Why we buy what we do!

Yesterday, I read a great article about Pet-Valu in the Globe and Mail. It was from the Report on Business magazine. 

Article on our pets

Holy!!! The amount of money that we spend on our pets is insane. OK—my pets do not get all the fancy food and treats. Do not tell them that they are missing out on all this crazy stuff. By the way, they know something is not right this morning as they are on either side of my chair as I write, as close to me as they can get!

I have a meeting today and have a bunch of stuff by the front door to put in the car. They want to make sure that I know they are upset! Make me feel guilty!!!

Anyway, back to the pet store story. DH and I had a BIG discussion about this type of thing the other day. At what point do you believe what the marketers are telling you and how the packaging is labeled to make you feel you need the product? At what point does the word "scam" come into play? Selling products in a store is technically not a scam. But how often are we sucked into buying something because of what we read on the label? So where is the line between truth, psychological marketing, and scam? 

This makes me think of our digital cutter class. One of the participants found a new adhesive (like Steam a Seam and Wonder Under). The people who made the product were very clever. Look at the packaging. 

"New" adhesive

Can you see the first use on the packaging? Digital cutters! I went to their website to get more information. This company has been in business for almost 20 years and has always been in the adhesive business, but it is expanding how it markets its products. Apparently, this product was specially formulated to work with digital cutters. Do you believe that? I don't. It also works for all the other reasons we have used adhesives in the past—applique, quilting, etc. How could it be different? 

The people who put out this product are very clever because they specifically put the word digital cutters on the packaging, which NO OTHER brand has done yet. Though you have adhesives from Kimberbell and OESD (in sheets and rolls), neither has put the word digital cutter on their packaging, but it's implied by the nature of their products because they are selling SVG files (digital cutters files) to accompany their embroidery designs. 

How often has this happened? Someone discovers a product in the dollar store, the hardware store (think cotton clothesline), and many other places. The minute someone in the quilting industry gets wind of it, POOF -- we now have a product geared to quilters. And if they put quilting on the label or some fancy packaging, we WILL buy it believing it's the best thing since sliced bread! I know there are lots of examples of that, but my brain is dead this morning. 

Like so many things in our world today, I would bet there are probably two or maybe three manufacturers of fusible web, and they are branded and packaged differently. Yep—sewing machines, cars, and many other things. Some products we sell are made by our competitors! Yep! So don't believe everything you read! But I'll get some and try it with all the other brands I've tried. So far -- they all work the same!

Anyway, if you have a pet and can access that story, it was an interesting read, and it was interesting for a second reason as well. 

The CEO of the company is apparently a GREAT CEO. He prides himself on being a great leader, and his organization is well-run. He wasn't always a great leader, so he researched what he needed to up his game. So, I feel that maybe I need to do that to get better group participation. It's always just a few people who participate (I know --- that's normal), but so many more have great information, and perhaps I'm not letting them speak. I've got to think about that. It could very well be ME - not them!

Anyway, yesterday was a better day. I managed to get everything that I needed to get done for today, but boy - it wasn't easy. I went for a long walk, and I reflected, and let me tell you, it's tempting to just drop everything and let it go - forever! Yep --- I think I'm concluding that I don't want to do this anymore! GASP!!!! But I'll persevere for the next two months - hopefully, things will be quieter, and then I have my three-month break, during which I will try and shut down EVERYTHING for those three months -- even email. GASP! I'll continue to blog because blogging is my journal, and I need to write it. I don't care if anyone reads it, but I must write it. Then we'll see what happens in the fall. 

OK—that's a bit drastic—I don't think I can let everything go! But it feels good saying it! Speaking of which, I've been asked if I want to teach some lessons on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 3. If anyone out there is interested, let me know! It won't happen until October, and I'll choose very specific topics. It will only be for two or three sessions, and it will be on Zoom!

Let's say that society, at least in our city, is insane with safety. The SUPER SUCKER truck has been around the neighborhood and opening up some places, which remain open, but they are well covered with plywood and surrounded by a fence. Nowhere near blocking the sidewalk. 

A mini construction site

As of yesterday, signs at either end blocked that section of the sidewalk. Good grief—has our world become so stupid that people can't walk past that fence, which is NOT touching the sidewalk at all? 

Sidewalk blocked,

It's like my keyring, a cheap affair I bought years ago. Look what's on it. 

DANGER

I have to laugh because I have three keys on that ring. One is for the mailbox, and the other two? I have no idea. I'm not even sure where the key to the front door is. We have a keyless lock, which I love, but should we need to use the key? Hmmm. One of those keys might be for my bike lock! 

Only three keys

So yes, I played with some digital cutter software, and I learned a ton. I made the design that I wanted, and I managed to get it cut, so all was good. 

Playing with software

I now have little piles of stuff everywhere that need to be put away - the extra work table in Studio B. 

The cutting table and beside my desk. 

Hopefully, once I can get this stuff put away, that will clear up some clutter in my mind and allow me to get back to sewing. I also have a couple of customer quilts that need to be done, so I need to clean up that area around the long arm and get back to work!

I stopped at the thrift store yesterday to buy some clothes to embellish, and I spotted this gorgeous ball of yarn that followed me home. I love this stuff!!! 

Well, that's enough yakking today. Thanks for listening to me yesterday. I debated whether to post that, and then I thought -- you know what? I'm calling that a mini meltdown. I want people to realize I am a human, just like them! Thankfully, my boss helped calm me down when we had a call in the morning. Then I pulled up my bootstraps and got to work! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!