I just received another order of (my take on) the Stella blazers from Shift boutique, and they are also ordering my signature black crocheted Victoria top, pictured above. Usually, when a shop or company places an order from a designer, they will send you what is called a Purchase Order. The P.O. contains the retailer’s necessary information, including shipping & billing addresses, and lists the units they would like to order. This usually takes place twice/year around September & February, when the latest collections have been revealed and are on sale for wholesale only. The designer must then sign the Purchase Order and confirm that the desired goods will ship by a specific date, usually within 3-5 months. Many designers also offer “immediates”- revised collections of signature pieces, must-have items or overstock from last season that is ready to be shipped immediately. I deal with many immediate orders, as they are a good source of income during the between seasons and they keep retailer’s stocked with fresh looks.
I have included my order form, pictured above, which contains my information and categories for listing the items which have been ordered. I will fill in the fields with the desired pieces and send this back to the buyer to confirm the order’s details. Once they’ve approved and paid for the goods, I will begin to produce the items. Most importantly, my order form contains my terms & conditions. At times it can be very difficult to get retailers to pay you on time, this is an ongoing battle many designer’s seem to face. By stating your terms the buyer agrees that you will indeed receive payment on time, on the date specified.
My apologies for posting this entry so late, I have been really sick. I moved into my new house last Sunday (yay!), but Monday morning I woke up with a fever and bronchitis. It is almost a week later and I finally feel good enough to be up & about. And what do you know? I just received, at this very moment, pictures of the Stella jacket project I wrote about last week (pictured above on Shift boutique co-owner Amanda Converse). I went to the Shift opening 2 weeks ago and was utterly impressed by the eco-chic boutique; all of the clothing, jewelry & accessories are made from sustainable materials or utilize organic or vintage elements. The shop itself was built from salvaged materials, vintage and surplus finds. The other co-pilot of this green fashion endeavor is a dear friend of mine; writer, blogger, buyer, indie-designer-lover, Amy DuFault, who writes a witty column for EcoSalon.com, an eco-conscious fashion & lifestyle blog. If you’re into sustainability you should check it out.
I am so pleased to say that my Stella blazers have been selling! On opening night I think 3 were sold, and since then a few more. What I did to change the design elements of the pattern was eliminate the multiple strips which caress the front, and keeping just one, I used an organic silk strip of the same color of the jacket body and placed a small box pleat at the hip curve for a more feminine flair. I added a bit of volume to the top of the sleeve head for a sharper, more tailored looking shoulder, and finally placed a Dahl signature element of my hand-made pewter clasps for the front closure. What I would change in the future is the fabric. I used an organic silk/linen, but found it very stiff, like canvas almost. Next time I would find a more pliable fiber.
If you design eco-friendly garments you should really contact Shift via the link provided above- they are looking for more “beautiful, whimsical, and brighter pieces” as some organic clothing tends to be a bit on the dark side, with lots of of indigo, navy & black.
My dear friend Amy DuFault (who writes a cool fashion-conscious blog for EcoSalon) is opening up an eco-chic boutique on Cape Cod, where I’m from, and the opening ceremony is this Friday. Amy asked me if I had any jackets for the opening, and seeing that I am living in limbo, in the middle of moving, most of my patterns are packed deep in a storage unit & quite impossible to uncover- perhaps I don’t even have them anymore. Amy sent me the above (left) image of a jacket I designed a few years ago, closure being my hand-made sterling
A while back my beau and I launched a limited edition series of custom “I (heart)” organic tote bags & t-shirts as Dahl & Dane. The project proved to be quite successful, we were absolutely swamped with orders, and up to our ears in screen-printing madness. Currently we’re on hiatus from screen-printing mania, designing a new line I’ve mentioned in the past, but every once in a while I’ll get a very sweet email from someone who absolutely will die if they can’t get one of our custom pieces. So I really can’t say No…
I was just looking at the popular blog Weekend Designer to see what had been posted lately and I was sad to see that the blog, after it’s 100th post, has come to an end. I did, however, stumble upon some extremely valuable tips that I will strive to apply to my own life as a designer and I hope they can help you too. Below are Don from Weekend Designer’s tips to turning your inspiration into productivity.
“If you’re in a hurry or if the ideas come too fast, it’s difficult to convert them into a design.” Be Disciplined – Pattern-making can be hard work and takes concentration. A defined work-space and a preplanned
Do you ever make mood boards? I remember back when I was in fashion school our projects were always accompanied by a mood board. I loved making them and I still do. I used to love finding vivid imagery in COLORS magazine, which highlights global themes from an unconventional perspective. Purple magazine was full of edgy avant-fashion and wild poetry and content. It’s funny, I used to buy so many art, fashion & photography books and magazines- I guess I factored them into my monthly allowance as necessities but these days I seldom purchase a $45 magazine… Luckily today you can find so many images online, from past & present, to make a cohesive and meaningful mood board.
Right now I am really into monotone fabrics embellished with textures: like white cotton & lace, creme colored cotton eyelet over light silk, brocade and silk jacquard. W magazine has many gorgeous photographs of textures, and if you’re thirsty for camp AnOther magazine will quench.
Has anyone been following the Spring/Summer 2010 collection presentations? I normally do not start salivating until the circuit reaches Paris where the dreams of the likes of Lanvin, Balenciaga, Comme des Garcons, Martin Sitbon come to life in a live pulsating masquerade. It appears to me, after studying the runways thus far, that black is the new black, & black is back. At times my favorite color (my boyfriend jokes with me that it is not a color, I retort that black is indeed every color), I was also excited to see some wild prints with ethnic influences (Vivienne Westwood), more florals (Stella McCartney)- some digitalized, some abstract, obscure layering of various textured textiles (Preen).
What have you seen that you LOVE? Do you want to see more color or more monotones in fashion? Who are your favorite designers?
This week I am answering some really great questions from BurdaStyle users regarding selling your goods online to selling consignment. Here are a couple more questions I’ve provided answers to and keep them coming!
I’ve been selling + consigning to boutiques for 2 years now & I’m kind of stuck in between being too small, but not big enough to hire some one. Where does a designer go from here???
I completely understand how you feel, I was in this exact situation when I was living in Los Angeles selling my mini-collections to boutiques. I discovered a couple of ways to grow without taking too much of a financial risk.
1. Industry Experience. I freelanced for a designer where I went to his studio a couple of days a week and made patterns, swatched, watched over the shop, and hepled with fashion shows. This not only provided me with more knowledge about the inner-workings of a fashion house, it provided me with valuable resources: I found out where to get great fabric at wholesale prices and was introduced to the designer’s sewers and pattern-makers, whom he was willing to share with me.
2. Hire Help. I hired a seamstress to come to my studio one day a week. At this point I figured I could hire someone for at least one day a week, or maybe one day a month. I planned to have each piece which I needed sewn up pre-cut- so when the seamstress arrived all there was to do is sew them right up. We got so much more done that day than I could have done in a week…I placed an ad on Craigslist for a seamstress and named my day rate, what I could afford and what I thought was fair. This gave me more time to begin new designs and fabric source.
All of these questions are very relevant to me— I’m starting up my own Etsy shop but don’t have a lot of capital to build up an initial stock. How do I market so that I sell items very quickly to allow me to buy supplies to create more?
I would recommend, before you start making more, going over your inventory of fabric, notions, and pieces of clothing that you would like to sell and and see what you’ve got. Then I would take editor-in-cheif of Etsy’s blog, Emily Bidwell’s advice and "Give your shop personality. Consider yourself a brand with a shop concept and “feel”. Cohesive product and items photographed in the same way can give a professional look. Think of your shop as a website…what would you want that to look like?". Nice clear, in-focus photographs are key. The buyer needs to see what they are getting and why it is so special.
In reference to my post last week (about questions BurdaStyle users have regarding selling your work online, wholesale, retail) I decided to answer some of these questions here directly.
Last Thursday I addressed a myriad of questions as to how one goes about succeeding with an Etsy shop. Please read this for thorough details on steps to take to selling your goods online.
From Mirela:
This might sound silly, but I’m more interested in this: after you decide on a line (collection) and produce a garment for each pattern in the collection, how do you deal with the supplies for more? Do you buy larger quantities of fabric to have and sew on demand, do you sew everything in more sizes to begin with? (same questions as Bola). What kind of labels do you have to use, sizing, care instruction, contents, is it mandatory to have the labels?
That is the least silly question one could ask when talking about selling your collections wholesale. I had the same questions once I graduated from Fashion School- I was angry because I wasn’t necessarily trained to be a wholesale designer and I had many questions about selling my work. So I learned from experience. Take these steps when designing a collection you may put into production.
1. Sourcing, Sourcing,Sourcing. Seek out wholesale textile manufacturers so you will not be paying retail costs for your production fabric. For notions try to find wholesale price points. You can find many resources online, and you can request swatch books by mail to choose from. Make sure these items will be in stock for the next 4-8 months. If you can, buy extra, not too much or too little. You don’t want to overspend but it is always helpful to have extra. You decide, once your orders from retailers have come in, how much fabric you’ll need for production. Always ask for minimums and wholesale price breaks.
2. Labeling. You most definitely want your clothing to be labeled while it is also the law. Each garment must have a label, size tab, care instructions, where it was made ( i.e. “Made in the USA”) and hang-tags. This part I find quite fun, it is where your personality can shine through and your creativity can have a 2-dimensional outlet.
3. Samples. It is so important to have enough samples of your collection to be shown- and the craftmanship should be impeccable. I usually make 2-3 samples of each design: 1 for my showroom (usually a model’s size 2), 2 for press (usually a size 2 and 4), if a press contact wants to view your samples, you have one to mail. This is a good starting point- most young designers cannot afford to make many more. If your pieces are more “specialty” pieces, like phenomenal Rodarte for example, you will probably just make 1 sample.
It is extremely helpful to go into stores which carry like items to which yours would be represented like. Look at the hang-tags, the labels, the care instructions; these garments are made up of everything you need to know to prepare your own for selling retail and/or wholesale.
This past weekend I played dress-up with my dear friend Elissa. Elissa is a stylist extraordinaire, photographer and most recently a fashion designer with whom I used to live with in Florence, Italy. We have been taking photos together for a very long time, she even taught me how to develop photos with an enlarger in a little darkroom we created in a windowless bathroom in our flat in Florence.
Do any of you wonderful people sell your wears on Etsy? I have recently opened my first Etsy shop as an outlet to sell some of my favorite pieces from past collections and to promote my line, Dahl, to a new type of audience. I have noticed that many folks are doing very well selling on Etsy, especially in the 1-offs or hand-made categories, including Layla, of Ledthread, who used to make beautiful things for you here at BurdaStyle.
It used to be a dream of mine to stay home all day and just sew for hours on end… Today I see that dream as something entirely reasonable and proven to be quite fruitful- people I know have quit their day jobs because of online sales. You can list your items for “pocket change” on some of these sites while creating an outlet where the entire globe can browse your work. Pretty unbeatable I think.
Now I have a question for you: What sort of questions do any of you have about getting things off the ground as a young or independent designer? What sort of tips or advice are you looking for? I am working on a posting which will cover some of these issues & I want to answer your questions, as you are the future of the sewing world. Thank you!
Last week I made a soft, supple t-shirt from my new-found favorite textile Lyocell after having been inspired by Julia & Julie (the film) to sew more. Which brings me to this week; I am (still) quite inspired by the ubiquitous t-shirt , so much so that I continue to design more, and actually, am building a capsule collection entirely based off of the t-shirt.
This week I’ve created a tri-colored t-shirt dress- long enough to wear alone, yet looks lovely paired with opaques and it it so comfortable- the fabric is buttery soft and slightly transparent. While it may sound simple, within a classic pattern live countless pattern variations (not to mention surface design opportunities), and I find that designing within some constraint only opens up more windows of curiosity. It seems to me that this classic statement is not going anywhere, and for the time being, I am thoroughly intrigued. Is anyone else making t-shirts?
Pictured above: my tri-colored t-shirt and inspiration board for Spring/Summer 2010.
Last Thursday evening I had a date with my beau. We went to one of my favorite Thai food restaurants which is cheap and B.Y.O.B. (bring your own beer- or wine in my case) which is very recessionista friendly. Recessionista: A person who is able to stick to a tight budget while still managing to be stylish. I think, before this word was created, and before the economic crisis, that many of us on BurdaStyle were recessionistas already, sewing our own clothing and accessories and being frugal and creative about our immediate surroundings.
Back in May I began working with Cosmopolitan magazine and Caress skin care to create 3 looks which will ultimately be given away to 3 winners (once they’ve won, the winners receive the look of their choice in their respective size). After months of hard work; sketching, draping, drafting, the final pieces are featured in September’s issue of Cosmopolitan! In September, Cosmo’s website should have contest details posted as well.
This sort of partnership appeals to me for a couple of reasons. Here’s how it works: Cosmo forms an exclusive with Caress. Cosmo finds a young designer to create a fresh allure to the brand. A budget is provided for the production of the 3 looks while the designer also receives a stipend. The art directors from Cosmo & Caress and the designer perform an in-house photo-shoot at Cosmo while the designer plays stylist. The spread is published and winners chosen. It seems as if it is a win-win situation for all parties included, as well as the 3 potential winners.
As the stylist, I borrowed jewelry from my friend Rachel Leigh to complete these looks- I love her new pieces. This is the second time I have worked with her, we also collaborated on a line of jewelry together in 2006 for a ShopBop.com exclusive… I would love to get into jewelry design again. I studied the art of silver-smithing throughout my college years- most intensively in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, under Billy King- the infamous (well, infamous if he ever instructed you) madman of the Mexican jewelry circuit- and an incredible teacher. He has a school in San Miguel, Sterling Quest, which I would recommend to anyone who has the desire to learn the alchemy of silver-smithing. It truly changed my life in the most empowering way.
…Welt pockets. Yup, I am ashamed to say I got a B (or was it a C?) on my welt pocket assignment in fashion school. I just never got it down, nor did I care to practice, it was just too hard! I avoided pockets at all costs. And zippers. I made things I had to tug over my head and had to be a contortionist to get out of. Did I ever cut myself out of something? Absolutely. But that’s another story.
My friend Matt’s birthday is next week and seeing that all I have been able to think about lately is stuff boys might like to wear or use from my next collection for Dahl & Dane, I decided to make him a woolen bag with contrasting welt pocket. See, Matt is gay so he will carry a bag- he may even go so far as to call it a purse- and as he loves his Iphone, I made a special pocket in front so it will be easily accessible.
I created a tutorial for anyone else afraid of welt pockets, or anyone who wants to recreate this simple bag. Thanks to the wizard of sewing, Larissa, our pattern-maker extraodinaire here at BurdaStyle, for guiding me through this treacherous process. I think you’ll be seeing some more welt pockets from me in the future!
