Cute baby lambs! Photo from the RamWools Co-op website.
Fashion and knitwear designer, obsessed with couture embroidery and beadwork.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Sorry, I haven't posted in forever. I've been occupied with all sorts of things but I'm going to try harder to post a little more frequently.
A couple of nights ago, I went to a meeting of my fashion business networking group otherwise known as SFFAMA. They hold meetings once month that are intended to educate startup designers and retailers. The speakers included a self-taught designer/consultant, a self-important designer/retailer, a startup designer of a denim line, and a guy who teaches at-risk teenagers sewing and job skills while also running his own denim repair line and making custom jeans for friends and clients.
Each of the speakers had something interesting to say, although some were more helpful than others. The designer/consultant had all kinds of helpful tips about how she got started and built her business even though she had no design experience. She's had a few more advantages than the average newbie, such as an already existent network of suppliers in India, China and the Phillipines along with family members who can keep track of contractors in those countries and her own personal web designer/manager. We should all be so lucky.
The second speaker has a small retail store and online presence to go with an extremely large ego. He spent much of his time commenting on how sloppy the audience was dressed, how there are no stylish people in San Francisco, and how his extremely high end fashions are too good for any mere mortals to look at or, worse, TOUCH. He didn't have a lot to contribute to the group because he made it clear that he thought he was better than everyone else. The take-away I got from his contribution: If you're invited to speak to a group of people because someone considers you an expert, DON'T insult your audience and DON'T make snide remarks about the people sitting next to you. (They can actually hear you.)
I was initially appalled by the jeans that the denim designer was wearing. I'd seen him wearing them at a previous meeting and wondered if his daughter made them for him because they're essentially baggy jeans made of patch-worked denim. It turns out, he has discovered a very specific niche market for his jeans among the festival crowd along with ravers and clubbers. People who go to Love Parade or Burning Man, apparently love his hippie chic baggy jeans with a home-made feel. Once he'd explained his niche, I stopped sneering and realized he'd done his homework and was working very hard to build his market share. Besides cold calling every boutique in America that sells designer denim, he sends free pairs of his jeans to agents, managers and stylists for celebrities in hopes that someone will actually wear them in public. While I can't think of the celebrity who could pull off the baggy patchwork jean look without looking like an idiot, I'm absolutely sure there is one and if there is one, this guy will find them. Yet another note to self "Not everyone can be judged by their appearance."
The final speaker was a young guy who could easily be a model, despite his waist length dreadlocks and multiple piercings. His laid back demeanor initially made most of us write him off as having smoked a little too much ganja. He quickly disspelled those ideas when he explained that while he isn't really a designer, he actually had a good business idea that he was able to start with very little capital. His business not only provides him with a living but also gives back to the community. He started off with the idea of retrofitting an ice cream cart with a treadle sewing machine and shelving. The whole thing collapses down and can be wheeled around and set up in high traffic areas and in or near stores where his products are a perfect fit. On his mobile sewing lab, he repairs and hems denim. He also creates "carnivorous" stuffed animals which are sewn and stuffed with denim scraps. Finally, he created a program for at-risk teens to teach them, not only how to sew, but also to give them useful job skills (like how to show up on time for work). He's expanded his business model to include a number of these retrofitted ice cream carts. I can't wait to see where he takes this idea.
I think every one of the speakers taught themselves how to sew and just had a driving need to create something. One was an artist who decided his vision was better translated to denim. Another was in real estate but found a way to match his love of music with a unique denim style. Still another was in the medical field but had a love of fashion and eventually decided that passion just couldn't be ignored. It made me feel better about walking away from a lucrative career to pursue something that feeds my soul.
A couple of nights ago, I went to a meeting of my fashion business networking group otherwise known as SFFAMA. They hold meetings once month that are intended to educate startup designers and retailers. The speakers included a self-taught designer/consultant, a self-important designer/retailer, a startup designer of a denim line, and a guy who teaches at-risk teenagers sewing and job skills while also running his own denim repair line and making custom jeans for friends and clients.
Each of the speakers had something interesting to say, although some were more helpful than others. The designer/consultant had all kinds of helpful tips about how she got started and built her business even though she had no design experience. She's had a few more advantages than the average newbie, such as an already existent network of suppliers in India, China and the Phillipines along with family members who can keep track of contractors in those countries and her own personal web designer/manager. We should all be so lucky.
The second speaker has a small retail store and online presence to go with an extremely large ego. He spent much of his time commenting on how sloppy the audience was dressed, how there are no stylish people in San Francisco, and how his extremely high end fashions are too good for any mere mortals to look at or, worse, TOUCH. He didn't have a lot to contribute to the group because he made it clear that he thought he was better than everyone else. The take-away I got from his contribution: If you're invited to speak to a group of people because someone considers you an expert, DON'T insult your audience and DON'T make snide remarks about the people sitting next to you. (They can actually hear you.)
I was initially appalled by the jeans that the denim designer was wearing. I'd seen him wearing them at a previous meeting and wondered if his daughter made them for him because they're essentially baggy jeans made of patch-worked denim. It turns out, he has discovered a very specific niche market for his jeans among the festival crowd along with ravers and clubbers. People who go to Love Parade or Burning Man, apparently love his hippie chic baggy jeans with a home-made feel. Once he'd explained his niche, I stopped sneering and realized he'd done his homework and was working very hard to build his market share. Besides cold calling every boutique in America that sells designer denim, he sends free pairs of his jeans to agents, managers and stylists for celebrities in hopes that someone will actually wear them in public. While I can't think of the celebrity who could pull off the baggy patchwork jean look without looking like an idiot, I'm absolutely sure there is one and if there is one, this guy will find them. Yet another note to self "Not everyone can be judged by their appearance."
The final speaker was a young guy who could easily be a model, despite his waist length dreadlocks and multiple piercings. His laid back demeanor initially made most of us write him off as having smoked a little too much ganja. He quickly disspelled those ideas when he explained that while he isn't really a designer, he actually had a good business idea that he was able to start with very little capital. His business not only provides him with a living but also gives back to the community. He started off with the idea of retrofitting an ice cream cart with a treadle sewing machine and shelving. The whole thing collapses down and can be wheeled around and set up in high traffic areas and in or near stores where his products are a perfect fit. On his mobile sewing lab, he repairs and hems denim. He also creates "carnivorous" stuffed animals which are sewn and stuffed with denim scraps. Finally, he created a program for at-risk teens to teach them, not only how to sew, but also to give them useful job skills (like how to show up on time for work). He's expanded his business model to include a number of these retrofitted ice cream carts. I can't wait to see where he takes this idea.
I think every one of the speakers taught themselves how to sew and just had a driving need to create something. One was an artist who decided his vision was better translated to denim. Another was in real estate but found a way to match his love of music with a unique denim style. Still another was in the medical field but had a love of fashion and eventually decided that passion just couldn't be ignored. It made me feel better about walking away from a lucrative career to pursue something that feeds my soul.
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