product review | Needle and Foot

About two weeks ago, I was contacted by Winnie and Tyler, owners of Nido Goods. This shop has just begun and they sell a fantastic wool ironing mat. When they asked me to review their product, I was happy to do so. I have been reading about these mats a bit on-line and wondered if they were worthy of the fuss generated recently.

Guess what? They are! My sewing area is contained in my guest room. Luckily, I don’t have guests all that often. But it does mean the queen size bed takes up a good portion of the room, so space is tight. I have a laundry room which is next door to the guest room and that is where my ironing board is. Yes, you could say having to walk to the laundry room is a good thing because it gets me off my bum and walking a bit when I am sewing. But when I am piecing blocks it is annoying. I used to have a wooden, table top ironing board but it took up too much space. I also made an ironing mat with Insul bright and that silver color fabric one uses to make an ironing board cover. However it heats through and gets the table top really hot. (I think I should have used a lot more Insul Bright in the filling). Anyway, I was pretty excited to have a mat sent to me.

I had read that there might be an odor when ironing on wool, especially if using steam. The steam can make the wool a bit moist and possibly cause an odor. I found little odor, if any. The bit I did smell made me feel a bit nostalgic. When I was a girl I attended a private Catholic school which meant I wore a wool, plaid, pleated uniform through 8th grade. As soon as we were old enough to (sort of) do a decent job of it, my mom had us ironing our uniforms after she washed them. (Remember there are six girls and that was a lot of pleats for her to press!) So the smell of the mat reminded me of pressing the uniform skirts. But truly, it is a very light scent. Not a problem at all.

It measures 13.5 x 13.5 inches which is a great size since the largest block I usually do is 12 inches. Using up just 13.5 inches of space is really efficient as far as my sewing space goes. If taking a class, this would be a perfect tool to bring. The care instructions advise not folding or rolling the mat. But with a 13.5 ” square, it will fit into a tote bag without a problem. This will help avoid the lines that often happen at the ironing boards when taking a class!

As I was writing this review, I wondered what the word Nido meant. When I was on NidoGoods.com, I found out it means ‘nest, a structure, place or home where one finds comfort’. I love that! As I was emailing back and forth with Winnie and Tyler, I asked a few questions about their business. I thought it might be nice for you to read the conversation as it took place. These two are so fun to work with.

How did you start this business? Tyler and I had been thinking about starting an online business for a little while now. Meanwhile I recently started quilting in my free time. I am beginner so I don’t have a proper workspace. I started using our dining room table and had to constantly go back and forth to our ironing board. So basically I thought there has to be a better way and stumbled across wool ironing mats and our business was born.

Do you make the mats yourself? Do you outsource them? No, we do not make the mats ourselves. The product is manufactured in China and is made from 100% New Zealand wool! We had several manufacturers send us samples based on our specifications. We then spent the next few weeks testing them to ensure that we chose the best of the best. 😀

Do you plan to make different sizes? We are currently in production of a larger 17×24 inch mat and are considering other sizes. If you have any thoughts on additional sizes we would love to hear them!

How did you choose wool used in the mat? What makes wool the right fabric? There were two major factors that we were focused on – performance and odor. When it comes to performance, we chose wool because it retains the heat very well which allows heat to be delivered from both sides. Also, we have a nice wood dining table so we wanted to make sure that it didn’t get damaged! The wool also creates some friction allowing for grip so things don’t slide around when pressing. The odor was a concern as well, as some of the samples released a not-so-great smell with steam and heat. We were determined to find the best combination of the two and we couldn’t be happier with our product!

Other things to share? We are brand new small business owners and very excited to get our product out on the market. If any of your readers have any questions or concerns feel free to contact us directly at [email protected]

As a small business owner, I enjoy supporting other small businesses. Nido Goods has a great product to offer and will soon have another, larger mat available too. I would love it if you would check them out and give their mat a try. These mats are sold on Amazon and, in fact, today happens to be the second day of the Amazon Prime sale! The mats are on sale today only for $24.99 which is nearly 25% off the regular price of $32. You do not have to be an Amazon Prime member to take advantage of this price. If you are reading this post AFTER the Amazon Prime sale ends, you can take advantage of a special discount offered to readers of Needle and Foot! Use code NEEDLEFOOT when ordering and you will receive 20% off. Thank you Nido Goods!!

I had a couple of fun things happen this week. They all center around coffee… so much good can come from such a small bean.

First story – I usually post pictures on Instagram of the Chemex covers that I make on Etsy. There are a lot of hashtags centered around Chemex loving coffee drinkers and it is fun to share the pictures. After seeing an IG user “like” a couple of my photos, I started looking at their feed in return. It turned out that a guy and his wife had recently started a company offering fresh roasted beans and related treats to their customers. We went back and forth a bit and the proprieter, Steve, asked if I would do a review of their product. It sounded like fun and I agreed. So, here goes. My first product review, which I am honored to do!

This new company is called Joe’s Brew Club. (Nice play on the phrase cup of ‘joe’.) The company started in October of 2014 so they are just getting going. They are located in Albuquerque, New Mexico with access to several local coffee roasters that slow roast beans from all over the world. Their model is to have the customer subscribe monthly, entitling them to receive a 12 ounce bag of roasted coffee (whole bean only at this point) along with biscotti cookies and selected high quality chocolate each month. That would be a great package to look forward to each month. Here is what they sent me:

Their packaging is lovely and the contents even more so! Yesterday I started my day by grinding beans and brewing a pot. The coffee brewed with these beans was delicious. My husband and I both loved it. Coffee is very much part of my morning routine and I loved the bold, rich flavor of these beans. No bitterness whatsoever, just a smooth cup o’ joe. I appreciate the care that was taken in the selection of goods in the box. A bar of chocolate, four biscotti cookies, and a bag of chocolate covered espresso beans making for a great selection. My husband and daughter were the chocolate testers and they gave it two thumbs up. My husband thought it was wonderful and Julia’s review was, “I’m not a huge fan of dark chocolate, but this is good!” I found they had sprinkled a few espresso beans loose within the package. They are going for an aromatic experience when the box is opened. Honestly while I think the idea is so creative, I didn’t truly notice the aroma until I opened the bag of coffee – that offered a fragrance that was exquisite.Talking to Steve, he told me that he and his wife are really enjoying this adventure. As with any new business they are open to ideas and looking for ways to expand their offerings. My suggestion would be to also offer this a one time order to be used as a gift. The selection in the box would be such a great present to send to someone. The items are really good quality and the packaging is lovely. It would be a nice choice to use as a gift without having to subscribe. Second, I would love to see a decaf option. I drink more decaf than caffeinated coffee and I think their customers might appreciate having decaf as an option.

Overall, Joe’s Brew Club offers great product and really outstanding customer service. They have a generous return policy and it is easy to cancel your subscription if you decide to do so. Their subscription is $29.99 per month (this includes shipping within the USA) and they are offering a great deal to Needle and Foot readers. Use coupon code NEEDLEANDFOOT to receive 20% off your first order. Check them out!

I had (another) great experience with a customer order on Etsy. My customer asked if I would create a pattern that works with the Chemex pot designed with a handle (rather than the traditional wooden collar.) I got my hands on one of these pots and went through several iterations before coming up a good result. For these two pieces, I chose to use novelty fabrics. This one has a coffee cup/coffee bean print that is adorable.

Thanks to Joe’s Brew Club for sending these lovely beans featured in the pictures. (Which I meticulously scooped up and put back in the bag when I was finished taking pictures!)

I love this bicycle print also.

I think working on these custom requests has been my favorite part of having an Etsy shop. I have made things I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise which has been really satisfying. Hope your are working on something equally satisfying!

Linking to Sew Stitching Cute’s WIDTW as well as Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. For the first time, I am also linking up at Main Crush Monday.