Wholesale Wrap Up

So we conquered the cotton prints and were so spent! It was the last day of the Expo so we had to act fast to find the rest of the fabrics we needed...velour and corduroy. Surprisingly, they were both hard to find. There seemed to be rows upon rows of booths with fabrics that had no appeal to us or our needs. Finally, we got lucky and stumbled upon David Textiles.


From our perspective it looked as though they only had quilting fabric and licensing/character type fabrics. Had it not been for a very affable, eager and humorous sales rep we may have kept walking. He looked kind of like this guy. He made us an offer we couldn’t refuse…
Within moments he had more swatches of cord than we could have hoped for and the perfect velour!!! He let us run them over to the Seven Islands Fabric booth to see if it worked with our cottons and it was perfect.
Next we needed buttons…we needed the perfect blingy button, not too big, not too small but just right. In spite of the overwhelming plethora of choices we could not find what we needed.
Natalie was all out of annihilate and I was “swamped” as usual. She was wandering aimlessly from booth to booth and begging me to leave. I knew if we didn’t pick something we would kick ourselves later…buttons are pricey man! So, we saw, we overcame, we conquered. Buttons…check! They were so inexpensive I don’t think I could pay retail again without complaining all the way to the cash register.
So to wrap it up, if you are interested in buying fabric or all things crafty at wholesale for your fledgling crafty business this is what we recommend:
• Find a trade show as close to home as possible…no need to pay more than necessary for your first experience...unless of course it is in Vegas.

• If you already have your business license and tax identification number then you are golden. Just register for the trade show under the category that best fits your trade. For example, retailer, buyer, manufacturer etc.

• If you do not have all your ducks in a row yet (translation: AMATEUR) then see if you can attend the trade show as a representative of a company that is not an amateur. If you ask VERY NICELY I am sure they will be more than happy to accommodate you. Be sure to represent them with the utmost professionalism. We were honored to represent Pattycakes Kids...an awesome place to find that perfect outfit or have a princess tea party.


• If someone is nice enough to allow you to ride their coat tails (Patty Zimmer you ROCK!!!) then make sure you DO NOT make a purchase using their credentials unless they have given you prior approval. In the end it all comes down to the tax burden and who is going to carry it. When we sat down to make our first wholesale purchase we made it very clear that we were a new business and in the process of getting our paperwork. The vendors and exhibitors were more than happy to help us with our order; HOWEVER, our order would not be shipped until they had the required information from us.
• Be laser focused (like Natalie)! Be perfectly clear in your own mind as to why you are there…do not get distracted (like Carrie) by all of the options. We stepped through the doors knowing exactly what we wanted and did not leave until we had conquered! It helps to preview the exhibitor booth layout online so you don't waste time wandering around searching for your favorite designer.
• Our smokin’ deal with David Textiles is a perfect example of what happens when you wait until the last day and hour of the Expo to make your move. Many exhibitors will be more likely to negotiate in the 11th hour. Remembering that we are AMATEURS, we did not plan that, we just got lucky.
• Finally, have a blast…we laughed so hard at ourselves and how lame we were!

Can You Say Wholesale?

When a cheetah hides in the tall grass waiting to pounce on a herd of cute little antelope it can encounter a phenomenon called "swamping effect". As the hundreds of antelope fly by it becomes so overwhelmed with it's options it can't focus on any one antelope. Before he knows it dinner has passed him by. All he sees is a bunch of antelope butts in the distance. Due to his inability to commit and focus he ends up with nothing and, really, any one of them would have been just as tasty as the other.
I am the cheetah, Carrie the Cheetah... the antelope are really bolts of fabric and...well you get it. I am a decision making nightmare...there are so many beautiful options...ugh!
Natalie on the other hand, well, she is the kind of cheetah who starts killing antelope right away...she is Natalie the Annihilator...she picks off the antelope she wants and never looks back wondering if she got the tastiest, fattest, or yummiest antelope...she is full and completely confident in her decision.


So Carrie the Cheetah and Natalie the Annihilator step into the International Textiles Expo...although it sounds like a match made in hell it works...there is balance. Seriously I was sooooo excited...I felt like an insider and was sure we were going to uncover some ancient Chinese secret of the fabric world. Armed with our swatches of jewel toned knits we bought on our LA Fashion District trip (again, a story for another time) we hit the floor. Our goal was to find the perfect compliments in corduroy, velour, and unique cotton prints.
It became evident very quickly that we were in for a long day...so many vendors...so little time. Luckily, we knew what we did NOT want and that was basically the same options we could find at the local quilt store. Not that there is anything wrong with quilt shop fabric...it's just not going to provide options that will set us apart. Many a late night has been spent searching the internet for unique fabrics...they are out there but they are just soooo expensive! And then we saw it....smack dab in the middle of the expo....corner booth TA DA!!!...Seven Islands Fabrics.


As we flipped through the bevy of swatches we knew right away we had found EXACTLY what we were looking for. There were so many amazing options that even if we closed our eyes and did a round of eenie meenie minie moe we still couldn't go wrong. Every single print was slightly retro with a Japanese vintage flair...girly, soft, amazing colors...PERFECT.
As the "swamping effect" started to overwhelm my senses, , I remembered we had swatches to work with...yes, a starting point, a foundation to build on. Nevertheless, I sat there with a huge pile of choices and my brain went into shut down mode. From Natalie's perspective I was probably drooling and my eyes were rolled back in my head. Seeing my distress, she suggested we break for lunch.
Three helpings of tortellini later, we had refreshed and renewed our focus. Sketches and swatches in hand Natalie the Annihilator and Carrie the Cheetah sat down with Lisa from Seven Islands Fabrics and placed our first wholesale order. Natalie was genius at sorting through my indecision and the end result was perfect! We found beautiful fabric and paid 1/5 of the price had we purchased it retail or online. Yay for us! We will be back in September!!!

Fall '09 Collection Fabrics

Aren't they pretty? And that is just a small sampling of all they yummy fabrics we will be using for our new collection. We can't wait to turn yardage into fashion and we are inviting you along for the ride.

If you hadn't already noticed, our blog is a bit sparse but not for long. We are moving from infant bloggers to toddler quickly and we promise to do our best to be current. I admit that this post alone has taken quite an undertaking to accomplish...kitchen is a mess, baby is in bed, rest of family mesmerized by Shrek...so of course, I snuck into the office for a brief encounter with cyberspace.

The process of starting our Fall '09 Collection began back in the Spring...which is actually when our Fall '09 Collection should have already been done...WHATEVER. We had just come down from the high of the success of our Spring collection and were rested and ready to start again. Most of the knits we planned on using for Fall were purchased on our first shopping trip to the LA Fashion District (that's a story for another time). We still needed so much...corduroy, velour, unique cotton prints etc. Retail was our only choice locally so we figured we would be off to LA again; however, my lovely, bright, smart friend Allison mentioned that there was a textiles convention at the Rio Hotel that very weekend...The International Textiles Expo to be exact...right in our back yard...BINGO!


And then we remembered we were amateurs and that they don't let just any old seamstress into a textiles convention just because they love fabric. I told you we were new at this. But never fear, Pattycakes is here! Our blossoming relationship with Patty Zimmer, owner of Pattycakes Kids, was once again working to our advantage. Patty was gracious enough to allow us to attend the convention as representatives of her lovely boutique. What an eye opening experience and what an education...we were like two kids in a candy store.

Background

In the Fall of 2008, I was finally getting back into the swing of things after my 4th child turned six months old. It was time to quit having babies, enjoy raising them, and prepare to face the big 40 with grace.

Meanwhile...down the street, Natalie was already there..with 4 kids in the mix she had started a quickly growing cupcake/catering business and was somehow managing it all quite well. Inspired by Natalie's success I re-visited my love for sewing and decided to try my hand at ebay selling embellished and re-vamped Halloween costumes.

Upon sharing my idea with Natalie it was all over...before my first costume was even finished, Natalie had bought a serger, designed her own pattern, and sewn her first custom dress only to top it off by casually mentioning that she had been to fashion design school BEFORE becoming a pharmacist and a mother of four. Who knew? It was a match made in heaven and Brava Boutique was born.



Within weeks the original plan evolved from Halloween costumes to custom Halloween outfits to custom Christmas outfits. By the end of November, Brava Boutique had created a 25 piece fall/Christmas collection for our first client (hey Marcine!). We named our creation Glad Heart based on Proverbs 15:13. "A glad heart makes a happy face."

As much as Marcine loved it, we needed more input. In exchange for a good old fashioned GNO, we asked all the moms we knew to tell us what they thought of our first effort. By the end of the night we had 8 custom orders and a re-newed confidence that we were on the right track!

Since that great night in November we took our first fabric shopping trip to LA, obtained our business license, attended our first textiles trade show, put on our first (and probably our last :)) fashion show, met with a web designer, and bought swanky brand new Bernina sewing machines.

As of April 2009, we are basking in the glow of the success of our Spring 09 collection. In one night we sold over 50 of the 85 pieces we designed and are currently in the middle of creating an exclusive Summer collection for Pattycakes Kids. Plans are already in the works for Fall and it will be our best collection yet!

Baby Blogger

Today is the day I officially become a blogger...I am a brand new babe to the world of the cyberspace diary. I have perused many a blog in the recent past sort of wondering why anyone would want to memorialize every little step in their journey...no matter how mundane or profound. And why would anyone want to read it? Naturally, I found myself re-visiting certain blogs and being sucked into the details wondering what was going to happen next...How was the sweet young couple with all the kids recovering from the plane crash...did the husband pull through?...Did the fabric designer I love so much release her latest collection?...How did the big trade show turn out for the baby blanket designing mom? And then I realized, not only was I engaged but I was also learning things I needed to help my own business grow. I was grateful for the selfless sharing of information and have decided to be a part of it.


Brava Boutique is our name and sewing unique custom clothing for little girls is our passion. The name of our clothing line is Glad Heart. As we approach our 1 year anniversary in August we thought it would be fun to memorialize the process we go through of creating a clothing line from it's birth. We will take you along for the ride as we design, sew, and market our Fall/Christmas Collection for 2009... but first we need to catch you up on how we got to where we are now...