August 28, 2008
The accidental freelance fashion designer
I had notes on this I'd been writing all along but can't find them. I hope I get the gist of this clear.
I've had the pleasure of making the ecquaintance of Patricia Keay, a freelance sewing illustrator. Officially an enthusiast, she's come up with some ideas that could be marketable. Here's a sample
She wrote me last week saying her design had become quite popular. She wrote an extensive review of her process and it garnered a lot of attention. I think she won a contest with this design. She first came to my attention with this second place entry (our friend Birgitte took first place in that contest). Anyway, interest in the depicted design seemed to warrant the possibility of profit, perhaps commercially and she wanted to know what I thought. What I thought might be viable and an idea that may also apply to you, comes down a little later so don't go away until after we've dispensed the suggestions others proposed to her first.
The suggestions from enthusiasts were:
- Patricia should sell single order copies of the pattern to other sewers
- Sell the pattern to a pattern company
- Arrange to make the pattern a free download from Burda
- Arrange to make the pattern a free download from an unnamed site (proposed by the owner of that site).
Continue reading "The accidental freelance fashion designer"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 2:53 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Freelance Fabric Design Question pt.2
In response to the first entry, I heard back from the fabric designer. After her comments are some slightly OT things about fabric design that aren't enough to merit their own post. Anyway, J elaborated with:
Thank you for posting about this last week. Some of the responses were in-line with my thinking. What will most likely happen is that I will require him to purchase x-yards within a certain time frame (one year) of each design he’s using exclusively. When big-name fabric converters (which I guess is what I am now) make these arrangements, the minimums are 10,000 yards or more. I think these numbers are huge because
- they have planned revenue based on said designs and
- their printing operations require so much yardage just to get the registration of the design fit and to do anything smaller would be a loss.
What makes my situation unique is that I’m not a huge mill and I wasn’t planning a particular revenue base to be generated from each design. But I’m certainly not going to look a gift horse in the mouth either. So, onward I go into the abyss, smiling and waving to the crowd and eating myself alive with stress when nobody’s looking. I’m sure you can relate on some level!!
With regard to licensing designs, there’s no set rule. Each arrangement is based upon a percentage of each yard sold or a 15-75 cents of each yard sold, for a certain period of time –essentially royalties. Sometimes there is a set flat fee instead. In a licensing arrangement, your name is tied to the product and you, as the designer, can do everything in your power to market and promote this fabric to increase sales. FreeSpirit has a few designers who have catapulted themselves to celebrity status in the quilting- fabric world by plugging themselves hard. Interesting to watch.
You can also sell your designs outright at surface design shows for $400-1000 each. You no longer own the copyright and are not affiliated with its promotion. Figuratively speaking, you just hand over the design on a piece of paper or on a disk. Done. One must be very prolific to make this or licensing a revenue stream.
Continue reading "Freelance Fabric Design Question pt.2"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 10:26 AM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 27, 2008
Exibitor trade show report: Outdoor Retailer 8/2008
Today we have a report from April Femrite of Naturally Bamboo detailing her experiences as an exhibitor at the most recent Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City Utah. If you're making products for the active or outdoor market, this information will be useful. Thanks April!
The Bamboo Tour - Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 8-11
For OR (Outdoor Retailer) I had a 10x10 booth at the Energy Solutions Arena (ESA), across the street from the main exhibit hall at the Salt Palace Convention Center. Outdoor Retailer has grown so big that it had to expand outside of the convention center and all of us new exhibitors got stuck over at the much less busy venue. I brought my sister, Jenny, and my part-time employee, Stacy, along with me for the 17+ hour road trip from Minnesota (our travels could be a whole other write up).
ESA was about a 10-15 minute walk from the front entrance of Salt Palace. Many buyers told me that they wanted to get over to see the new lines but could not fit the in the “hike” in between appointments. I heard that most ESA exhibitors signed a petition to the show about the slow traffic, but I didn’t see anything come around to me. My space was $2500 and I spent another $1500 to be a part of the Green Steps program which has special advertising for “green” businesses and for 500 branded post cards to be mailed to registered buyers. I honestly don’t know if the extra $1500 was worth it since I didn’t track who came to my booth because of the advertising. Below is a picture of my booth.
Continue reading "Exibitor trade show report: Outdoor Retailer 8/2008"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:32 PM | Comments (2) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 26, 2008
Fashion ads: art or pornography?
Today's topic for discussion is fashion advertising campaigns, particularly controversial ones. Do you feel these are justified in the interests of promoting a brand (no news is bad, just spell my name right)? Or do some cross the line between marketing and malfeasance? Do you think that some campaigns diminish the reputation of apparel producers among consumers in that some of us fail to exercise good taste? Or, is nothing sacred and everything fair game? Then, there's the question of art; few would deny advertising is also art. Art is often controversial; it is supposed to move people to thought and introspection, being as some propose, a mirror shard. Or is some art too objectionable?
The matter of controversial fashion ad campaigns has been roused anew by Wrangler's "We Are Animals" ads. The blogosphere is in an uproar over photos and video of what's described as misogynistic depictions of bruised and murdered women floating like so much detritus in bogs bringing new meaning to the term "killer jeans". One said:
Continue reading "Fashion ads: art or pornography?"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 12:48 PM | Comments (18) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 25, 2008
Top misconceptions of lay people you wish you could correct
In the interests of keeping things light while everyone is away, Tyler wrote a post called Top economic misconceptions of lay people you wish you could correct and it gave me the idea we could do something like that too. Maybe we could even break it down, service providers could post ten things they wish they could knock out of the heads of new designers, seasoned designers could say similar things about service providers and everybody could post what they wish laymen knew about what the fashion industry. Sound fun? I'm temped to go first but that'd be no fair. Post away...
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 12:03 PM | Comments (22) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 22, 2008
Archives 8/15-8/21 2005-2007
Here's this week's entries from the archives...
August 15 through August 21, 2005
Interfacing: 10 tips
What is a line sheet?
Shopping industrial machines
Sourcing apparel industry sites
Tools and Supplies
August 15 through August 21, 2006
How to format comments
How to get publicity pt.2
Question on freelance design
Freight and warehouse chargebacks
Analyzing business plans pt.3
Rain rain go away
Analyzing business plans pt.4
Sizing is a variety problem
August 15 through August 21, 2007
Recalled Chinese products
Poll of the day: True Bias 2
Sizing for the Eco market
The birth of size 10?
News from you 8/17/2007
My first trade show: Marguerite Swope
Slow Fashion
How many lines sheets?
Fashion piracy law update
Vanity sizing shoes
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:38 PM | Comments (0) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Meet ups at Magic 8/2008
Happy Friday! I imagine traffic will be a little lighter next week with so many headed off to Las Vegas. I plan to limit posting to light topics so people will have an easier time of catching up when they get back. Have any ideas you'd like to see for next week? Or any week really, bloggers are always on the prowl for new source material. Anyway, we have a new crop of line launches from Fashion-Incubator members slated for MAGIC et al and it is quite exciting to watch these babies birthing. If you plan to be in attendance and want to meet with other members, go here to find the planned activities (dinner mostly I think) and jot down cell and booth numbers. I'm glad I never have to plan dinners at these get togethers. Getting a table for 25+ people at a reasonably priced joint (Vegas is expensive now) is always a challenge. I don't know what the head count is right now but the thread is four pages long. By the way, most of the activity on this site isn't here on the blog. It's in the forum. It's hopping all day long.
Don't forget to get the secret password so other members will know you. And take lots of pictures. I won't be there this time so I'm hoping for detailed trip reports from everyone.
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 2:46 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 21, 2008
Freelance Fabric Design Question
Here's a great question I got from one of our members today. I asked if I could post it but forgot to ask if she wanted to remain anonymous.
I have a question for you and maybe some others in-the-know who read FI. I am an independent textile designer (most days) and am working with a client for whom I am producing 1100 yds of fabric. It’s basically a wholesale transaction, where I am managing the production with a printer and arranging to send him the rolls upon their completion. He has asked about “minimums for exclusivity” for this fabric design and a few others I have. This is where I am stuck. I have some knowledge of selling designs outright as you would at a surface design trade show, or licensing designs for royalties/flat fees for a term. It gets confusing for me to think of this type of transaction because I would still be managing/financing all production throughout the process. Do you know how I would go about pricing this arrangement? How is it typically done? What’s the time limit? Do you have any resources?
Personally, I'd be interested in what she knows about selling designs outright at a surface design trade show. Can anybody help her out with this question?
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 2:57 PM | Comments (9) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Not Enough Thursdays
How ironic I'm posting this on a Thursday. It just worked out that way; I only found out about this late yesterday afternoon.
Some days, I just feel so lucky to do what I do; I get to meet an incredible wealth of talent I'd never have the opportunity to know otherwise. Which brings me to this new blog I found called Not Enough Thursdays. The site is less a blog than it is an internal conversation between three pattern makers who are close friends (I hope they're prepared for the deluge the web is about to send their way). Again, as an internal conversation between bi-coastal friends and like emails you send to close friends, spell checking wasn't a priority so don't judge it in that vein. The writers are Hannah, Carly and Jessie from Portland OR. I found it because Carly left a comment here yesterday. Hannah recently started working at Nicolas Caito's pattern service in NY; they do patterns for Proenza, Wang and a lot of big names. Carly makes patterns for an industrial engineering firm called Terrazign Inc and has access to scads of cool toys not normally found in our shops and I'm envious. Jessie is a student at the Portland Art Institute and has an exploratory line on the side called Heating and Cooling.
Scroll down past non-work related posts on hiking trips with breathtaking photography to find entries on problems and solutions, guidance they ask and give to each other. And you can say I'm biased because Fashion-Incubator is frequently mentioned and I can't deny I'm thrilled that my camel toe solutions (Hannah says they work!) are being used at a leading NY atelier but there's more to it than that. So few pattern makers blog and I wish more did. Hannah wrote an article about balancing patterns which was good for me because a lot of people have mentioned that or asked me about it and I never knew what they were talking about. So now I know what they're talking about. And of course I was pleased that Hannah was spot-on in specifying that your back bodice pattern is smaller than your front (at right). It is you know and I get tired of arguing about it so yeah, I guess even the implied corroboration is also self-serving. In the end, it is really cool to read about the inner workings of other people's jobs in the industry, people you don't even know and find your work is still so similar with the same worries, problems and concerns. Hannah says she's surprised at how many garmentos smoke around the piles of fabric they sell, which I've always said but nobody mentions it. She's also surprised at how nice everyone is in the business. They eat their lunch on china with silver utensils everyday at work. Maybe I just want the word to get out? I get so tired of hearing how mean everybody is or how cut throat the business is but from what I've experienced, it's students who can be horribly catty or people fighting to get in who are mean or who are mean maybe because they think everyone else is and that's the way they should be too but honestly, I can't think of any mean people I know who've stuck around. It's no different from any other business.
I find Carly's fashion entries interesting too. Like I said, with so few pattern makers blogging, you have no idea of the styles we find interesting. She picks the sort of thing I would, each represents a drafting challenge. Here's a very cute dress she made that I think would be very marketable. Again, we see things from a patterning sense. Her construction shown in other projects appears to be immaculate.
Do drop in and say I said hello.
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 1:46 PM | Comments (3) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 20, 2008
How to work with a fashion illustrator
Today we have a guest entry from one of my favorite protégés, Danielle Meder. I'll just step out of the way and let her get on with it.
----------------
It's been over a year since Kathleen encouraged me to help her write a post on how to hire a fashion illustrator. Based on my experience since then, I have written a revision of the original entry to reflect lessons learned because as any freelancer can attest, experience is hard-won education. First you get the test, and then the lesson. As hard as lessons can be, I am grateful for the support of Fashion-Incubator, my friends, the Toronto fashion community and my wonderful clients for making it possible to make a living from what I love to do.
In this revision I'll explain why you may need illustrations, when and for which purposes. I'll explain the various kinds of drawings you may need and the difference and advantages of hand vs vector illustrations and the most appropriate use of each. I've included samples of each kind of drawing. I will also explain planning your project, how to get the best price quote and have included a sample agreement you can use. Lastly, I've included some information for those who want to make a career of fashion illustration.
Why You May Need an Illustrator:
DEs will find they need illustrations for a variety of reasons, especially if they are not confident in their own drawing skills. Here are some benefits of illustration:
- To help organize and edit their own creative design process.
- To communicate their ideas clearly to their staff and contractors.
- To label patterns and production documents so they may be identified at a glance.
- To illustrate their line sheets for their salespeople and buyers.
- To add flair to websites, invitations, and other promotional material.
- To present their ideas to investors, competition judges, etc, in an attractive and persuasive way.
There are many fashion illustrators available with a wide spectrum of specialties. Many are trained at art schools, fashion schools, or are self taught. The best type of fashion illustrator to hire will reflect the type of work you need done, and your own aesthetic preferences.
Continue reading "How to work with a fashion illustrator"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 1:58 PM | Comments (11) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 19, 2008
Pop Quiz 477: Plus size grading
In retrospect, I wish I'd named this series, Why you really don't want to use home sewing patterns for production. There's a reason manufacturers don't use them and this pattern is a good fairly typical example of why we don't. Manufacturers are cheap. If they could get away with paying 1/10th the price for a pattern, believe me, they'd be all over it. But I digress.
Continuing from the first entry and the second, now I'll show you some things you couldn't possibly have seen, specifically, the grading of the pattern into plus sizes. I'm sure that even if you know nothing about grading, you'll be as baffled as I am. Because there was so much to pick from in comparing the grading of pieces from size to size, I've limited the discussion to the center front panel. You know, that piece that joins the yoke from beneath? The reason also being, respondents said the sweep of the blouse in larger sizes was too small. Below is a screen cap of the size "7" (a plus size, representing sizes 16-18) on the left and on the right is size "4" (equivocating to a size 10-12).
Continue reading "Pop Quiz 477: Plus size grading"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 4:24 PM | Comments (16) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 18, 2008
Pop Quiz #477: Why the shirt fits badly
Continuing from the first entry as to why the blouse fit poorly, the key problem was an improperly made yoke, most noticeable in the front although the back was no prize either. Alternatively, you could call the raised yoke a design decision but if so, then the pattern must be cut for the fullest part of the bust below that seam -which it was not but I'll show you how to do it . In any event, the lesson here is yokes and the benefit of them is that through piecing, you can remove the appearance of the side bust dart which is why they can be a great option for fuller busted ladies. The matter of making yokes properly matters even more if the pattern was designed for a large busted woman as this one was. Below is the front yoke digitized which will confirm what many said.
Here are some of the sort of responses I was looking for to my question of how it was that the yoke was made improperly.
Continue reading "Pop Quiz #477: Why the shirt fits badly"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 2:35 PM | Comments (6) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 15, 2008
News from you 8/15/2008
Goodie goodie gum drops, it's another edition of News From You. If you're new to these parts, News From You is an ongoing series best described as an eclection of news, the weird, the arcane and the downright useless of interest to F-I infovores. Send your submissions to News From You.
------------
I'm pleased to announce that Renae Hartson's line, Bodyworks Apparel was featured in the August edition of Apparel. Feel free to congratulate her here or trot over to the thread on the forum. Congratulations Renae, I know you've worked hard for this.
Speaking of, the magazine is seeking nominations for Apparel’s annual All-Star Awards:
Apparel’s All-Star Awards recognize apparel retailers, brands and manufacturers that stand out for their achievements in innovation, growth, management and corporate goodwill. Award-winning companies are announced at Apparel’s Tech Conference, held Nov. 5-6 in New York City, and their success stories are shared in the December issue of Apparel Magazine.To nominate a company, fill out the form here (pdf) and return it to us by August 25th. (If your company is an apparel retailer, brand or manufacturer, you are welcome to nominate your own company. Vendors to the apparel industry are not eligible to be nominated, but may nominate their customers.)
My choice for nominee is here.
--------------
I thought this link that JC sent was a riot. It's an eBay listing for a woman's blouse factory. Definitely overpriced with a "Buy it now" price of $50,000.
Continue reading "News from you 8/15/2008"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 2:56 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Archives 8/8-8/14 2005-2007
Here's this week's entries from the archives...
August 8 through August 14, 2005
Why We Buy
Alternatives in women's sizing
Bariatric patients for sizing surveys?
August 8 through August 14, 2006
Infovore links: 8/8/2006 (News From You)
Analyzing business plans pt.1
Domain names
How to manufacture shoes
Analyzing business plans pt.2
The Importance of Follow-Up
August 8 through August 14, 2007
History of apparel manufacturing
Trade secrets and sewing contractors
A sense of professional decency
Poll of the day: darts
News from you 8/11/2007
Showing a children's wear line
Poll of the day: darts 2
Out of the office 8/14/07
Poll of the day: True Bias
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 2:51 PM | Comments (0) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 14, 2008
Pop Quiz #477
Some friends I have in another sewing venue had a problem fitting a commercial (home sewing) pattern that I agreed to analyze with the caveat that I wouldn't be linking to anyone nor mentioning parties by name. If you know the source of which I speak, feel free to comment but refrain from identifying anyone through words or linking because I have no wish to embarrass anyone. As it is, these are problems I see in RTW all the time and it annoys me. As usual, I have already worked out what I consider to be the problem (and solution) but I've decided to post it in this format to see what you all pick up.
The scenario:
Several women bought a blouse pattern that is specifically designed for various cup sizes. It comes in regular and plus sizes. Having difficulty, the women who bought it began to compare notes and photos in an attempt to analyze the reasons for the fitting problems they were having. One of the women sent me the pattern, portions of which I digitized for illustration purposes. Others supplied photos of their results. While they had several complaints, what I considered to be the problems differed from theirs (I'm curious to see if you agree with me or them). Based on this photo (below) of a typical result (stunning that all the photos from many different bodies performed the same way!), my immediate impression was that the yoke was made improperly. I see this problem in RTW all the time, hence the reason I post this.
Continue reading "Pop Quiz #477"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:10 PM | Comments (19) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 13, 2008
A nice sleeve vent finish
When I was visiting with Maria Luisa, I noticed her jacket. The sleeve had an interesting finish to the vent. Please do not ask me how it is that I could tell from the outside that the inside had to be interesting because I couldn't tell you. I think many of us have a built in homing device for that sort of thing. It's nice chatting with people in the trade so you can take advantage of it. They think nothing of taking off their clothes so you can turn the items inside out to take pictures of them. Yeah us!
Check this out, this is cool. This sleeve hem (below) is necessarily a separate piece from the sleeve rather than a turned up hem from the top side. Moreover, that seam is piped in contrast. Obviously, this is a better piece because few manufacturers would go to the bother of decorating an inside seam that hardly anyone would notice. I've seen piping between the inside front facing and the lining but never on a sleeve vent.
Continue reading "A nice sleeve vent finish"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 2:38 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Pop Quiz #476 pt. 2
Short and sweet, the answer to the pop quiz came from Girl From Auntie who knows me too well. Yes, I would wrap a dog in saran wrap (pt.2) -pallet wrap is preferred- to make a pattern from its body. Less controversial dog measuring methods were proposed in the forum. Saran wrap is useful to make patterns for a lot of things and it won't stick to objects like duct tape will. I can't think of a better or faster way to make a first pattern for an oddly shaped item -say a camera case- than that.
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 2:00 PM | Comments (2) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 12, 2008
Vote: Fashion Contest
Unlike a lot of fashion contests one finds on the web, this one on MyItThings seems to have garnered some real talent. The contest started May 12th and three semi finalists have been selected. I don't think that any of us, being fashion experts and all, were selected for the judging pool but when has that ever precluded us from expressing an opinion? So my friendly fashionista fashion-incubator experts, please take a moment to review the lines of the three finalists according to the criteria of old school hacks :) industry garmentos:
- Design: Best design continuity; can the line hang with itself. Orphans (also)?
- Sales: Most marketable, readily merchandised.
- Production: Most likely to be readily produced cost effectively.
The three designers are, left to right, Noni, Wanaker and Adolfo Sanchez.
Please review their respective pages before voting. Voting lies beneath the fold.
Continue reading "Vote: Fashion Contest"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:10 PM | Comments (2) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
August 11, 2008
Discounts for sewing defects?
I imagine these questions will spark some rousing debate. Anonymous writes:
- Is it reasonable to expect a lower price from our contractor on second quality goods? If so, how much of a reduction is fair to everyone? We won't sell them, so we can't recoup any costs for these (although I know many manufacturers will sell them at a discount).
- Seconds are inevitable in any manufacturing process; what is the typical acceptable defect rate for sewn goods? I've seen numbers around 2-5%.
I'll answer the second question first (feel free to chime in) since it seems the easiest, kind of, sort of. I'm not sure I agree that "seconds are inevitable in any manufacturing process". The major tenet of lean manufacturing is that they are not. I wrote an entry before on how to prevent sewing defects which I'd encourage everyone to review (one of my faves). Perhaps this is a matter of semantics, defects enter the work stream but if your process is in order, products should not leave the system wholly constructed. In other words, if a defect is introduced somewhere during the process of construction, that item should not be completed but set aside at the point the error is discovered. Go read that article, it explains it better.
For the purposes of this discussion in the context of the first question (lower price for defective goods), an item upon which work has ceased, can still be repaired before it is completed meaning one will receive a good product for the agreed upon price and no discount is needed. Sure, there's an internal cost the contractor must absorb but it only affects you indirectly and then, only if this happens a lot. I wouldn't expect that to be the case though because if they had a lot of errors, they wouldn't be the sort of operation to stop work if defects were found mid-stream so we'd be dealing with the first question of discounts.
Continue reading "Discounts for sewing defects?"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:58 PM | Comments (3) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Pop Quiz #476
From my mail:
Have you run across a standardized size chart for dogs? I'm looking for something like the government size charts for people. There are so many dog breads and they are shaped differently.
If standardized charts fail to address the fitting needs of people, it's probably safe to presume they wouldn't for pets either -if charts were even available.
So here's the challenge for today, how would you go about developing sizes for dogs? The hint I'll leave you with is that the particular solution I imagine (what I'd try first) would be better suited to dogs rather than cats. Cats wouldn't tolerate it for a second. Dogs are a more patient lot, eager to please and more likely to overlook their owners odd behaviors...
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 2:17 PM | Comments (9) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
