Klum House
Role: Director of Marketing
Dates: 2017-2023
Klum House is a Portland, Oregon-based company that sells all of the supplies and education needed to make professional-quality bags on a home sewing machine. I played a foundational role in growing Klum House from a one-table home sewing school to a thriving e-commerce site with an extensive product line, a 3,000 square-foot warehouse space, and a devoted global community.
My role included: creative strategy, brand copywriting across mediums (website, email, blog, social media, digital ads, packaging, print, technical instructions), email marketing strategy and implementation, project management, launch campaign strategy, website UX, content creation, social media management, and influencer marketing.
Brand Voice + Values
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Klum House’s brand voice is rooted in the personal story and values of its founder, Ellie Lum, who serves as the brand’s CEO, pattern designer, and head teacher. Ellie left behind the world of manufacturing and selling finished bags to found Klum House, a business dedicated to teaching as many people as possible to make bags at home, with their own two hands.
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In developing the brand’s voice, I had three main priorities: (1) to establish expertise (2) to build customers’ confidence (3) to foster connection and creative community. To those ends, I channeled these personas:
Expert Teacher - In producing educational content of all kinds, from pattern instructions to “how-to” blog posts, clarity and precision of language were paramount. Makers needed to know they were in capable hands—and to easily follow along.
Encouraging Coach - Alongside the brass tacks instruction, I often spoke directly to the maker’s mindset and emotional state throughout the making process, helping to build their confidence and quiet their inner perfectionist. I encouraged reflection on softer skills, like creative courage and resilience.
Laid-back Friend - Particularly on social media, I embraced a lot of behind-the-scenes fun and transparency, pulling back the curtain to show our small team at work—and play. Snacks, dogs, and 4pm Tina Turner dance parties on the reg.
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Klum House has true superfans. The brand attracted customers who fell in love with the product line and deeply resonated with Klum House’s ethos. Customer retention rates were high and rave testimonials frequent. They may have come for the high-quality waxed canvas, but they stuck around for the culture-building, creative community, and philosophical musings on conscious consumerism.
Website Copy Excerpts
Sewing Pattern Instructions
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I served as lead copywriter and editor for eight of Klum House’s bag patterns. Each pattern, which is available in print or PDF, includes a step-by-step instruction booklet and a large-format pattern.
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First, I learned to make a new bag myself with hands-on instruction from pattern designer Ellie Lum. Then, referencing Ellie’s design notes and recorded iphone videos, I wrote a first draft. The copy and illustrations (by designer Kath Forgan) were then workshopped extensively in-house before we invited outside pattern testers to provide feedback. I then collected, evaluated, and incorporated all feedback and did a final, detailed review (“grammar time!”) before going to print.
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With much empathy for future pattern-followers, I made sure my writing was approachable, clear, and precise. I broke the mold of traditional garment and quilting patterns, inventing ways to teach bag-specific skills, like working with leather and hardware, which are often unfamiliar and potentially intimidating to new bag makers. I anticipated and prevented common mistakes with cautionary call-outs, offered useful tips, and peppered in fun, encouraging asides.
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Pattern Design - Ellie Lum
Graphic Design + Technical Illustration - Kath Forgan
The Naito Collection Launch
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At Klum House, launching a new bag entails more than simply releasing a new pattern. It includes a whole ecosystem of interrelated products: a paper pattern, a PDF pattern, an online class, a full maker kit, a leather + hardware kit, essential tools, expansion kits, and often a new color of waved canvas yardage or two. Across design, product development, production, website, and marketing, it’s a massive undertaking.
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My role was to strategize, project manage, and execute a large-scale, multi-channel launch campaign. I set the timeline and editorial calendar, as well as wrote copy for website, email, and social media. At every step, I collaborated closely with Kath Forgan, Klum House’s head of art and design, and maintained frequent communication with the production and shipping teams to ensure we were all in lock step.
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Pre-launch Buzz - Before revealing the new bag design, I used social media and our newsletter to hint at something big in the works. This increased engagement and got people guessing.
Waitlist + Giveaway - As launch got closer, I funneled interest to a landing page where visitors could join an email waitlist, which granted them early access on launch day and entered them into a giveaway to win a free kit.
Influencers + Social Proof - I selected and pitched a group of sewing world influencers who received a pattern and kit pre-launch. They produced photos, videos, and testimonials, which I dripped out on social media and used as social proof on our website.
Product Storytelling - Across all platforms, I went deep into Ellie’s design process and the story behind the bag’s name. I highlighted the bag’s features, the new skills people would build through making it, and painted a picture of the bag’s function in their everyday life.
Behind-the-Scenes - From the weeds of instruction-writing to goofy on-set moments filming the online class, I used social media to give our community an unfiltered look at what it takes to design and launch a new bag. They celebrated with us as we received the new patterns from the printer and excitedly watched our shipping department pack up their orders.
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Pattern Design - Ellie Lum
Art Direction, Photography, Graphic Design - Kath Forgan
Landing Page
Newsletters + Instagram Grid
Blog Post
Instagram Captions
Behind-the-Scenes Content
UGC from Launch Influencers
Website Wireframing + UX
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Klum House sells a wide range of physical and digital products, including sewing patterns, kits, online and in-person classes, speciality tools, and raw materials. The product offerings are complex and interrelated, often needing to be purchased in specific combinations to enable a successful making experience.
In order to prevent overwhelm, the website’s menus, shop filters, collection pages, and product pages needed to work in tandem to guide customers through an educated purchasing process.
Customers looking to make a Klum House bag needed to first select which bag (based on their skill level and aesthetic preferences) and then select their preferred making path (from a prepared kit or from scratch, with or without the online class, with or without expansions, etc.).
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In 2020, Klum House embarked upon an ambitious website redesign and platform transfer. I drew from reference websites and my own deep knowledge of the brand to sketch out my ideas for every page of the new site. These analog wireframes were workshopped in-house and polished by our graphic designer before being delivered to our website developers.
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Full Maker Kit Product Page - The “full maker kit” is a complex, highly-customizable product that includes all of the ingredients needed to make a bag. In addition to selecting and viewing different color combinations, the customer can choose to add thread, the online class, and tools to their kit. I used accordions to create a step-by-step, add-to-cart process, as well as rich below-the-fold content, including product specifications, a lifestyle photo gallery, and customer reviews.
Mega Menus + Shop Filters - To help visitors navigate the varied and extensive product offerings, I used mega menus to create three main entry points: one by product (i.e. “I’m looking for zippers”), one by bag (i.e. “I’d like to make the Fremont Tote”), and one for classes (i.e. “I’d like to take a beginner sewing class”). Additionally, I developed a system of filters on the shop all page that can be used individually or in tandem to narrow in on the ideal product (i.e. “I’d like a pattern for an intermediate-level backpack”).
Bag Collection Pages - In an effort to clearly display all products related to a particular bag on one page, I structured collection pages to begin with a header image, tagline, and skill level, followed by titled product sections. Color variants of a single product are all displayed to quickly convey the full range of possibilities.
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Founder + CEO: Ellie Lum
Branding + Graphic Design: Kath Forgan
Website Development: Rainy City Agency
Full Maker Kit Product Page
Mega Menu Navigation
Collection Pages
Welcome Email Automation
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Due to the level of commitment required (customers have to follow through and make a bag once their order arrives!), Klum House’s offerings don’t often lend themselves to an impulse buy. Instead, new customers need time to understand their options, clarify their goals, and build trust—both in the brand and in themselves—before making a purchase. Our automated welcome email series provided a perfect opportunity to do just that.
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I strategized, wrote, and set up an eight-email welcome series that was dripped out to new subscribers over the course of three weeks. The first was a friendly welcome email that delivered a discount code and invited subscribers to join our Facebook group. The second introduced the brand’s founder and told Klum House’s origin story. Subsequent emails unpacked our core offerings, suggested starting points, provided inspiration via social proof, introduced essential bag-making tools—and reminded subscribers about their expiring discount code!
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Across the series, the average open rate was 56%. The average click rate was 8%. New email subscribers often went on to join our Facebook group and rewards program.
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Graphic Design - Kath Forgan
Copy Excerpts
Post-purchase Email Automation
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Klum House’s core offering is a fully-supported, at-home making experience. This is epitomized by the “full maker kit,” a product that includes all of the materials and instructions needed to make a bag. Sometimes customers order a full maker kit and then don’t get around to using it, either due to intimidation, busyness, or realizing they don’t have the necessary tools. I used an automated, post-purchase email series to solve for these potential roadblocks and offer continued support and encouragement throughout the making process.
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I strategized, wrote, and implemented a five-email series that was triggered by the purchase of a full maker kit and dripped out over the course of the next two weeks. The tone of the first email was celebratory, congratulating the maker on taking the leap to invest in their creative practice and assuring them that our team was hard at work packing up their order. The second provided three easy steps for preparing to make their bag. The third was a friendly nudge for them to get started. The fourth encouraged them to share photos of their bag on social media. And the fifth offered some ideas for planning their next make.
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Across the series, the average open rate was 79%. The average click rate was 4%. Kit purchasers often went on to purchase additional tools and expressed great satisfaction in their finished bags and making experience.
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Graphic Design - Kath Forgan
Copy Excerpts
Course Landing Page, Slides, Workbook
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In 2022, Klum House launched a six-week online course called Design + Make a Custom Bag. Through a combination of independent study and live Zoom workshops, forty students from around the U.S. learned the fundamentals of bag design and went on to design and make a one-of-a-kind bag.
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I strategized and implemented the marketing campaign for this online course, which included newsletters, social media posts, influencer marketing, and a free lead-magnet webinar. I also wrote the copy for the course’s landing page, pictured here.
I worked closely with founder Ellie Lum to hone her curriculum and come up with the sequence, structure, and copy for a series of six slide deck presentations to support each virtual teaching session. I also developed and copywrote an interactive workbook for students that corresponds to each week’s lesson plan.
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Founder + Teacher - Ellie Lum
Graphic Design - Kath Forgan
Landing Page
Presentation Slides
Student Workbook
Packaging Copy
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I wrote the packaging copy for Klum House’s sewing patterns, full maker kits, and leather and hardware kits, which are sold at sewing shops across the country.
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I used the front of the pattern and kit packages to quickly summarize the project, the features of the finished bag, and the skill level. The back of the package detailed the product’s contents and supplies needed, along with a mini brand story and invitation to visit our website. When needed, an extra call-out sticker highlighted a key upsell, such as an online class.
I also wrote copy for a postcard, included within the kits, that welcomes the maker, orients them to their project, and provides clear directives for how to get started.
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Packaging Design - Kath Forgan
Influencer Marketing
@notaprimarycolor
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I initiated and managed an influencer marketing program at Klum House through which influencers made Klum House bags, producing visual and written content that I used on social media, our website, our blog, and in paid digital ad campaigns. I was in charge of influencer selection, outreach, affiliate tracking, communications, and database management.
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Launch Campaigns - I made sure that influencer marketing played a key role in all product launch campaigns by first identifying sewing world influencers on Instagram, with an eye toward follower count, engagement, values alignment, and photo/video skills. I then wrote a pitch email to each influencer, clearly outlining the details of the agreement, the deliverables, and the timeline. Those who were on board were invited to make the new bag in advance of the public launch. I used influencer content to add social proof to sales pages and created an editorial calendar to strategically drip influencer content on our social media feed, blog, and newsletter.
“Making Friends” Series - In the early months of the pandemic, I started a weekly interview series to nurture community and encourage creativity during a time of great uncertainty. I invited a group of sewing world influencers to answer questions about their creative practice and then featured these interviews on our blog and newsletter. Additionally, each interviewee took over our Instagram Stories for a day to share a sewing project with our community.
Selection of Klum House Influencers
“Making Friends” Interview Series
Blog Posts
Blog Excerpt
Inclusive Sizing Re-launch
@leilasews
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Klum House patterns were originally designed with a one-size-fit-all approach to strap length. After receiving feedback from plus-size sewist @leila_sews, we realized that with bags, as with garments, one size does not, in fact, fit all. This spurred a shift within the company, a commitment to improvement, and a retrofitting of the existing pattern collection to make Klum House bags inclusive to a wider range of body sizes.
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Product - I supported the pattern updating process by editing and rewriting instructions to include longer straps, which makers then fitted to their bodies and cut down to their ideal size.
Website - I updated copy on all relevant product pages, noting the improvement.
Email - I wrote newsletters to our community explaining the shift with humility, transparency, and tangible next steps.
Social Media - I used social media to express our commitment to improvement, keep our community in the loop, and visually show the new strap lengths on fit models of various sizes.
Blog - I used our blog for longer form written content about why we were making the change and explaining in detail exactly what had been updated on each pattern.
Past Customers - I emailed past customers letting them know that our patterns had been updated and providing instructions on how to download the new versions for free.
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Pattern Design - Ellie Lum
Graphic Design - Kath Forgan
Blog Post Excerpt
Instagram Post
Blog Post Excerpt
“Klum Club” Loyalty + Rewards Program
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In 2021, Klum House launched a loyalty and rewards program called Klum Club which enabled participants to earn points by taking specific actions (like making purchases, following us on social media, signing up for our newsletter, etc.) that could be cashed in for discounts and rewards.
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I wrote the copy for the website widget as well as the landing page, which included a simple overview of the program, an invitation to join, and FAQs. I also ran a marketing campaign when the program launched that included newsletters and social media posts.
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Graphic Design - Kath Forgan
