Start Up Kids Line

Random business thoughts & finding pattern makers, sewing contractors, cutters, etc.

November 27th, 2006

Woah. The Thanksgiving weekend is behind us. I had grandiose plans of using some of the down time doing some designing. But that didn’t really happen. Some in my head, which is where it all begins anyway. But for Fall 2007, I need to get in touch with my pattern maker today and let her know some stuff is coming. And then I have to figure out what stuff is coming.

Last week was all about rushing a wholesale order for a great boutique in a high traffic area of San Diego. They’ve got a fabulous display blanket hanging in their store and they couldn’t be happier.

I highly recommend the book “The Irresistable Offer”, it’s good. If I wasn’t so lazy right now, I’d look up the author. I feel like I now have an irresistable offer for boutiques when I walk in for the appointment, and an irresistable offer means can’t-turn-it-down. It took me until the end of last week to figure out all the details.

Just go just go just go. I think this needs to be my mantra because that’s really how I learn the most. You have to just go and talk to people to find out what their questions are going to be. You have to just jump into the vendor / supplier phone calls to find out what information they are going to need from you, to even learn what questions you are supposed to ask. But reading and research are still very valuable.

I find that what I read doesn’t make complete sense until I have real life experiences to match. Reading that suppliers and vendors will ask what you’re making – always if they’re good – is different than having the conversations. And it has nothing to do with wanting your designs; it has to do with saving you time and getting you exactly what you need. So they won’t show me silks and unwashable trims when I need jersey. And also, so they can suggest some cool stuff I might not even know about.

Referrals are as valuable as research. If you find a contractor that you love, who consistently performs well and does beautiful work, ask them for a referral to their colleagues. They will not stake their name on someone they don’t believe in, and thus the referral is likely very good. I caution that you should seek referrals from someone after you’ve seen their work, not just based on their reputation. I found my pattern maker by a stroke of luck, called a pattern maker who was listed in the yellow pages. She was going out of business, but had heard of another pattern maker in the area who was good. (This wasn’t a reliable referral yet – I hadn’t seen anyone’s work, but it was a phone number and contact name).

Called the pattern maker, had her make and adjust a few patterns (our cost for children’s patterns runs anywhere from $30 – $75 depending on complexity and number of pieces – adjustments have been around $10). Pattern maker turned out to be excellent. Our sewing contractor is a referral from her, and our cutter is a referral from the sewing contractor. Find one piece and you can find the others is the point here. Just call and call and call. And read Kathleen Fasanella’s posts at www.fashion-incubator.com on recognizing good patterns, because that’s huge too. You need to know that what you are getting is well-done.

One more tip on finding contractors: give them ONE or TWO samples to work up first. Yes, you should expect to pay for this. But don’t dump a bunch of work on someone you haven’t tried out already. We made this mistake with a random sewing contractor and it cost us big time, every sample came back wrong – weeks late. Referrals and testing, referrals and testing.

I’m really going to try to update this blog every day so I can keep on top of the fall schedule. Which means contacting our pattern maker and lining up a meeting with her. And getting the number of pieces ironed out and what they will be. Now the pressure’s on, we’ll see if I have the designing mind I think I do.

Entry Filed under: Production