Mission
In recent years, there has been an explosion of new knitting designer entrepreneurs who have chosen the Internet as the primary vehicle for distributing their patterns. In addition, more experienced designers who started out advertising their designs and other publications in traditional print media have also turned to the net for advertisement and sales, and in some cases have added on electronic delivery of their patterns.
But because many newer designers make their offerings available on their blogs or vanity sites, sometimes finding their patterns is a matter of chance or word of mouth. Wouldn't it be better to have a single ring linking all of their sites?
Membership
The Imprint ring is open to serious entrepreneurs who earn their living from their knitting-related enterprise, as well as to dilettantes who are just hoping to make a few bucks to help pay for their yarn habit. Membership is open to individuals with websites that meet the following requirements:
1. The individual must be an author of original (machine/loom or hand) knitting patterns or knitting-related publications directed towards the home knitter.
If the individual is not the sole author of a pattern or publication (for example, if the individual is the publisher of a newsletter, and writes only the editorial while other people author the patterns and technical articles), this requirement is met provided the individual has permission from the other authors (whether compensation was paid or not) to reproduce their works in the pattern or publication.
Reproduction, transcription, or editing of public-domain patterns does not meet this requirement.
2. The individual must also be the publisher of these patterns or publications, whether in paper or electronic form.
The actual formatting or other technical aspects of the production of the patterns or publications may be outsourced, subject to the third requirement, below.
3. The individual must be in control of the delivery of these patterns or publications to the consumer. The individual, who is thus the publisher or distributor, may be an incorporated company, sole proprietorship, or partnership, but the individual and all affiliated companies must not employ more than three people.
For example, the delivery phase may also be outsourced to a delivery service, or even to your own employee. However, this ring is meant for the really, really small business owners, not larger businesses ones. Chances are, if your company has more than one part-time employee, you don't need this webring at all -- you're probably doing fine on your own, and your primary product is likely crafting supplies other than knitting patterns.
4. The website must offer at least one of the above-referenced patterns or publications for sale directly to the end user (the home knitter).
"Offering for sale" includes offering a subscription service to content stored on the website. The sale must involve a transfer of funds, whether through a credit or debit mechanism, by cash or cheque payments, or funds transfers effected through media such as PayPal. Barter doesn't count.
5. The website must be controlled or owned by the individual.
Again, website design or maintenance can be outsourced, subject to the limitations above.
In other words, the intention is to create a webring of retailers so that home knitters have the opportunity to view and purchase the publications of small businesses and individuals that don't have the benefit of a large distribution network, either through numerous sales representatives or a third party publisher. If you design knitting patterns and sell them exclusively to other publishers for inclusion in books and magazines, this webring isn't for you. If you're a small knitting shop, you don't qualify for this webring simply because you sell patterns by designers who would otherwise qualify; you're not the publisher or the author. If you design and sell some of your patterns wholesale to shops, but you also sell them at retail directly to customers through your website, that's okay.
Joining the Imprint ring
It's just like joining any other Ringsurf webring. Click here to sign up and follow the instructions. See the buttons page if you'd like to use a different button.
The ring HTML code doesn't have to be on the page where you actually offer your patterns or publications for sale, but it has to be in a logical place that allows users to enter the shopping portion of your website without difficulty.
Once you've placed the HTML code on your site in accordance with the instructions, you'll be placed in the queue for review and addition to the ring.
Monitoring
Obviously, the ring owner isn't acquainted with the details of your business. Self-assessment in respect of the requirements listed above is done on the honour system. If you cease selling patterns or other publications that qualify for Imprint membership, please do remember to remove yourself from the ring, and remove the webring code from your page.