The pad parties are here!
A month ago, on a rainy day in the very end of June, the speciality fabric order arrived and since then we’ve been busy bees.
Figuring out production for 1,000 pads is no small task and remember, we’re making two kinds - 500 each. We had to take the patterns we developed and create a workflow that supported bulk production, but everything is still being made by hand. Since there was no way I (Ivy) could make all 1000 pads myself, I had to figure out how to convert the work of making the pads into a group friendly process for the pad parties. We created user friendly templates from the pattern pieces. To optimize yield from the rolls, I created a layout that maximized the use of the space to figure out the best lengths to cut off the roll to have working lengths. It might seem like we should just work off the roll but that’s
pretty unwieldy, especially since a lot of work is being done in my living room and
some of the fabric has to be pre-washed and washing the individual cut out pieces isn’t the most efficient and finally
we want to have multiple working sections so more people can be working with the fabric at a time.
We also had to gather materials and tools for people to work with, beyond just my personal supplies. Not to mention, we call them pad parties because we want them to be fun.
We’ve had three pad parties so far, the first two were smaller scale “warm up” parties. Those parties helped us get enough work underway so we would have enough going for a “larger” pad party. Given the times, we’re still keeping our pad parties on the smaller side, around 10 people. Depending on how things go the pad parties may be able to grow but we are dedicated to being safe and using caution, so it may be a while. All that being said, we were able to throw a “larger” pad party last week.
The busy bees at our "warm up" parties. None of the work could've happened without these people, they have been supporting me since day one.
It was a huge success! Since we were able to use a larger space and have more people attend, the productivity went through the roof. I cannot thank the volunteers who attended enough! They are the most helpful, inspiring, and generous individuals I know. Guys, we actually finished everything I had down on the to do list and more! I can’t tell you the last time I finished a to do list, I put down a lot of “possibly do” work and it got done. I’m so thrilled and I am very hopeful for future pad parties.
If you’re interested in volunteering at a pad party make sure to contact me (Ivy) and make sure you’re signed up on the mailing list. You don’t have to know how to sew or have a sewing machine, there are tasks for all skill levels and everything that gets done helps a lot.
Thank you for your interest in Beyond Filters: The Pad Project. Keep checking in on this blog to learn more about our work. Feel free to contact us and tell us anything you'd like to learn more about.
—Ivy and Linda
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Beyond Filters is a division of Filters of Families