Has The Schmatte been useful for you? If there a need to keep it going?
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I love it. I wish there were more users and posts, but some of the insight- especially about companies- is so helpful. I usually always read glassdoor reviews of a company, but as well all know, those can be altered/deleted by the company, and so sometimes they don’t give a clear picture of what goes on. I want to know if the creative director is a tyrant, or if they expect you to work 15 hour days, etc. This inside info is so valuable.
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We go days with out any action on this forum. I think we’ll need a lot more people on it to be able to keep it going.
I find the company reviews helpful as well. A great alternative to Glassdoor.
It would also be good if there was a more diverse group of people on here. You would get a better idea of the companies overall. Overwhelmingly it seems to be design and tech. Don’t see much from production or sales people.
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I have found the company reviews insightful too. Also it was good to know people were willing to share information, advice & experiences in a competitive industry. I have responded to posts from others on this site, and I hope they have found my comments or opinions from someone with decades in the industry helpful. I think that there is an ebb and flow to it though. So many businesses laid people off during the pandemic there was a lot of traffic here, it may be slowing down now as fashion once again picks up its pace, though perhaps with a different outlook than pre-pandemic.
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i agree that this is way better than Glassdoor in regards to company insight.
I am sure that right now it doesnt seem as “hot” because the layoffs and speed of hiring have all cooled off.
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Chiming in with another yes. I’m sure it is lots of work to keep it going but there really isn’t anything else out there like it. We are in a strange industry, sometimes it can feel really hard to get information about normal things like culture and responsibilities, and there aren’t many places to go for gut-checks.
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I have found it helpful even after the pandemic ended and most of us were able to find work again. But I also would like to see if continued but perhaps it can be scaled down if it is too much work on the admin (website) end.
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It is good for alerting those of us who work in this industry to the “bad seeds”. But there is Glassdoor who also is very good pointing out the bad ones too. You should end this if it is too much work for you. If you do, thank you for your hard work!
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I LOVE this! I know there hasn’t been as much happening here lately, with the ebb and flow of the industry, but I find this to be my #1 resource for connecting with industry professionals and getting real information.
Glassdoor I actually find quite troublesome. They require that you include certain information that could be incriminating, and in the small world of fashion, you’re apt to run into the same people again in the future. Plus it’s just a company review. I like chatting here to see what others are doing at their jobs (technology, pay, growth, freelance help etc) without the worry of being “found out”.
Since I’m a patternmaker, I don’t often get to interact with many other patternmakers. Getting info about what’s happening out there is invaluable. I’ve also had a lot of wage stagnation and pushback on salary over the past few years. It’s nice to confirm with other patternmakers that they too are charging x amount for their freelance and I’m not being crazy to ask for it!
Is there a way we could help support this website? I would hate to see it go away, but I understand it 's work and money to keep it up.
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I too, think we should keep it going. I most recently used it, as someone acting as an agent looking to get into business with my employer, offered up different companies to get into business with, and I looked all of those companies up on here.
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Please keep it going! I find this forum much more informative for our industry than Glassdoor or Fishbowl.
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Yes! I find this very useful. I wish there were more users though. I feel like maybe not enough people know about this.
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We need more people using the forum to justify the cost of keeping it going. If you’d like to see The Schmatte continue, please send the following pre-approval link to industry friends…
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I am trying to get more people onboard. Other industries- advertising, tech, etc - have very successful chatrooms that help people in their careers. Especially during this period of real change. Re-shoring, stores closing, new digital tools, etc. all important changes that we are all navigating in real time. I think there’s a lot of room for more people from home furnishings, soft goods, hard goods, more people involved in ecommerce, sustainability, design trends, sales, digital marketing; all of the people involved in designing, making, selling and producing products in our industry as well as designers. Glassdooris not accurate - a lot of the good reviews are submitted by HR departments promoting their companies.
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I think it’s great! I hope you can keep it going!
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I read every email. I’ve asked some questions and received useful answers. I’d love it to keep going.
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I really enjoy this forum. I’ve read a lot of interesting posts and learned a lot about the industry.
I think there could be much more to this than just discussing good/bad employers and salary. Something like a weekly post discussing fashion news, a weekly post posing an interesting question about the future of the industry, a weekly post just asking everyone generally - hows it going? Maybe an AMA for different job titles in the industry so people can learn more about how each job in the industry functions. Someone would have to take on the responsibility of creating these topics, but it could stoke more conversation!
I feel like there are so few opportunities to learn about the industry. It would be a shame to loose this resource!
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I love these ideas! Thanks!
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Yes!! I hope that it keeps going. I am sure it is a lot of work but we should all make a conscious effort to post more. Thanks for doing this.
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