Opportunity to participate in a focus group with Janome Canada

Well, here we are into the six month of an unprecedented pandemic. When we first started becoming aware that something bad was happening, we reacted in different ways. Some people blew it off as not that serious. Others started to get a bit anxious. Some were paralyzed with fear. And then we went into lockdown and our world got upended on its head! It has been a sad and anxious time and a whole lot more.

I’m so glad that we already had a successful blog (this one) as well as active Instagram and Facebook pages as we have been able to stay in contact with you and also open up new channels of communication.

We realized that we were not going to be able to travel to our Dealers stores for a while – certainly not travel on planes or across borders. So we kicked into overdrive and we started mulling over possibilities: lie Education team discussed this – several heads are always better than one! Janomegirl, Erin, suggested we do Instagram Lives. I think some of us were really nervous as it is a whole different ball of wax to do something live. You can’t take words back, everything you do is in real time (unlike a video which you can edit) so if you break a needle or your thread breaks, you just have to roll and keep,your composure! And that is not to even start on the topic of unfamiliar technologies. BUT we knew this was important. We wanted to reach out to you – our customers. Let you know we are still here, still willing to offer education support and give inspiration for what you might be doing with your Janome machines while we were all stuck at home trying to “flatten the curve”.

So we have been offering Instagram lives several times a week since April. We quickly figured out that many of you wanted to watch the Lives after they were over (maybe the time was unsuitable?) So we started our Janome Life You Tube channel. I’m thrilled to tell you that we are rapidly approaching 100  videos for you to watch on your own time and at your own pace. AND that we very quickly reached and surpassed 1000 subscribers. Early days, I know, but encouraging for us to know we were reaching you and that you were finding the Janome support you were needing while stuck at home.

We would like to thank you for all your messages of thanks and encouragement to us. It sure is a new world where we hear from you and appreciate your suggestions and gratitude even if we are not able to see you in person.

I am not sure any of us thought things would go on this long. And I don’t think any of us know for sure what the future holds. When will we be able to travel again? When will sewing and quilting shows resume? We just don’t know at this stage.

BUT we here at the Janome Canada Education department are ready to move to the next stage. Most of our dealers are not yet offering in-person classes so our Education team has  been working hard for several months putting together over a dozen Online classes. These will only be available through your Janome Canada Dealer.  The point behind doing this through our dealers is to zoom in closer and engage with you as we have done many times in person in your favourite dealer’s store over the years. We think this may be the best we can offer for the foreseeable future.

This will not work the same as the Instagram Lives we have offered in recent months. We will offer more detailed content than we can bring to you during the short IG Lives on a wide variety of sewing, quilting, embroidery and serger topics. ( More info in upcoming Janome Life posts and at your dealer). These classes ( most are 1-2 hours long) will be booked at your Janome Canada Dealer and there will more than likely a booking fee to hold your “seat” in the class. Your dealer will advise you about the booking fee.

One of the classes on offer is Eco Friendly gifts which gives you the opportunity to learn about how to make a series of gifts that are kind to our environment.

Once you have booked, your dealer will give you a login code to access the class at the date and time we have arranged. You will use your computer or mobile device at home. You do not need to go to the Dealer’s store to attend these classes. Although we will monitor this closely in case things change in the months ahead.

We are not planning at this stage to record these classes to add to our Janome Life You Tube channel although we will monitor this and make changes if this becomes necessary.

This is obviously a brand new initiative so, like everyone else, we are walking into unchartered territory and are obviously trying to make these classes as good as we possibly can for a completely new initiative.  

SO this is where you come in: We are reaching out to our Janome Canada customers.  We would like to invite a select group to attend a free trial online class with our educators. You could be part of our focus group.

We plan to use a camera (so you can see the machine clearly when we demo feet or machines techniques); We will also use a PowerPoint so you can see information in a clear, concise format as well as good quality photos of samples and more. For the software classes, we will share our computer screen so you can follow along with us as we demonstrate digitizing techniques. You will also be able to see your educators when we are not sharing a screen or camera so it will be just like having us there in the room with you….well almost….. you can still stay in your PJ’s if you wish! We may be able to see you if you have a webcam on your computer. We would like to have Janome customers from all across Canada so please don’t be shy…..let us know if you are interested.

The  topic we are offering for this focus group opportunity is one called: The Perfect Pair which covers sewing and embroidery techniques on the Janome Continental M7 and MC550E. The class will be abbreviated for this focus group presentation to approx 1 hour. The tentative date for this class is Thursday 3rd September at noon Eastern time. There is no cost for you to attend this class. But we do expect your feedback.

Please note that you do NOT have to own either or both of the above Janome machines. We are more interested in having your feedback as to what you found useful; where we can make improvements – any suggestions you might like to offer. So this will be a sort We would like to implement your suggestions going forward for this and other classes.

All you need is to be available for the full duration of the class (approx 1 hour of your time) and have a computer or mobile device. We will send you a link to download the free meeting software in order for you to log on and watch, ask questions and offer your comments.

If you think you would like to assist us with this focus group, please drop us a note in the comment box below. PLEASE TELL US BRIEFLY:

1.What type of sewing you do

2. Where in Canada you live (city/town is enough – we don’t need street addresses or telephone numbers).

3. What Janome machine(s) you own.

We will accept your names for consideration until 21st August. We will contact you with further details shortly afterwards if you are selected to attend.

We look forward to hearing from you.