May 8, 2008
Certification for service providers
Just curious but what do you all think of ranking or certifying the sorts of service providers (freelance designers, technical designers, illustrators, pattern makers, sample makers, sewing contractors etc) that designers are likely to hire? I've long thought somebody should do something. I've seen more abuses than I care to count from people providing services they're not qualified to offer. DEs have lost a lot of money ...and heart! How are consumers to know their service provider meets minimal competency standards established by peers?
I think we need something like this so I've launched a test program on our forum. If you're a member, you can weigh in there or post your comments here (I've included the email that I sent to members last night). Initially I had some trepidation but I've become rather excited and looking forward to reading the criteria by which people think their peers should be evaluated. Of course, I anticipated service providers to be reluctant, worried it'd put them to disadvantage and they haven't disappointed me in expressing their reservations. My point is, the forum is for designers. The forum -while a partnership- is not a barrel constructed to make fishing for customers more convenient and easy. Without designers, we don't eat; the forum should be arranged to put their needs first. I think we (service providers) lack integrity if we fail to inconvenience ourselves just because we fear the scrutiny of our peers, colleagues and competitors. Put it this way, I much prefer that we police ourselves rather than forcing designers to do it because we will not. They shouldn't have to do that. If we have any integrity in our craft and self respect, we'll set minimal standards of competency for ourselves.
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Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 5:06 PM | Comments (3) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
May 7, 2008
Starting a home sewing pattern company
This is a bit off topic but when has that ever stopped me? Seriously, I don't know of any resources on the web that provide both comprehensive and legitimate information. I've gotten several questions on this, here's the latest:
Kathleen, maybe I'm off my rocker for wanting to do this but I am interested in starting a small independent pattern company. My search for someone to develop the patterns for the home sewer has come up empty. I find lots of information for people and companies like yourself.
I don't think you're off your rocker, this a great business option. While not without its challenges, there's still room in the market depending on your product quality, USP, styling, demography and marketing.
The point of not being able to find "someone to develop the patterns for the home sewer" is probably the one thing that gets me going. There's no reason you can't use industry services too. Having reviewed the range of products from more independent home sewing companies than I can count, quality can be a problem and among those who provide services to them, fees are exorbitant. Most "home drafters" don't know accepted standards of practice and will think they're entitled to royalties. I don't see why you have to find and hire a "home drafter". I have to give you points though, most people who start these companies feel they must be their own pattern maker and that's silly. If you started a restaurant, would you be the only cook? You'd never sleep. The writer continues:
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Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 4:35 PM | Comments (17) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
May 6, 2008
The Skorpions are coming
Comes word that you can meet the artists who created the Skorpion entry in today's Computational Couture post. FAR (Future Arts Research) at Arizona State University (Tempe) is sponsoring the event at The Icehouse on May 13 at 7:00 PM. Wine will be served.
The press release says to contact Sarah Munter at 602.258.1852 with any questions but she has yet to return my call from last Friday. Ba-dump-bump. If I were closer, I'd go. More info is below the fold.
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Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 4:11 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Art Thread
In the second of today's art fiber entries, Barbara sends a link to an exhibition of Devorah Sperber's work at the Brooklyn Museum. It runs through June 17th so it's not too late to see it.
Her site (while not without with some arty goobley-gook that careens around like an out of control pin ball in my brain) is pretty cool. Unlike a lot of artist's sites, the background is clean and sparse; it's not competing for attention detracting from its purpose. The site also includes a pod cast so you can listen while perusing the images. Pretty neat!
Her ...tapestries?...are comprised of varying colors of thread spools (sponsored in part by Coats & Clark, natch) suspended to form pixilated copies of well known artists paintings. Below is an example of the Mona Lisa.
If you go to the site, you've already seen what I did "wrong" to this picture. Heh. Being an art-retard, I fail to understand why she had to do everything upside down. Yeah, I know all about the eye/brain transposition thing having learned it in the fourth grade but was it really necessary? I thought the core concept was cool enough to stand on its own. Regardless, do go see and tell me all about it. She has some quite large ones too, including The Last Supper.
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 12:40 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Computational Couture 2008
In the first of three entries on fiber fashion and related art, Patty had sent me the catalog from Seamless: Computational Couture 2008, an exhibition held last January at -appropriately enough- the Boston Museum of Science. Being somewhat dense, I've never been able to grok art but there's enough apparel mixed with science to appease my not-so-inner geek. I've scanned the catalog (13 facing pages) and created a pdf (1490 kb) if you want to follow along on some of the items that caught my eye. In order given:
Apparel was the first, a project by Jenny Chowdhury. My copy of the catalog was wet in that corner so I don't know what it looks like. Jenny is a bit of a prankster with a BS (Tufts) and MS (NYU) in electrical engineering, she's no intellectual or creative slouch. I feel a sense of disappointment; perhaps she's set my expectations high based on her previous projects. Her jacket uses radio waves to illuminate stripes according to Wi-Fi signal strength. That said, it could be useful when traveling and you're looking for an open connection.
The Charming Burka was interesting. It allows a woman wearing one to transmit a preselected image of herself to someone nearby on their cell phone. Apparently, this doesn't violate the laws in the Koran. Designed by Markus Lison using Bluebot technology. Hmm, I could imagine a whole range of garments doing the same. Best not to give naughty teens any ideas.
Markus also designed a Vanity Ring. With an electronic display and web connected docking device, it displays the number of Google hits one's name generates. In case you wonder, Markus majored in Physics. Heh.
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Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 11:33 AM | Comments (2) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
May 5, 2008
What is Private Label Branded Apparel?
A question posed from another non-apparel specific list:
We are seeking active wear apparel for [redacted] sports made from [redacted] fabrics. We are looking to private label and need a variety but minimums to create the lines. Can anyone provide assistance or any leads.
The meaning of private label has become diluted or rather expanded. Thinking a bit, I think I've narrowed it down according to who is signing the check for the order. There are three kinds of private label.
- Corporations and Organizations
- Retailers -internal product development
- Retailers: external product development
Lastly, I'll explain why one needn't be a major player to provide private label goods. There's no reason a DE can't get in on it too. Even small stores like the idea. If you've been delivering consistently -and they've been paying consistently- this can work out well for both of you.
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Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:09 PM | Comments (6) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
May 2, 2008
Archives 4/25-5/1/2005-2007
Here's this week's entries from the archives...
April 25 through May 1, 2005
Process Review: MT Install
Non-disclosure agreements
NPR pledge week
April 25 through May 1, 2006
Chinese bras and sizing
Look what I bought
Nothings, news and links 1
How to hire a fashion illustrator
Intruder (a favorite)
Silence lends consent
Quality quiz
April 25 through May 1, 2007
Evaluating the Pattern Grading Process pt.2
Jeans Sizing, Problems and Recommendations
What does Fashion-Incubator mean to you?
News from you 4/27/07
Apparel manufacturing in California
Training sewing machine operators pt 1
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 5:32 PM | Comments (0) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Naming a product line pt.69
And no, there aren't 68 entries preceding this, only one. More evidence of my silliness when I've decided to elevate a perseveration into a sometime series. From the brevity of this entry, you won't believe I spent most of the morning writing this piece. Well, this and a few other rants forever relegated to the dustbin of my personal archives.
From here in the forum:
I am planning on doing something a little different than I've done in the past with my next line. I figured I should make this transition now while I still can. I'm going to go under my name instead of a label. I found while I was at the show in NY this past weekend that my label that I've had for 6 years now doesn't correctly represent my new lines. If I go under my name I don't feel backed into a corner to always have to use vintage fabrics. I still plan on using all eco friendly fabrics though.
To which I responded,
Oh, I think that is an excellent idea. You've grown, time to move on. Besides, "recycle xxx designs" doesn't say "vintage" to me anyway. I think it's a good idea in another way too. Right now, eco stuff is all the rage. Everybody's putting eco this and green that in their label names. I know that ten years from now, those label names will be very dated. Not that the impetus toward sustainability will be less (who knows) but it'll just look dumb. Look at it this way, assuming everyone's on the bandwagon then and sustainability is de rigeur, it'll be too obvious. Like saying you have a food restaurant. What other kind of restaurant would you have? Better to impart your sustainability values to a name that isn't trendy, one with longevity.
Continue reading "Naming a product line pt.69"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 4:00 PM | Comments (5) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
May 1, 2008
Pop Quiz #472 pt.2
Returning to pop quiz 472 referring to button stand size, I was pleased with the offered comments. I don't remember now why I thought to even pose the question; I just remember being horribly embarrassed when the 1" rule I was taught was ridiculed at my first place of employment.
Based on some of the responses, I'm thinking I should have first explained the definition of button "stand" because I think many people confuse button stand as meaning the same thing as placket width (such as that seen on men's dress shirts). The reason they are not the same thing is because not every button closure has a placket but all button closures -even non-functional ones- have a stand. Technically, the stand lies from the line to be joined (often CF or CB) to the finished edge. On a man's dress shirt, the stand line runs halfway (vertically) through the placket width. The stand does not refer to the total space occupied by the button -which a placket will plus an allowance. The width of button stand does not include the half of the button that lies on the opposing side of that dividing line to the finished edge.
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Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 1:50 PM | Comments (2) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
April 30, 2008
Apparel Manufacturing in New Jersey
You need a license to manufacture sewn products in three US states; NY, CA and NJ. I wrote about New York and California (twice) before but finding the information for licensing in NJ has been a real pickle. None of my search terms turned up anything. However, I thought to search my desktop just certain I'd come across it before and sure enough, I found a pdf of the license application. From the title of the document, I was finally able to find the information on the state of NJ website.
Penalties:
Other than the obvious -"Contracting for the performance of an apparel industry service with a manufacturer or contractor who is known to have failed to register or renew its registration, or whose registration has been revoked"- constitutes a violation. In other words, you are required to check whether someone has a license and that they are in good standing. Similarly (as I've said ad nauseum) you are legally a manufacturer even if you don't own a single sewing machine. If you're looking for a "manufacturer" to produce your products, that means you're looking for a competitor and why would you do that?
In assessing penalties, the NJ law goes one step further than NY and CA. The latter two states will confiscate finished goods from those deemed to be in violation of the law. NJ will confiscate "any partially or completely assembled articles of apparel and any equipment used in the assembly of apparel from any manufacturer or contractor. Ouch! Bye bye sewing machines.
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Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 11:24 AM | Comments (3) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
April 29, 2008
Mostly about sustainable architecture
Last weekend, Eric and I went to T or C (Truth or Consequences NM) to meet up with Sally at a fiddling contest. That's not a joke in case you wonder, I'm a big blue grass fan. We stayed at a fabulous bed and breakfast about 45 miles from T or C in a tiny town called Kingston, just outside of a slightly larger tiny town called Hillsboro. I tell you, Hillsboro has come a long way (previous entry). I remember that even ten years ago, you could go to the local (teeny tiny) grocery and find recipes for spotted owl stew posted on the bulletin board. It's become more progressive since then. Before I get too far off track -as I most assuredly will this entry being about sustainable building- the least of the weekend was the fiddling contest. Below is the highlight of that event. An adorable little cowboy named Lane. You can't see him from behind but he's still so little as to be wearing diapers. Quite shy he was; his belt and boots are matching ostrich.
Abject cuteness dispensed with, we stayed at a B&B called the Black Range Lodge, originally constructed in 1880 when it housed cavalry and miners. Owned by Catherine Wanek and Pete Fust, they're a story unto themselves. As it happens, Catherine is an expert in straw bale construction and wrote a beautiful book called The New Straw Bale Home. Dang, now I see I could have gotten it for $11 less at Amazon but hey, you have to support authors. Besides, I got my copy signed. The book is gorgeous, coffee table style with detailed information on costs, processes etc. Of course their property is a testament to ongoing sustainability which I'll show you next. They are very thrifty. I liked that none of the towels matched. They feed you an awesome breakfast too, complete with entertainment from Pete who does all of the cooking. He is a card. He says his cooking is so good, he's gotten five marriage proposals. Two of them from women. Below are their pictures.
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Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:40 PM | Comments (12) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
April 28, 2008
Marker questions and costs
[amended] Various questions from various people on markers:
I have a question regarding markers. I apologize if this seems like a silly question. Are they re-usable? In other words, once a pattern is made and graded and the marker has been made and paid for should I be paying for a marker again when a second production run is done?
First of all, a marker is a tracing of all the pattern pieces needed to cut out a given style. A given marker is not reusable. The fabric is laid out, the marker laid over it and the cutter uses the lines to cut out the pieces. The marker is cut up as the fabric is. Below is a photo (courtesy) of a marker being cut.
These days though, the definition of a marker is blurring. Most markers are made by computer and saved as a file. In this context, a marker is reusable provided none of the details (number to cut, sizes, fabric width etc) have changed. It would be a mere matter of hitting "print" to generate a new marker.
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Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:42 PM | Comments (5) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Jeans fit lousy these days 2
We have a winner for the Tummy Tuck jeans, based on the question from the first entry . The winner is Misty (aka Christy T), randomly selected from the 28 contest entries which designated the McCalls pattern #6985 as the worst fitting of all.
Tangentially, I'd mentioned a delightfully intriguing draft from a vintage German pattern drafting book I have. A scan of the crotch curves is here (in the forum). I plan to test it very soon. I think it will be very flattering, particularly for the bottom-endowed. I've never seen this in any other drafting book.
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:40 PM | Comments (8) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
April 25, 2008
Archives 4/18-4/24 2005-2007
I don't know where this week went. I feel I haven't accomplished anything. Not even decent posting ~sigh~. Well. I'm cutting out early today and off to recharge my batteries at a fiddling competition in TorC (Truth or Consequences NM). Sally's coming down from Albuquerque so it should be fun. Have a great week end!
Here's this week's entries from the archives...
April 18 through April 24, 2005
The site was migrating to Movable Type this week, only admin related entries were posted.
April 18 through April 24, 2006
History of women's sizing pt.2
Manufacturer's blogs
Anatomy of a Camel Toe pt.1
Anatomy of a Camel Toe pt.2
Twelve acres
Freelance designing
History of women's sizing pt.3
April 18 through April 24, 2007
My friend Trish
Apparel Manufacturer, technical journal
MAGIC Trip Report: Todd Hudson
News from you 4/20/07
Evaluating the Pattern Grading Process
Technical Journal pt.1
Verbal Croquis' L.A. Adventures
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 1:45 PM | Comments (0) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
April 24, 2008
Pop Quiz #472
Except for standard applications such as men's dress shirts (and perhaps even then), how wide should a button stand be? The books say an inch -when they say anything at all.
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:30 PM | Comments (6) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
Trend News: JC Report
I've mentioned the JCReport before. Much of it is over my head being uber-fashioney but their RSS of favored fashion feeds had some juicy ones in the latest newsletter. Interestingly enough, you can RSS to their RSS. I hadn't thought of trying to do that before. Highlights:
- China's not the only one using prison labor, so is one Philippine designer. The video puts a different face on the benefits -to both sides- of using what most consider to be unpalatable labor sources. Not to be outdone, German inmates are producing their own line and selling it in their own store. Video.
- Sewing machines are back in fashion. One source in the UK says Singer's sales were up 50% between 2006-2007. Another retailer says their machine sales are up 258%. Wow.
- I think the recent spate of fashion criticisms directed at women belonging to the polygamist sect in Texas to be distasteful. I'm not defending their religious practices but I think it's the height of tackiness to level superficial criticisms during what must be the most stressful event of their collective lives.
- Following Spain's lead, the French fashion industry signs anti-anorexia charter. It should be noted that not everyone agrees that there's an increase of anorexia nervosa, merely that there's been an increase in identifying and diagnosing it. What is increasing, is public anxiety about it. I'd argue it's a predictable and expected equal and opposite reaction to the increase of obesity in industrialized nations. Many more die of obesity or related illnesses than anorexia.
- Hello Kitty has gotten a high fashion makeover.
- Due to my recent jeans entry, I had to click on Are you a super wedgie or a fashion flattie? but it was referring to shoes, not jeans.
- Supposedly dresses are out and pants are in. Do you pay attention to any of this?
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:28 PM | Comments (10) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
April 23, 2008
Lost and Found (and a quiz)
Computers these days don't have floppy drives. A bit annoying because I had a whole passle of floppies with teasingly enigmatic labels full of tantalizing data I couldn't access. Some labeled IMPORTANT!!!, ALL WORD FILES.BK!!!, CUSTOMER DATABASE-ALL!!! You get the picture. The unlabeled ones were the worst. Oh little black floppies, what secrets were you keeping from me? Reality was less thrilling; I went and bought a USB floppy drive to upload everything. Lots and lots of duplicates (and empties; the one with the most strident of labels). Now I need a utility that'll find and delete duplicate files. Found tons of old emails back when I still had an aol account. Remember the days when AOL charged by the hour? Good grief, these days I would have run out of hours in the first two days. DH still waxes eloquent of the days when you had to buy Netscape at the store. Who could handle the download then? My how times have changed.
Going through floppy files is no different than finding an old buried box of abandoned clothes or half finished projects in your attic. Some of it's dated, some is quaint and a lot is just plain junk. Still, I found some things that are still useful. In no particular order:
Continue reading "Lost and Found (and a quiz)"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 3:08 PM | Comments (8) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
April 22, 2008
News From You: Earth Day 2008
Today we have a special edition of News From You in celebration of Earth Day.
First up to bat is this page (from the official Earth Day site) which claims April 22nd isn't Earth Day; it's April 21st or even the 20th (this year).
The first Earth Day, proclaimed by the City of San Francisco and celebrated on March 21, 1970 was created by John McConnell. What led him to the idea was his interest in Space exploration and awareness of the March Equinox, nature's primary day of global equilibrium.
Not to be outdone, Wiki says:
- April 22 was the birthday of actor Eddie Albert who did early work with environmental causes and groups.
- April 21 was the birthday of John Muir, who founded the Sierra Club. Organizers thought that April 22nd was Muir's birthday.
- April 22, 1970 (the first earth day) was the 100th birthday of Vladimir Lenin. Time reported that some suspected the date was not a coincidence, but a clue that the event was "a Communist trick," and quoted a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution as saying, "Subversive elements plan to make American children live in an environment that is good for them." The idea that the date was chosen to celebrate Lenin's centenary still persists in some quarters, although Lenin was never noted as an environmentalist.
- April 22 is the birthday of Julius Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day, a national tree-planting holiday started in 1872.
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A bit of fun and whimsy mixed with seriousness from this site on nature's best solar collectors -cats. Among other things, the site sells Solar Cat Aircraft Carriers.
Placing the aircraft carrier in one's shopping cart renders this error message:
Continue reading "News From You: Earth Day 2008"
Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 12:32 PM | Comments (3) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
April 21, 2008
Jeans fit lousy these days
Note: At close we have a sponsored give away; a free pair of jeans from Tummy Tuck Jeans.
I have been sitting on this post for a couple of months mostly because I don't know what to call it and I don't have any (easy or fast) answers. Specifically, what's up with the fit of jeans these days? I am beyond annoyed. I thought it was just me but then I got this email from Sue:
I am a consumer who found your site while I was looking for links to pants patterns and manufacturing. I have been noticing the trends in the patterns for most commercially retailed women's pant. The recent troubling trend is the lack of buttocks room at all, even in higher rise pants. It just seems the a$$ just keeps getting flatter in all pants. It may be a way to save costs on labor (less curves and uneven measurements ) and material. But even the expensive brands are going in this direction. What the heck is happening and who do I holler too?! I am so frustrated I could scream.
Specifically, jeans are round-mounds lately. I'm calling it the mono-butt. There's no nice way to say this but -we have cheeks back there, what happened to the bifurcation? A buttless, mound back there is annoying. What happened to "shape and lift"? This isn't flattering. We want cheeks!
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Posted by Kathleen Fasanella at 1:40 PM | Comments (69) | Email to a friend | TrackBack (0)
