I, along with all designers who have a Craftsy pattern store, received email notification of a change in the Craftsy marketplace on Wednesday. I am one of the many designers whose Craftsy shop will be closed effective on December 28, 2018.
Craftsy Notice
Other designers were informed that their shop will remain open, but some of their listings will or may be removed. The designers have no control over what will be removed and what will be kept, nor do they know at this time which listings will be kept.
Craftsy has more details here: Pattern Store Changes for Designers – December 2018. Also, this post by Susanne Woods @craftyeditor is worth reading (Note: read the text beside the image and not the photo).
Personally, I have greatly appreciated being able to host my patterns for sale on Craftsy and be exposed to a wider audience. I am hopeful that quilters who might not otherwise know about me purchased patterns and were happy. Craftsty never charged any fees for this platform, and I never held an illusions that the free ride would last forever.
So, coming around to the punch line: if you have purchased any of my patterns on Craftsy, the patterns will still be available in YOUR account library. I would recommend downloading the patterns to your computer just to be safe (if you have not already).
Going forward, my patterns will be available in my Quilting Jetgirl Shop and Quilting Jetgirl Etsy Shop. Which reminds me: my Etsy shop needs my newer patterns added to it…
I have been a member of the Craftsy community for many years, starting back when they were very new. I recommended them to many people. However, I don’t like all the changes that they have made. I own 76 classes that I have purchased, most of which I haven’t had time to view yet, despite great intentions, and I refuse to subscribe to Blueprint because I know what would happen-I would never get around to watching them. But just because it doesn’t suit me, does not mean it doesn’t suit the rest of the world. I’m really steamed about cutting off the designers marketplace patterns. I found some designers thru Craftsy that I would never have found otherwise and have been able to purchase their patterns thru Craftsys’ website. Many designers are international and don’t have the ability to sell internationally themselves. I live in Canada so everything is international to me ! The last and final comment I have to make is the short notice that Craftsy has given for the pattern marketplace. Not enough time for designers to set up a new pattern outlet without scrambling ! I was on the site this morning at 5 am to purchase and download a pattern from a small shop this morning and had trouble doing so-the site saying that this pattern may have been deleted from the website!
Wishing you the best as you turn the page on a new chapter. Thank you for letting us know.
Wishing you all the best going forward with your pattern sales!
Thanks for sharing this information, including the links. Very interesting. I don’t think I’ve used Craftsy in years, as I prefer Etsy for shopping and Creativebug for classes, so will likely take a look at my use and likely opt out given these policy changes. See you on your other shops!
I am stunned that your shop is one that they have decided to close!! With your modern aesthetic, and loyal following, it is just unbelievable!
I had a funny feeling when Craftsy introduced the Bluprint portion, and started the membership fees for that, it was going to suddenly become a headache for those of us who truly enjoyed being able to find so many of our “wanted” patterns in one spot. Thanks for the heads up on this new change.
None of this makes any sense, except in reality they are looking out for their bottom line! Luckily you have two other venues for your patterns! I think many of us love having a place to peruse patterns, free or not. It’ll be interesting to see what patterns they deem worthy of keeping from the shops.
So many changes. It is constant, right?? Luckily, you have built such a following already I am sure your patterns will continue to sell via your other avenues. Thanks for the explanation and reminder. I am going to make sure I have backed up the patterns I have purchased on Craftsy.
It’s all very confusing! My ‘shop’ remains open – with its 3 or 4 free offerings… why? We’ll see what happens to it in the new year. Some of the best – like yours – are being closed though. It really doesn’t make sense…. I spent an evening this week d/l all the patterns I’d purchased just in case.
Yvonne, thank you for the information and the reminder to download purchased patterns. I’m sorry that avenue will not be available but I do understand some of their business model. I don’t necessarily like it, but like you, I know that their bottom line is what is important to them. It was so wonderful to find a platform with multiple designers and offerings available. Best of luck in your two other stores.
Other than the obvious reason, I wonder why Craftsy has done this. But that’s life and I’m glad you have other venues where we have access to your patterns and expertise. You are always an inspiration, even to an “antique” like me! ; -}
Hello Yvonne, I am sorry to hear that they are closing your store. So many of their decisions are not making sense. I know that you will succeed in selling your patterns because of their uniqueness and beautiful designs. Thank you for sharing and have a fabulous day!
I am so sorry that Craftsy has decided to close your store for you. And on such short notice! And in the middle of the holidays!
I found you on Craftsy and I have found many others whose work is fantastic. Luckily, I put your blog on my blog as Internet BFF’s, so I will still be “using” you as inspiration and sewing goodies.
My letter came through this morning, so what I’m interested from you is what virtures and vices are there from selling on your website, selling on Etsy vs. Craftsy. At this point, everyone takes a cut somewhere, so maybe that’s not it. How is selling on Etsy–do you like it? Can you tell us about selling on your website–is that a good option, too? I remember talking with Jacquie Ghering about how she had to figure out her taxes, and she had to pay taxes in most of the States and several countries. How does Etsy handle that issue? How does working though a blog?
Sorry for all these questions, but it might make for a good blog post, one that others can refer to, and it would be really helpful for me, for sure!
I was just starting to figure this out. Instead, I spent time figuring out how square hosts a store and it looks like it will work. I like there model of you pay on what you sell; so many other services seem to charge quite a bit and are more geared towards larger offerings. Frankly, the timing was not particularly nice. It seems to me some of these bigger companies are pushing out the smaller businesses that were there backbone (like Etsy and bow Blueprint).
There is always change. I’m not involved in selling via Craftsy and yet I am not surprised at this. With the announcement of Blueprint, I felt there would be changes and just did not where they would be and I’m confident there will be more. I adore your designs and am sure and many, many others will land on your proverbial feet. Blessings to you as you rise to new and unexpected challenges. This may be a blessing in disguise yet to be revealed and open a new unforseen avenue for you in totally uncharted terroritories. I’m sure you with me whatever challenges arise as you have in the past – with tenacity, grace, and confidence.
Sorry to hear that. It’s too bad there wasn’t more notice. It will be interesting to see where this leads.
I’ve seen/heard this elsewhere from other designers, but you are the first to link to additional content. I found it interesting. I use Craftsy for classes and have bought patterns as well. It’s the short notice window that I find most alarming in this case. I suspect a lot of people will feel differently about them after this.
I’ve just recently signed on to your newsletter and I thoroughly enjoy your style so I can’t understand why your patterns were dropped. The very short notice from Craftsy is not nice. Does not leave me with a favorable impression of Craftsy. Thanks for sharing this with your followers.
This news from Craftsy is a bit of a blow to pattern designers! There’s been a lot of info around this year about costs associated with putting out patterns so having a free platform taken away just adds pressure. I like buying patterns on Craftsy because they store them in my account for future use. I’ll be interested to see what remains on their platform. They’ve always been very encouraging about free offerings. I wonder if that’s what will remain.
Yvonne, you seem pretty calm about the abrupt change, so hurrah for that. I was already a fan of your etsy shop, it is a bona fide favorite, but I just checked again to be sure. I have several of your patterns and love your modern one-of-a-kind style. I am still amazed at all that you accomplish in the quilting world. Looking forward to the new direction you will take.