I hired Blank Canvas Development to do a simple baby bib patter. I paid $1,200, plus numerous shipping fees, and in the end (after 2 samples) did not receive a pattern that I could work with. I sent them a copy of the exact garment that I wanted the pattern modeled on. I thought this would be very simple to do, but the size, layout, design, etc completely did not match what I sent them. Plus, when you snapped the bib the neck hole was all messed up and could not be put on a baby.
So basically, after paying well over $1,300 for their fee and shipping, I am left without a pattern and will have to start back over with a new Pattern Maker and pay again. Blank Canvas Development offered a refund of $75. What a joke. This should have been very simple. Instead they tried to blame the issues on me (fabric, interface, etc). Personally, I would prefer to have a pattern right now rather than write a negative review.
RESPONSE:
First, I was not MIA. I had a personal family matter that put the project on hold. I kept you updated throughout this time. Never was I MIA and you were already paid in full.
Second, the fabric used was 95% cotton and 5% spandex. The original item to be duplicated was 100% cotton, which seemed the same to me. If you thought there were any issues with the fabric then you should have said so prior to doing a sample. You NEVER mentioned interface until after the 2nd sample. You made no suggestions at all prior to the samples.
Third, I was not happy because the pattern/samples did NOT match the item to be duplicated and this was very obvious when you put the 2 items on top of and beside each other.
FOURTH, you offered to do a 3rd time. I asked you repeatedly if you saw what I was talking about in regards to the sample not being the same shape, size, layout of the original and you refused to comment on this. Instead you started blaming the problem on the fabric, interface, etc, but if the pattern itself is not correct nothing is going to work. I was reluctant to give it a 3rd try because by this point I had no confidence in you or your staff in the Brooklyn office. Actually, with the 2nd sample you stated that you would do it yourself so I sent it to you in Atlanta and you forwarded it to your staff in Brooklyn. The same ones that did the 1st sample. The 2nd sample I received did not even have the snaps in the correct area. After I agreed to the 3rd sample you took the offer off the table.
Fifth, you can smear me and call me "entitled" etc, but that does not negate the fact that I paid over $1,300 and have nothing at all to show for it in what should have been such an easy project. Why bother to send me muslins when they are defective and not possible to use? The shipment was refused.
**Anyone is welcome to private message me and I am happy to share photos of the work that was done by Anna and Blank Canvas Development.**
Response from the manufacturer
I want to be very clear for future clients what happened here. Heather hired us to knock off a baby bib in a different fabrication than the bib she wanted to copy. We went through our pre-fix package process, which includes one pattern, a muslin, any pattern revisions, one finished sample, and digital marking for her style to prepare her for production. We made the initial pattern to the exact specs of the inspiration garment. We made a muslin from a cotton muslin fabric, which was sent to and approved by the client. The client then disappeared and did not respond to correspondence for several months. When we finally did hear from here again, she provided us with a fabric that was very different in construction to the fabric on the inspiration sample. We made a sample, and the client was unhappy with how it was sewing up. This was not a pattern defect, but a function of what happens when you use a 4 way stretch and a terry cloth instead of a two way fine knit jersey. Even though our package does not include a second finished sample, we offered to make a second sample at no cost to the client, omitting the terry cloth, even though it was not included in the package. At this point, after months of being MIA, the client now needed this process RUSHED in less than a week. We ended up making a second pattern to again verify the specs, one that was exactly the same as the first as it was again based on the shape of the inspiration sample, we made some suggestions for using interfacing to make the fabric provided easier to work and lie more flat after sewing and binding, and we cut and sewed a second finished sample, not included in the package, in less than a week, and paid to overnight the second sample to the client at no charge to her, as she was now in a rush. Again, she received it, and was not happy. I then told her that we would be happy to go back to our sewer and look for additional solutions to work with her fabric that SHE provided to get her what she wanted, at no cost to her, regardless of what was included in the package she paid for. She then went on a tirade, calling me at 10pm at night in a rage, leaving multiple messages and emails exclaiming that it was not in fact her fabric that was causing the problem but it was somehow our pattern's fault, even though the pattern had sewn up in the muslin fine and had been approved by her. At this point I offered her a $75 refund for the last remaining service in the package, marking the pattern. This was after giving her more services than she paid for and politely offering to try to troubleshoot what was happening when we sewed up a correct pattern in the fabric she provided twice. This client does not understand that product development is many times a problem solving process and instead thinks that despite all of the efforts we have made to help, that smearing us publicly is a reasonable move. I hope that any future clients of ours reading this will know that we go to great lengths to get our clients the product that they want, and this story should illustrate this. This client was simply unreasonable, impatient, and entitled, and did not want to spend the time that we were offering her to get her product where she wanted it to be.
To be very clear, after her meltdown, we mailed her both the patterns that we made and have proof of shipping, and she has in her hands the two samples we made and the muslin as well. She can compare those patterns to the muslin, the original inspiration gartment, and the two new sample to see that they are the same exact shape and size. The fabric is pulling when it gets sewn, which is causing a problem with curling, leaving it misshapen. She refused to believe that her fabric choice could be the problem, and accept our offer to work through the issue in a reasonable way. We were even willing to make a third sample at no cost to her to further resolve any issues, but instead, she decided to do this. I never took this offer for a third sample off of the table - that is a lie. Her refusal of the package containing the patterns we made is further proof that she does not want to accept that perhaps it is in fact an issue with the fabric choice, and issue that we time and time again offered to help resolve.
She may be suggesting for any future clients to work with us, but we have many other positive reviews that say otherwise. Alternatively, we would suggest no one work with her, and we are happy to give references for many other clients upon request.
