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Pink Bubble Swirls

Case Study:
OMC Punch Needle Kit

A deeper dive into my development process

Overview

  • The Punch Needle Tote bag kit was one of the mid priced crafts in the new Oh My Craft product range that I worked on at Hinkler.  I concepted the entire new product line, price range variety & refreshed packaging and overall style.  

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  • Once my initial high level program research was complete I presented the team with my proposed craft categories and reference.  We agreed on a strategic program roll out, initial craft types and the pricing categories for the program.​

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  • The team consisted of the two company owners, department heads from design, studio & logistics, plus a program manager, process manager and two other developers.  ​

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  • We determined that this product should fall into a $12 - $15 retail range, with a rough packaging size to work into and the margin goals.  

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  • We also solidified that we woud be focusing our craft range on ages 9+, with a focus on the Tween demographic. 

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Research

  • I started by visiting a variety of physical stores as well as online retailers to see what other Punch Needle products were already out in the marketplace.

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  • I then went to TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest and Google to search for a few different topics like:  Punch needle trends, Stitchery trends, Teen & Tween fashion trends, Teen crafts, etc. 

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  • I wanted to understand not only what was already out there, but what this specific demographic would be interested in making, both in the style but also the end product.  I found that almost all of the Punch Needle kits on the market are a hoop kit, and they are not marketed to tweens.  But social media showed me that the craft was trending with teens and young adults.  

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  • The trends clearly showed that this age group is interested in crafts that become something usable.  Coasters and Tote Bags were both popular and would fit within our brand strategy. 

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Development Process Phase 1

  • I begin my development by understanding the craft as well as I can.  I watch instructional videos by crafters on YouTube.  I look specifically for tips and tricks videos where they talk about the things that work best.  

 

  • I like to test a craft so that I understand the tools required, the difficulty level and the quality of the components that are typically used.  I also want to know how easy or hard it is to explain the craft.  This gives me an idea of how big the instruction sheet/booklet will need to be. Plus if it can not be easily understood by the demographic with printed instructions it may not be a good choice for the product line. 

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  • Once I have a good understanding of what the kit components are, I build an initial spec/BOM.  I use a spreadsheet to break down each component in a clear way and include photo reference of each component.  If needed I'll also create visual aids using Illustrator to show a specific shape or size of an item.

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  • The initial spec and any accompanying information get's set to at least 3 of our factory partners.  

Development - Factory Collaboration

  • Back and forth factory collaboration is a key part of developing a new product.  I work with my factory contacts to get options for different tools and components, find out if there are any issues with any of my specs, test packaging sizes, etc.  

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  • Once I have initial pricing worked out I may need to receive component samples to test.  In this case I had initially estimated the amount of yarn needed to complete the project based on a small test sample I made, but that quantity needed to be verified before pricing could be finalized.  I found that with the factory supplied yarn and needle I needed to add about 15% more to the kit, and adjust the amount of each color. 

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  • Once I had tested the full kit and made adjustments to my component quantities I was able to get final pricing to submit to the team for review.  

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  • At the same time, the creative team and I had finalized the box size and shape and were able to finalize the pricing for packaging on all the kits.  

Validation

  • The initial OMC program was presented to buyers just 6 weeks after the project kickoff.  We had initial pricing and mockup packaging designs for 6 different kits in the program.  I handmade the mockup samples for most kits for our meetings. 

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  • I accompanied our sales team to client meetings to present the program and we had excellent initial feedback from buyers.  They loved the new craft concepts we had shown and that we were focusing on an under-represented demographic of shoppers.  

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  • Within 6 months we had secured our first orders that were in stores Q4 2025, a plan to roll out the full program as a 4' section in a European chain, and had started on phase 2 of the product line.  

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  • This specific punch needle kit has been purchased by at least one national US retailer (that I'm aware of).  

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