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A Few Last Minute Items
The launch of the Fall Issue is coming up fast and there are a few last minute items before I hit the publish button.
It’s not too late to advertise for the premiere issue! Popknits has had over 14,000 page views and 5,000 unique visitors in August so far. That’s a lot of people that could be seeing and clicking on your ads! I definitely expect the number to climb in September when the issue goes live so get in on the action now. Prices go up with each issue! In fact, I’m making it an even sweeter deal to advertise for the first issue. Submit your ad now and save 15%!
For all of the designers out there that are looking to submit for the Winter Issue, please note that the Submissions Pack has been updated. I am now asking for your Ravelry username (which will make it easier for me to input your pattern into the Ravelry database) and have changed the order of the pattern elements. Download the newest Submissions Pack in the Downloads area.
Hope you all enjoyed the preview! See you all back here on September 1.
Posted by gleek on 08/22 at 07:47 PM in General News, Pre-Launch Information
Submissions Closed for Fall 2008
A quick note to remind everyone that submissions for the Fall 2008 issue are now closed. If you sent in a submission but received no response, please contact me using the contact form. If you’re interested in submitting something for the Winter 2008 issue, I would love to see your proposal before August 15th (or full submissions can always be submitted before September 15th.)
Posted by gleek on 06/26 at 07:15 PM in Pre-Launch Information
Eleven Days and Counting
We’ve rounded the corner into June here at Popknits (my favorite month!) and I’m already starting to see a few pattern submissions coming through via email. I know it’s been silent here on the news blog but the pace will pick up in late June/early July. Besides being the editor here, I also do freelance web design and coding on the side and I’m mid-stream on a big project that’ll be wrapped up soon, at which time I can put my full attention towards Popknits. If you’re thinking about submitting, rest assured, I am sitting here with needles pointed at attention awaiting your designs.
Also, my family is taking a quick week-long vacation out-of-state next week. All of this is timed to give me (us, really) the well-deserved break we need to head into a busy summer. If I don’t respond to your submissions right away, know that I will as soon as I return home.
Eleven days left!
Posted by gleek on 06/04 at 08:54 PM in General News, Pre-Launch Information
Proposal Deadline Past
The 15th of May has passed and I’m excited to say that I received quite a few beautiful proposals for both the Fall and Winter issues! We have a few hats, some tops, and even a lace stole coming our way. I hope someone out there is thinking about submitting some socks (hint hint) as i have yet to see any cross my mail client.
This also serves as a reminder to those who wish to advertise on Popknits prior to the launch of the Fall issue. I do plan on previewing some of the knits right here on the News blog so I expect some traffic to come this way. The News blog is the most affordable spot on the site to advertise so get in quick and get your slot! See the Advertising Rates section for more details.
Posted by gleek on 05/21 at 09:04 PM in General News, Pre-Launch Information
Ad Rates and A Poll
Just a quick note to let you all know that I’ve posted the advertising rates on the Advertising page. I’m hoping that businesses big and small will find them decidedly middle-of-the-road. The most affordable section to advertise on is this news blog. I’ve made the rates close to Ravelry’s ad rates so that Etsy sellers can get in on the action. There’s more information over on the Advertising page, of course.
I’ve also had some interest in publishing off-season garments in Popknits and I find the idea very appealing. I think that folks in the southern hemisphere get the wrong end of the stick when North American blogs and magazines only cater to northern hemisphere seasons. I’ve set up a poll to see what you think as well. Head over to Mister Poll to give me your opinion. Polls close on Wednesday, April 30.
P.S. If haven’t joined the Popknits Ravelry group, please do!
P.P.S. I’ve also initiated the Popknits Mailinglist sign-up. You can get in on the action below. The sign-up form is at the bottom of every page.
Posted by gleek on 04/27 at 04:55 PM in General News, Pre-Launch Information
On Copyright
I think that it’s important to talk about inspiration and its head-on collision with copyright laws. I am only interested in publishing patterns on Popknits that are originals which means that you must not have taken an old pattern and just changed the yarn and re-tooled it. When i talk about the old Vogue Knitting magazines i have around, I’m most influenced and inspired by their silhouettes or colors or construction. I would never take these patterns and plagiarize them and neither should any designer who submits to Popknits. I’m not a huge fan of copyright, actually. I think that it mainly restricts people from thinking freely, but that doesn’t mean that i don’t respect it. If the pattern or item that you gain inspiration from is copyrighted, please do not knock it off and send it in for submission. My main advice is to watch films, go to a museum or two, read some old books or magazines, take a walk in your neighborhood and look at vintage motifs that speak to you and use that to design something that’s vintage-inspired.
It’s also important to note that copyright exists on items newer than 1923 (see this copyright information page for more information.) If you see a very old pattern from before this time and want to use it as inspiration for a modern take on the garment, then I’m more apt to consider it for publication if you can provide the original pattern (so that we can see what the copyright implications would be) and it’s different enough from the original. I’ll speak to designers individually about this upon pattern submission. Thanks!
Posted by gleek on 04/23 at 06:37 PM in Pre-Launch Information
Warm Welcome
I’m happy to say that Popknits has received a very warm welcome in the Ravelry forums. I posted over there yesterday and have been answering some questions which i think that I’ll reiterate here for the sake of clarity.
- By “vintage” I mean from the 1800s to the 1970s. I’m not a huge fan of the 80s or its fashion statements (sorry if this offends some! But I doubt not many..) so I think that we’ll forget the 80s ever happened on this site. There are many fabulous design inspirations to look to otherwise so I’m sure we’ll get some great vintage submissions!
- You can feel free to either submit a proposal or go straight to the finish line and submit a finished piece. Either is fine with me.
- I hope to eventually have some yarn support for designers but I’m fairly certain we won’t have any for the Fall issue. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take yarn or fiber as payment for ad space. Though I LOVE yarn, my apartment simply cannot hold it all. I hope to have ad rates up by the end of the week. Stay tuned!
- A Ravelry forum member mentioned that it would be great to get someone to write up how to best interpret vintage knitting patterns (i.e. difference in needle size, yarn weight and brands, and antiquated knitting terms) and i think this is a FABULOUS idea! In fact, anyone who wants to submit such a piece would have a place of honor in the FAQ and on the Articles landing page and therefore would receive a lot of traffic to their article submission and their website. If I had the time to write up a glossary, I would and make it a permanent part of the site but I’ll have to leave that to my readers. Please contact me if you’re interested in such an endeavor!
I’ve already received a few inquiries/proposals so it’s good to know that Popknits can fill this niche for knitters. Hope to hear from you all soon.
Posted by gleek on 04/22 at 09:19 PM in General News, Pre-Launch Information
An Introduction
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Popknits! I’m very excited to show off Popknits to the world today. It’s been a long time and coming (about two years!) and I couldn’t be happier about the final timing. Just so you know, I’ll post more about the submissions, advertising opportunities, and launch details in the coming weeks. So just hang in there with me and we’ll get this show up and running in time for cooler knitting weather in the fall.
P.S. If you subscribe to this news feed with your RSS reader, you’ll get the fastest Popknits information available. Thanks for stopping by!
Posted by gleek on 04/18 at 11:10 AM in General News, Pre-Launch Information
