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We need your help!

10-dollar-tip

A couple weeks ago, we got an unusual card in the mail.

It was an anonymous thank you note for one of our tutorials, along with a $10 bill. We were all so excited about this card (and almost as excited to eat the tacos we bought with the tip money).

As a business owner, I think of appreciation as one of my core values: appreciation for you, my customers and readers, and appreciation for the team that works here and puts in so much work to make it all happen.

It’s important to me to show appreciation in intangible ways, just by saying thank you. But it’s just as important to show my appreciation in tangible ways. For you guys, I do that by creating helpful products and tutorials that I really think will be helpful. For my team, it means rewarding them in any way I can for their hard work.

Today, and for the next few weeks, I’d like to invite you guys to join me in showing appreciation for the team and what we do…. in a real, tangible way.

Show your love

This year, we’re proud to be a nominee in the Martha Stewart American Made awards, celebrating companies and goods crafted in the US.

We’d really like to win this competition, but we need you to vote for us to make that happen.

There are lots of reasons why I think you should vote for us. We are a completely bootstrapped-from-the-ground-up small business. We created a product totally unlike anything that was on the market. We care about our customers. We’ve created jobs. We’re nice people.

But those are all things I think you know. The real reason I think you should vote for us is this:

All $10K of the prize will go to our staff

If we win the $10,000 grand prize, Kenn and I are going to give that money directly to our employees to say thanks. That means well earned bonuses for Kristen (our pattern developer), Rachel (our web editor and blogger) and Sheli (our graphic designer).

There are plenty of things in our business that we could spend 10k on. But our most valuable asset is our people, and we would like to say thank you to them for helping us build this business. Would you join us in thanking them?

Vote for us

The first and most important thing you can do is vote every day. You can vote up to six times a day (seems crazy, but those are the rules, apparently), from now until September 22.

Would you like to see more gratitude out there in the world too? Please join me in thanking our staff.

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Vote for Colette Patterns!

Sarai Mitnick

Founder

Sarai started Colette back in 2009. She believes the primary role of a business should be to help people. She loves good books, sewing with wool, her charming cats, working in her garden, and eating salsa.

Comments

Erica

August 26, 2013 #

Absolutely! How exciting!

Suzanne

August 26, 2013 #

You got my six votes!

Nicole

August 26, 2013 #

If I was a US resident you’d have my vote! Good luck with it and what a fantastic plan for the prize money.

Sarai

August 26, 2013 #

I don’t think you need to be a US resident to vote, or did you see something that said otherwise?

rebeccawip

August 27, 2013 #

i just signed up and gave my 6 votes as promised but i read rules to make sure we were allowed to use all 6 votes on one nominee like that and i read rule number 1 in big print “SWEEPSTAKES ENTRANTS AND PRIZE RECIPIENTS MUST BE (I) LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE FIFTY (50) UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND (II) AGED 18 YEARS OR OLDER AT THE TIME OF ENTRY TO BE ELIGIBLE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.”
so…i cant vote anymore apparantly even though the site lets me? i wouldnt want to do st that gets you guys disqualified.
so :(
but good luck! i’ll be cheering form the sidelines!

Sarai

August 27, 2013 #

But that’s entrants (like me), not voters. I don’t think it says anything about voters.

rebeccawip

August 28, 2013 #

doh! sorry!!!
just made you lose one day of my votes :( hopefully on ly mine and not any other non-US voters. ive been very tired lately and obviously that means i cant read anymore 8″O
sorryyy!!!!!

Bethany

August 27, 2013 #

Having run contests like this on the site I manage for work, Sarai is correct. Entrants does not mean voters (we often had to answer questions like this — ours unfortunately had to be worded in such a way as to not allow Canadian voters due to not having the legal capabilities needed in other countries). Also, just in general, sites are very good about putting in tech restrictions to block/restrict any voters who are not allowed. In fact, usually they’re overly restrictive just for good measure if they’re run by large sites/companies who could be sued. People get very passionate over prizes and contests and it’s always safer to “accidentally” restrict people from voting who should be able to vote, than to allow votes that shouldn’t be allowed.

kathy

August 26, 2013 #

You got my votes today!

Sassy T

August 26, 2013 #

You definitely will be getting my vote and when it is on twitter I will retweet and also add to SSB https://www.facebook.com/SassySewingBees

Adele

August 27, 2013 #

You don’t need to be a US resident. I just voted and I’m in the UK. Good Luck Sarai

rebeccawip

August 27, 2013 #

will definitely help you out in this way to show my appreciation for all you do – tutorials, lovely easy and well-written patterns <3

Alexandra

August 27, 2013 #

I’m so pleased to see I can vote, even though I’m not in the US!

It’s the perfect opportunity to say thanks for all the sewing help you guys have given me over the years!

Samina

August 27, 2013 #

I’m in! Good luck!

Angela

August 27, 2013 #

I voted for you!!! I definitely appreciate your patterns and tutorials. You have helped out alot as I get back into sewing after my 10 years away from sewing while raising my children ;) I forget how to do a few things and it has been nice to have such a great resource. Thank you. Good luck. I hope you win.

Maria

August 27, 2013 #

I discovered Colette when I was researching the possibility of starting my own pattern line, but when I saw what you guys were doing I couldn’t imagine doing it any better ( and I’m pretty hot at everything I do). Since then, life took me in a different direction but I remained a part of this community/tribe because every email I receive is brimming with value. You and your team are doing an excellent job and you all deserve the recognition so you will have my 6 votes every day till you guys take this thing home. Best of luck!

p.s I’m in Africa and I haven’t had any trouble voting. I’m aware that I can’t win the sweepstakes but I’m allowed to vote.

Chaitanya

August 30, 2013 #

I voted for you Sarai. Best of Luck

Izy

August 30, 2013 #

I’ will keep voting for you. Thank you for inspiring & teaching me to sew. :-)

Taryn

September 1, 2013 #

Sarai, I am just so – touched -by what you’ve already done and now your ingenious use of the potential prize money. If you were my employer, I’d never stop working – even if y’all don’t win, I can only imagine how validated and appreciated your staff must feel-and that’s hardhardhard to find as an employee these days. You get my votes. Thanks for being there when I bought my first sewing machine – and for our two year anniversary this summer. It wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun (and mush more frustrating!) without you!

Chastity

April 3, 2014 #

Have you ever thought about including a little bit more
than just your articles? I mean, what you say is
important and all. However just imagine if you added some great visuals
or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”!
Your content is excellent but with images and videos, this website could
undeniably be one of the most beneficial in its field.
Fantastic blog!