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Welcome to Textillia! (Read this first!)

Photo of Ariane in a colourful tank top
Ariane
(she/her) · admin
October 30, 2015
Topics:
textillia
how-to
new features

We've finally launched!!!

Welcome to Textillia, the sewing community's very own cozy corner of the internet - we're so excited to have you all here! As most of you know, we've decided to launch early in a Beta period - that means there are a few rough edges! We decided to do this for many reasons, and one of them is that it'll let us see how you use the website and adapt to that as we continue to build it, make improvements, and add new features.

Before you get started, here are some quick pointers and tips to help get you settled in...

How to use Textillia

Until we get our fancier user interface polishing done, the main things to keep in mind when you start using the site are to:

  • Always search for something before you add it to the site (eventually this will happen in a more automated way, but for now needs to be done manually).
  • Set up your content in this order for the most ease of use:
    1. Your Member profile. (You can edit it using the buttons on your Studio page, or through your profile by clicking "Edit" and then the "Profile" tab.)
    2. Your business (Designer page, Company, Shop) - see below for help choosing which to set up.
    3. Products (Patterns, Fabric Collection then Fabric, Thread) - either ones you've designed or ones you've used for your Projects.
    4. Your Projects​.
  • Avoid making "placeholder" content - if you don't know a designer's name or a fabric's proper colorway and design names, either hunt down the answers online or just leave them out for now. We want to try really hard not to end up with pages that aren't really representative of individual "real life" products/businesses/people. Don't be afraid to collaborate to fill out the database! If you see pages that needs some more info and they have an "edit" tab at the top, please go ahead and help fill them out!
  • ​​Here are some examples of content that we set up for launch, if you want to see some examples of well-formatted pages:
  • A note about your Member profile: Your personal contact form is set to be on by default - this lets other site members contact you via email without actually showing them your email address (unless you reply to them). Handy, hey? If you want to turn it off though, all you have to do is go to your Profile page, click "Edit", and under the "Account tab", scroll to the bottom and uncheck the "Personal contact form" checkbox. 
  • When you're typing anything that has an autocomplete field (you'll know this by the little circle at the right side of the field), type slowly and see if options show up - if they do, be sure to select them by clicking on them. We're working on speeding the site up, but will have to see how it copes as we add more members!
  • Since I know everyone will ask about "friending" or "following" other people - the reason you can't find it is it's not implemented yet, but is super high on our list, so it'll be there soon! This is done now - just search for your friend by their username on the members page, then click the red "Add friend" button in the top right

Business owners!

  • ​Search for your business in the Community section or using the site search. If you find your business is already listed on the site but you didn't create it (and don't have the ability to edit the page), just send us an email at [email protected] or a message through the Contact page and include your username and a link to your business page, and we'll connect the two together.
  • Decide which business pages to set up (more info here), you might want a Designer page, as well as a Shop or Company (or sometimes even all 3!) Read the text at the top of each form to help decide what fits you and your business best.
    • You'll want to set up a Designer page if you do any publicly available design work (patterns, fabric, notions, etc.), and set it up under your actual human name since it represents you (the person) in your professional role. Your Designer page will get linked to your products and Company if you have one. (Your Member profile on the other hand, which is the same as every Textillia member's, is what things like your personal favourites, your project queue, your comments and forum posts, etc. will be attached to. Kind of like a Facebook account vs. Facebook page, or like how on Ravelry everyone has a member profile but designers have an additional page for their designs.)
    • If you also own a Company (in the sewing industry, i.e. producing patterns, fabric, tools, books, running conferences/workshops, etc.) that has a name other than your human name, then you'll want to set up a Company page separately. This might seem a little redundant, but the structure will make sense as the site's content and membership grows!
    • If you also own a Shop, i.e. an online or brick and mortar store that sells fabric and patterns, or maybe sewing machines and other equipment, then you'll also want to set up a Shop page. (This is not needed if you have a pattern company that primarily sells your own patterns.)
  • You can chat with each other in the Business Owners forum!
  • If you own a business that doesn't fit as a Designer, Shop, or Company - for example if you make and sell finished goods like clothes, quilts, or accessories, then you'll want to put your shop's link and description in your Member profile for now. We're still figuring out what other features we should add to accommodate businesses like you!

Things to keep in mind...

Here are some other things to keep in mind as you use the site. As most of you know, we've launched super duper early, and have so much yet to do, add, build, polish, improve, etc. and we appreciate your feedback!

  • Wondering why the site doesn't have much content at launch? This is truly a community website - we provide the house, and all of us work together to make it a home! That means we don't create and wait for you to consume, but instead every one of us helps to build Textillia's database of businesses, materials, patterns, and projects. It's a community effort, and we hope everyone will help to build and take care of it!
  • Textillia is in active development. This means you will likely see things that need improvements and notice Bruno making changes on the site nearly every day, especially while we're in Beta!
  • That said, nothing should be really broken, so if you find something that's actually super busted or you see a big red incomprehensible error show up, it'd be awesome if you can send us a screenshot or let us know. There are two ways to report bugs or broken things:
    • Ideally, post it in the Bug reports and problems forum - this way, others can see if you've already reported the issue, and we can publicly note when we've fixed it. (And Bruno may see these faster than if you email them, which means they could get fixed more quickly!)
    • Send us an email at [email protected] or through the Contact page - if it's something you don't want to post publicly.
  • Enjoy it! Use the site, post your projects, help build the database of fabric and patterns, and have fun with it! We assure you, all the little kinks will be worked out with time, and so many more great things will be added - this is just the beginning!
  • Spread the word! The biggest thing you can do to help us out is to tell other people about Textillia! Share about us on social media, tell your friends at your quilter's guild, ask your favourite designers and shops if they're on the site yet... The more people join Textillia and stick with us once we're out of Beta, the better we'll be able to maintain and improve it in the future!

Thanks so much for being here, we're really looking forward to the coming months and years, and spending them making Textillia more awesome for all of us!

~ Ariane + Bruno