{"id":1902,"date":"2022-08-19T17:45:20","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T21:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fallingblog.double-knitting.com\/?p=1902"},"modified":"2022-08-19T17:45:20","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T21:45:20","slug":"looking-toward-a-post-pandemic-fallingblox-designs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fallingblog.double-knitting.com\/?p=1902","title":{"rendered":"Looking toward a post-pandemic Fallingblox Designs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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First of all, I don’t believe we are in a post-pandemic world<\/strong>. A lot of people have decided that masking is no longer necessary for them to feel safe, but regardless of how we feel, the pandemic is still occurring and it’ll be a while before we can truly say we are past it. But in the knitting world, as in other communities, we have already started to move past pandemic measures — more in-person events are being scheduled and happening, to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current phase of Fallingblox Designs is primarily based on education — during the pandemic, I found virtual workshops possible and practical (and profitable) and this has been my main focus over the past 2 years (I got a late start due to the fire). Throughout these years, I’ve told myself (and others) that I intend to keep doing virtual workshops<\/strong> even as physical ones become possible again, primarily because I’m able to reach people I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to reach. Not everyone has a “big show” near them or can afford to travel to one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as people tire of the pandemic and the trappings of pandemic life, I am seeing fewer enrollments and having to cancel more of my virtual workshops. This is almost certainly partially my fault for letting my social networking slide — but if the survey I put out last year is any indication, social networks are less important<\/strong> to the majority of my customers and the issue could be simple market saturation. Regardless, I need to figure out how to proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few things occur to me, after conversations with some students and further discernment on my part:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. I need to schedule my virtual workshops further out<\/strong>. I’ve been scheduling them a month, maybe two, ahead for the past couple of years. This worked during a time when people had fewer conflicts due to lockdowns or simply lack of events, but with more and more events now vying for everyone’s time and money, I need to allow my students to plan further ahead. This also means I<\/em> need to be able to plan further ahead, which has been difficult.<\/li>
  2. If I need to settle into the reality of lower enrollments, I need to raise my rates<\/strong> so that I won’t need to cancel so many workshops. This may mean I come up with a slightly different way to deal with my “sliding scale” model, perhaps enacting a more formal “scholarship” process. More on that later.<\/li>
  3. I need to figure out how better to get the word out<\/strong> about my virtual workshops to people who might actually be interested in attending.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Am I ready to take all of this and put it into practice? Not yet. Right now it’s more important that I let folks know about my upcoming workshops<\/strong> than that I radically change my process — but expect workshops for the rest of the Fall season to be announced soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Right now, here’s what I’ve got scheduled. As usual, I’m starting my season with an intro workshop, then I’m bringing back the two workshops I cancelled in June for a second chance. Then, at the end of September\/beginning of October, I’m teaching some workshops at Knitters’ Day Out in Harrisburg, PA. These are the last of my in-person workshops for the year (stay tuned for more in 2023). All times are in Eastern Time:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n