Changes at BurdaStyle in 2009

Open Sourcing Sewing Blog

Dear BurdaStylers,

Happy New Year! We hope all of you had a beautiful holiday season. We at BurdaStyle are excited for another great year and want to let you all know what we have planned for 2009.

In just a couple of weeks, BurdaStyle turns two years old! In that time, BurdaStyle has done a lot of growing: we are over 150,000 members strong, and we have over 160 open-source, copyright-free patterns in our database. Not to mention the rest of knowledge and inspiration available on BurdaStyle in the form of how tos, forums, and creations. Now, with our robust and wonderful community and a deep database in place, BurdaStyle enters a new phase, which includes becoming a self-sustainable business and launching a new and improved website.

As part of our plan to grow BurdaStyle and to better serve our members we will need to start charging for some of our patterns. BurdaStyle patterns developed from contest winners will still be free, as will some popular basics and smaller projects. Patterns uploaded by members will still be free, as will all the other areas of our website. Of course, everything will still be open-source, which means copyright-free, and therefore available for alteration and replication, and open for you to base a business on.

Currently, we are working on a major site redesign, which will launch late Spring. The new site offers much increased functionality, including a step-by-step project interface, which will allow you to see who is working on what, and what problems and hints other members have. The new site will also offer members the opportunity to sell their own patterns.

Thank you, in advance, for all of your continued support and understanding. We are committed to bringing you the best and only open-source sewing website around, and we want BurdaStyle to keep getting stronger and better. We look forward to an exciting New Year, with all it's challenges and victories!

Sincerely, The BurdaStyle Team

BACKSTAGE REPORT

Posted by BurdaStyle

06 Jan 2009 09:29 AM

TAGS: pricing, cost, patterns, redesign, website

Comments (101)

COMMENTS (101)

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CarotteSauvage Ï Posted 6 January 2009 at 10:22 AM

Sounds exciting! It will be a bit like Ravelry(being able to sell your pattern online), I assume! Looking forward!
Ghainskom Ï Posted 6 January 2009 at 10:42 AM
a huge to-do list and 2 little time

Sounds intereresting. can't wait to get to know the new Burdastyle :)
sunnyb64 Ï Posted 6 January 2009 at 10:45 AM
sewing summery things.

I'll admit I'm going to miss the mostly-free patterns! Though if the pricing is anything like it's been so far, I'm not worried, and I understand why you're doing it. And I'm looking forward to seeing some of these new features-- especially the project interface, that sounds really neat!
nehmah Ï Posted 6 January 2009 at 10:50 AM
Retired

OK, I understand nothing is forever, but why have so many of the formerly free patterns been tagged with a price tag. You have surely moved far, far from your opening statement, Burdastyle. Too bad. Nehmah
nuiwida23 Ï Posted 6 January 2009 at 11:20 AM

I love to hear how BurdaStyle is growing and evolving, and look forward to all the great things that are coming. However, the biggest thing for me about this site was the fact that the patterns were free. While I will still be an active member in the BurdaStyle community, I will not be able to purchase many of the patterns. I do realize that they are much cheaper than many of the patterns in stores, but since I am a high school student who doesn't work I hardly make enough money doing odd things to pay for fabric. I wish the team the best of luck in all that they do in this new year, and hope that free patterns return soon.
zora Ï Posted 6 January 2009 at 11:25 AM

I understand that you need to make money but selling patterns that have been free in the past and are advertised by Burdastyle members as free on blogs and sewing related websites worldwide isn't exactly fair.

I also think that you should work on your customer support and on making the site work if you want to sell patterns. There are a lot of unanswered requests for help with the downloads or problems with paypal and such in the forum and this doesn't look very professional to me. I am very careful about buying online and all these unanswered topics make me reluctant to buy here.

Oh and one last thing, you need to rethink your prices. I can buy Big4 patterns online and I get a pattern with several alterations for 5 dollars or I can buy a Burda WOF for 4,50€ and I get lots of patterns - 5 dollar for a jacket are not a very attractive price.

Good luck to you all and thanks for the free stuff you gave us.
jd98 Ï Posted 6 January 2009 at 11:49 AM

after reading Nehmah's comment I had to double check... I was so disappointed to see that most pattern that used to be free are now paying... I think we can all understand charging for the new patterns to enable the development of the website, but our beloved used-to-be-free patterns? Anyway, I just hope it's not going to sacrifice too much of the pool of creativity and inspiration we've been lucky to have so far...
CarotteSauvage Ï Posted 6 January 2009 at 11:51 AM

Zora, the patterns that we have been able to download up to now will remain free that's what I understand with the sentence 'of course everything will still be open source, and therefore being available for alteration and replication, and open for you to base a business on'
pamelaann Ï Posted 6 January 2009 at 11:57 AM

"better serve our members we will need to start charging for some of our patterns. BurdaStyle patterns developed from contest winners will still be free, as will some popular basics and smaller projects. Patterns uploaded by members will still be free,"

What part of "FREE" don't you understand. I for one will be interested to see what Burda have to offer in the future. The patterns are always interesting and fit well, most important. I think BurdaStyle is doing a great job and am looking forward to getting on with projects I have downloaded in the past.

Keep up the good work.
textilet Ï Posted 6 January 2009 at 11:58 AM

I confess to being a tad disappointed that you will not be allowing the free patterns etc. Considering the fact that when people are downloading them - they then use their own printing ink etc. to print them - you are just charging for the pattern development?(Alright - I know that's the technical part that needs to be correct)! Considering the fact that there is not a vast selection to choose from anyway, I really felt that your site was an excellent way for industrious people to make stuff that would work, whilst keeping costs down. Could you enlighten me(bear with me if I appear totally not au fait with your site's ethos)as to wether you are completely separate from Burda company and the Burda patterns are something a few of you make up in a backroom somewhere? (In which case doesn't copywrite come into this somewhere along the line??) or are you part of the Burda company anyway - in which case I'm not sure I understand the marketing so far? (oops - just spotted the press box with something about Pattern Co creates Community - That might just answer my queries - I'll get back to you if I am still a little unhappy) By the way - I am never too sure about using patterns developed by some of your contributors as quality control is so variable - but I do so admire the people who can develop their own patterns - an art I am not that brilliant at myself - so I feel that they should be encouraged. Is there a way your site could monitor/adapt these to ensure a better chance of success for fit/instructions etc??