love this idea, but starting out…like just opening a shop…this would be rough. it’s already rough as it stands because there are a lot of people who don’t do the journal…or even the “review this pattern” option at the bottom.
there are a lot of people i feel who don’t use the community feature of the app, so they don’t really know that the journal/review option is almost necessary to fully support the artist…even with just free patterns.
adding the number of sales as a publicly visible number would just further the difficulty for people just starting out i think unfortunately.
I completely understand this, which is why I suggested that it be a toggled feature that by default is set off but that can be turned on for shops that have been around for longer!
In order for that to work, there would need to be something that then says its turned off though. If its turned off and no identifier, it will just make people think no one has bought the pattern
The non reviews make me sweat but I also understand people keep patterns to use at a later date.
I don’t even get reviews on my free patterns and it has over 50 downloads. It’s not just this app though, I have the same issue everywhere. I love my customers but I wish they would review.
Woof, it does a little, not going to lie
I think the community needs to come together on this clear issue and review patterns we’ve used. Only half kidding…
I used to not really provide journals, as for me, I did not have Ribblr on my phone and so uploading a journal was a long and complicated process. (Not to mention my horrible photography skills ) I finally can access Ribblr on my phone, but now I’ve been dragging myself out of a crochet slump. Hearing how important journals are to designers, I definitely am going to post many more journals now. I feel that many more would do the same thing if they realized how much they really help— I know I didn’t.
makes me sweat now too. i didn’t really use the journal/review function at first (luckily i wasn’t here too terribly long before i figured it out tho) and now i do it every time…at least leave a review with a photo of the finished product!
i didn’t know until i started reading the community posts.
i’ve been doing it religiously since.
maybe just a little like PSA from ribblr letting all users know it’s an important thing would help. i know not everyone can because of lack of access to the tools to take a pic or whatever the case may be…but im sure theres plenty that can that just don’t know, ya know?
I just never thought about doing journals when I’ve made things not in a pattern test. Though tbh I mostly do pattern tests… I love making different things. I will start adding journals when I make everything.
That would be great, I couldn’t create a stripe account due to some restrictions on my country but if Ribblr allowed us to use PayPal I would have so much more patterns available lol
If it helps, my free dragon has over 3200 downloads and only 8 non tester journals
To be fair, a lot of people (telling on myself here too ) often get patterns and then years later still haven’t gotten around to making them! But I also wish people would post journals when they make things here!
I don’t particularly agree with point 1. of your request, but I do agree with the spirit of your request.
(For your second point, having other payment options is an idea I support. )
To explain, as a designer with an active shop on Ribblr:
I put an inordinate amount of detail and thought into my patterns.
I tend to include downloadable PDF versions with my patterns, not just the Ribblr ePattern version.
I put nearly all (but maybe 1 which I couldn’t get testers for) of my patterns through tests with multiple testers, and part of testing is including a journal entry, so they all come with a “review” and a visual workup.
With older patterns I have reached out to those who do purchase them and offer them direct access to the Stitch Fiddle chart, pending an official update in Ribblr (I previously used Gridjun which is fine for small charts, but nearly impossible to read with larger charts, like my Vivi pattern).
I’ve included free patterns in my shop to the point of the suggestion of showing people how my design process works.
However, my patterns don’t sell much on Ribblr. I believe it’s primarily because Ribblr is very amigurumi-centric (something I’ve mentioned in the past). The cost wouldn’t make sense because other people’s patterns at similar price points are often listed on discount Thursdays or in gem pattern monthly sales (something I still don’t understand in terms of how someone gets chosen for that), and I assume they sell.
To be clear, I’m not complaining about sales being low, but showing a number is also disproportionate to whether or not something is a “good” pattern. From tester and buyer feedback, I’d like to believe my patterns are above-average quality, and I certainly try to make them excellent. Numbers could be detrimental to designers who are already struggling to have Ribblr be a productive sales platform for them, despite doing everything “right”.
) I finally can access Ribblr on my phone, but now I’ve been dragging myself out of a crochet slump. Hearing how important journals are to designers, I definitely am going to post many more journals now. I feel that many more would do the same thing if they realized how much they really help— I know I didn’t.
) often get patterns and then years later still haven’t gotten around to making them! But I also wish people would post journals when they make things here!
)