying more machine than you want. And don’t be afraid to dicker the price down.
As for getting the millennials into sewing, I’m not too worried about that. Sewing, crocheting, knitting, gardening and all the other home crafts seem to come and go as people drift through time. I suspect it is related to the economy as is how long dress hem are. When people find themselves having to make do with less, they tend to lean towards more DIY projects, including sewing. In my years, sewing is on its second resurgance and has been since about 2010. I have had a number of my young aquaintances (in their 30’s and 40’s) come around asking me to teach them to sew, crochet and even to how to can garden produce! As for their children, when they hit an economic downturn, maybe in their 30’s or 40’s, they to will go to their parents and grandparents to learn the things they weren’t interested in so much as children. What goes around comes around in the cycle of life, and there is usually more good than bad!
I also think the internet will play a significant role in keeping various crafting alive during economic upturns. I agree that personable presenters would really help. Have you ever watched a YouTube of Jenny at Missouri Star Co.? Her enthusiasum is so contagious! And where will we be when Nancy Zieman (Sewing with Nancy) retires? She makes basic sewing skills look as easy as they really are. There are very few program hosts that can say they have been on TV over 30 years like she can, and she seems to be making good strides in moving into internet productions. Peggy Sagers on Fit2Stitch is probably the best TV personality for clothing design and fitting I have ever seen. Even though I am not really into sewing clothing, I love to watch this lady teach. What these three ladies have in common is their great personalities, their knowledge, and their ability and love to teach. There are many personable people out there and there are plenty of knowledgeable people as well. but not so many personable, knowledgeable people that can also teach. Find clones of these three wonderful ladies, market them on TV and on the internet, and you will keep sewing alive for a long to come.
Boy, did this hit home! I’m still digesting it all, as well as Part 1. I have tried to interest my teens in sewing, but they don’t bite.
Amen
I’m definitely an unusual quilter. I’m 22, just graduated from college, and living at home while I job hunt. To pass the time and keep sane while looking for my first big-girl job, I decided to start quilting. My mom took it up a few years ago after having previously only made clothing. She had always tried to get me to sew, but I hated it as a kid. However, I love shopping for fabric. That’s really what drew me in. I would find all this fabric I loved, but have nothing to do with it. My mom basically has three jobs between her full time job, doing the accounting for my dad’s business, and running the house, so she doesn’t have a ton of time to make quilts for me. Time to take it into my own hands I guess.
It doesn’t hurt that I also live in the same town as Marianne Fons of “Fons and Porter” fame and worked at an old Ben Franklin store that also sold fabric. Thankfully there are quilters a-plenty in my small town and several people who teach classes in their home. We’ve got our own quilt shop owned by a graphic designer who designs his own quilt patterns and then teaches classes on them every month as well as a new museum dedicated to quilting.
I’ve since gotten really interested in the history of quilting and fabric manufacturing (I’m a huge nerd and even though I’ve graduated, I’m not gonna stop learning). I’ve got books on the history of quilts and the meanings of different quilt blocks. For example, my hometown was also a stop on the Underground Railroad, and in order to find houses that would help escaped slaves, quilts with certain patterns and color combinations would be placed on fences. It’s all really fascinating to me.
As far as how to get other millennials into quilting, I’d say it’s pretty difficult. If you don’t know someone who already owns the tools, it can be really expensive to start up without knowing you will like the activity. My mom has two Babylock sewing machines I can use, but none of my friends have one they can use. And that’s not to mention the cutting mats, rotary cutters, and all the rulers that help. I think it would be great to expand the sharing economy trend and do the same with stuff like quilting tools. Like maybe quilt shops could have a few sewing machines that people could come and use for a certain fee per time used. Then there would also be people handy to ask for help and give tips to. I don’t know if any stores would actually adopt that habit, but I definitely agree that there needs to be some change to the industry to attract younger quilters.
Hi Katie! Great to see other young quilters here like you. I’m a bit envious that you’ve discovered sewing/quilting at an earlier age than I did. Sounds like you’re really making the most of this opportunity though! Not sure what you are looking to do professionally, and although we don’t know each other well – there are so many things I wish I could tell my 22-year-old self.
If you already know exactly what you want to do (which is rare) – go full speed and take advantage of this one HUGE edge you have over people like me – TIME.
Not sure what you’re all about? Take some type of employment situation with flexibility/freedom to figure out who you are and how you want to shape the world.
Then, as Gary Vaynerchuk always says, build something around that – whatever it is. Even if it seems ridiculous. Go all in on your strengths and don’t spend a lot of time trying to fix your “flaws.”
If you are loving quilting – perhaps there’s a potential business there – especially since there aren’t a lot of quilters your age?
Thank you so much for reading and sharing – feel free to email me anytime if you want to continue the conversation at sewingreport@gmail.com.
Jennifer – Your comments are so on point, even for 2018 :). I’m currently researching for an MBA marketing project (my chosen topic is a deriving a marketing strategy for a sewing machine brand) and ran across your editorial. I’m part of Gen X and unfortunately the sewing arts (quilting as well) has suffered from this issue for many years. I began my love for the craft at 15, sewing on my mother’s 1930’s era Singer (which is still around and still runs like a dream). Experiences I hear from Millennials I work with, and sew with, are there isn’t enough encouragement and community for them. I even struggle with connecting as well – most guilds and groups are made up of ladies in there late 60’s and 70’s who prefer (and resist) newer ideas, fabrics and trends. If we, as a community, can somehow figure out how to break down the walls between these groups I believe that the knowledge share would be enormous and allow for the craft to explode once again.
As a 65 year old, who also works at a sewing machine and fabric store in Central Texas, prior to reading this I made the following recommendations to my dealer.
1. Speed up the process of allowing customers to pay online for classes. Most of our customers ARE over 50 and DO use technology!!!.
2. Work with the manufacturers to allow a system to provide online sales and commit to shipping. This means as a dealer WE need to commit to having systems in place TO ship. It will be an increased cost. And, we need to be able to list prices online in some way, which is currently prohibited. And if the manufacturer would, working through us, ship to our customer, that would speed up the process even more!
About 5 months ago we began to list MSRP and our price on each of our 75+ models on the floor. We represent 5 brands. People know what we are asking for a machine. It took a LONG time to make that happen. Check that one off as done.
And, we have staff aged 19 through 82 (the owner), including men and women. So, check that one off, too. Our teachers have represented different ages, races, and sexual orientation. Just depends on who is out there and does a great job.
And I agree about HOW a machine looks. There is one brand I never considered because I thought it was an ugly machine. It is a good line. When Husqvarna came out with the Jade, I was fascinated because the wrap over the machine was streamlined and attractive to me. It may have been better if it was Rose Gold, though, but it was a great step in doing something different. However, it did not seem to be accepted by those– most of us regardless of age– who think that a sewing machine has to look a certain way. I did not see an upsurge in younger people buying it. Design is a tough one.
As for guilds, we meet in the evening and because of this we have members in their early 20s through a few who are 80+. All are supportive of each other, and there are women in their late 30s who are friends– outside of the guild meeting– with those in their 50s and 60s. But, if you want diversity, some of the guilds, such as some of the Modern Quilt Guilds, need to be more welcoming of the older women. The lack of friendliness by some of the younger women is very discouraging as it is for young women who may feel put off by being ignored by cliques in guilds composed of older women. It cuts both ways. And cliques in EITHER group means loss of membership regardless of age.
We have women in our guild in their 60s and 70s making “modern quilts” and art quilts. Our programming has at least one art/modern quilt presentation a year. The last modern/abstract guild meeting had members asking questions well after the posted programming time.
I have been sewing for 54 years. It was not until I worked in a retail machine store that decided to start to add fabric that I became conscious of brand names, DESPITE the ads in the magazines I subscribed to. I do not always read ads. Also, most of the quilt stores in my area did not carry a line being advertised or do not carry the full line. In the early years, there was no online purchasing. So, I seldom paid attention to fabric ads and just bought patterns and colors I liked regardless of line. Fabric manufactures could help by 1) automating their purchasing process when orders are placed in the stores (still done heavily by paper) and post precisely who purchased what to their (the manufacturer’s) website so the customer can see which dealer purchased that manufacturer’s fabric (both the line and specific pieces in that line), and 2) point to online resources as well that purchased a line and pieces within that line. I don’t have time to sit or go to five fabric stores to find a piece of fabric– make it easier for me to get at it!
So, many of the issues stated in this editorial apply to many of us in our 50s and 60s as well. And we have the funds to keep these stores afloat and we are no longer raising children– an expensive and time consuming activity. If we had to depend on the younger population to keep brick and mortar stores afloat, we would not make it. I watch my son and daughter and law, and I know they are not where we were economically at this point in their life due to high tuitions and paying much more for health insurance and out of pocket costs than we did at their age as corporations contribute much less to health care. This also contributes to the inability to afford the bigger machines.
Some of the earlier premises of the editorial holds, however:
Convenient access to cheap and accessible clothing: One can quickly find something to wear at both brick and mortar stores (Wal-Mart, Target if needed quickly) and online. Styles are casual, with many comfy clothes in long, knit fabrics that can fit many figures easily, creating less incentive to make clothing due to uniqueness in body types. Young and old are wearing these styles in these easy care– and harder to sew- fabrics. With consignment shops and networking among younger peers, baby clothing can be exchanged and Goodwill and similar facilities are everywhere for buying gently used baby clothes and clothing for young children who grow out of them in a year.
Time: I spend 3-5 hours a day on email, reading online news, or communicating with members of several community groups where I live. . I, like many of my senior peers, get most of our news online and we hog Facebook. We use few print magazines and newspapers. The point– we have 24 hours a day to do stuff. 20 years ago I did not spend 3-5 hours a day on email, reading magazines and newspapers, or communicating by email. We certainly did not call each other as much as we text, email, or “visit” on Facebook. When I spend that much time tied to devices, I don’t have time for sewing. I am currently 80% less engaged in the act of sewing– hand or machine– than I was 10 years ago before I retired full time from a 50 hour a week professional job.. Yet I still, mechanically, purchase the newer machines in two lines, which is senseless.
Technological engagement/online purchasing– found not only in the younger group. I am a group owner for one particular model of machine on groups.io, and a 75 year old friend of mine is a Yahoo group owner for a particular brand of manufacturer-produced embroidery software. I set up one of the first sewing yahoo groups for two brands of digitizing software in the early 2000 period. I have seen many women (predominantly) years ahead of me in age, technologically capable, pass on. Conversely, I’ve seen many younger women come in to the store who do not want the bells and whistles, and it isn’t always about price. The response is pragmatic. Like many of us when we were younger, they are looking for machines that can hem pants and make simple, affordable crafts. As for purchasing, I am an Amazon Prime member. I do almost all of my non-grocery purchases from Amazon. Among my peers, I would estimate that more than half of them are Amazon Prime members.
In summary, every brick and mortar should begin to demand that their suppliers– both machine and fabric– make it easier for sewists to gain access to all of their product, without cutting out the brick and mortar store. Both sides need to think how to change their marketing strategies to get product into the hands of the customer while being cautious on minimizing costs to the brick and mortar shops. Otherwise, there will be no training available at all beyond the basics and crafts at the larger big box fabric and craft stores that provide such services today.
Finally, it should not be assumed that age is a primary factor in a decrease in purchasing in the sewing and creative market. . Increased costs in other areas of our lives, lack of time for sewing, and access to cheap clothing (and quilts!) are affecting ALL of us.
Finally, not mentioned here, is that the machines coming out MUST be dependable regardless of price point. They need to keep tension and it should be easy to adjust tension when different thread weights and types and techniques are used, they need to sew straight stitches, they need good lighting, and increasingly, they should be updated wirelessly (at the mid price point and higher). There should be truth in advertising as to what the machine CAN sew. A $99 machine cannot sew four layers of quilt fabric with cross seams well. A new sewist will be stymied by machines that do not work well and think it is “them.” Fewer models that work WELL can bring the new sewist to the “well” to upgrade their machines and encourage brand loyalty. And all lines and models should have a CD or link to an online resource on how to work their machine. Kudos to those manufacturers who are doing this. If we begin to ship machines, we have to think of how the remote customer is going to be successful with their machine as training will be lacking.
Really appreciate you sharing all of these experiences Dale – would you be okay with me sharing this on the Sewing Report Facebook page? I’d be happy to tag you there if you’d like!
The perceived time and cost investment is probably one of the biggest barriers to entry for millenials to sew. I am from Gen X and grew up in Singapore at a time when sewing was still taught in school, but because of the culture where only academic grades mattered and also over-emphasis on accuracy rather than creativity, many of my peers lost interest along the way and are not able to apply sewing skills in everyday life (i.e. simple mending, replacing buttons etc). After I got back into sewing after a 20-year hiatus, some of my friends started to get interested but were put off by the cost of acquiring a machine, even a basic one costing $100. Because if they find that all they wanted to do was to hem that one set of curtains, that would become expensive very quickly if they had to buy a $100 machine to do it. It isn’t until you really get bitten by the bug that you become willing to spend big bucks on brand names in fabrics and equipment. So I fully agree with the premise that what’s needed to lower the barriers to entry for the younger beginner, who probably doesn’t have a lot of cash either, is to reduce fixed costs for them. Creating communal crafting spaces where people can rent machines by the hour maybe, and with on-site staff who can provide guidance to beginners, is an interesting business model which can also be done as a social enterprise.
As to the looks of sewing machines — this is what a trendy machine could look like with even a selection of colourways, someone needs to get them into the US:
https://www.toyotaoekakiworld.com/oekaki-renaissance-oekaki50/