by Mo on March 24, 2011
Today’s interview comes with a giveaway! Author and independent designer, Jennifer Lynne Matthews, has offered us a copy of the newest edition of her book Fashion Unraveled to giveaway to you. In this book Jennifer shares lessons she has learned from good decisions and bad as she built her fashion brand. The chapters and worksheets in the book are short and sweet so you can attack them in small doses. We know working on the business side is the last thing designers want to do, and that makes us so thankful the independent fashion world has darlings like her to help us all out. Comment and tell us your biggest business mistake to this point, and be entered to win your own copy of her book. Sharing stories of making mistakes helps all of us collectively learn.
Darlings: How did your early experience as a designer inspire the book?
Jennifer: I made EVERY mistake possible in my early days of starting a business as a designer. I really had no idea what I was doing, even though I thought I was prepared for it. I had a plan. I’d sink myself into the business and learn the rest as it went. I recall that there were a couple books available when I started, but they weren’t written for me. They were filled with hundreds of pages of huge blocks of text which really didn’t work for my dyslexia or my patience. They made for rather large paper weights. I did eventually get through those books, but they didn’t cater to a small business, which I was. They focused on the designer with tons of money to invest.
Since I made every mistake known to man, I thought it would be a great idea to write about how to do it (by way of how not to do it). I always loved writing, so blending my two passions was inevitable.
Darlings: If you had to cull the book down into a list of top 5 tips for independent fashion designers what would they be?
Jennifer: That’s a tough one, but here you go:
- Know who you are catering your business to – in other words, know your customer.
- Figure out the whole marketing situation for your line – how are you going to get the word out about you.
- Know and watch your competition – they can be amazing research for 1 & 2.
- Know what it costs to run your business – not just the materials, but the operating expenses.
- Figure out a pricing model that works to bring you a profit and a salary.
Darlings: This is a second edition, what changes did you feel were necessary from the first edition?
Jennifer: The first edition covered a lot of information, but I listened to the feedback from my readers and made appropriate changes in the second. I added new case studies, lots of new forms and an entire detailed section on business entities, taxes and the like. Some might find it a little overwhelming, but the second edition covers everything I wanted to write in the first edition, but was afraid to write.
The first edition was written right before the market crash and was released just after. Many things in the industry have changed in just the few short years since things went bump in the night. I adapted these industry changes into the second book.
Darlings: Do you think there are common mistakes designers make when they are starting out?
Jennifer: Absolutely. As creatives, we just want to think about the craft. It is what makes us happy. We figure the business stuff will happen because we have a great product. The truth is, we are creatives and haven’t thought the business side all the way through. I find that the majority of designers starting a business neglect the money part, because design is the fun stuff.
Darlings: Can you share a little bit about the online business plan building program? Has it launched? If so please share the URL with us.
Jennifer: Business Plan Unraveled is going through its final Beta testing right now. I actually just updated our website with details about it. The software basically follows the business plan design in the book. The program walks the user through compiling their information, so it can be used with the book or on its own. The program can be found at
www.businessunraveled.com. I’ve been patiently waiting for the programmer to complete all the changes (this programmer is also my fiance and he works Monday through Friday, so I’m not going to push him too hard). Here’s to hoping that it will be ready to be fully launched in April.
Darlings: You are also working on an online school for fashion and jewelry, can you share a little about this as well? It sounds like a great resource.
Jennifer: I’m always looking to create the next best thing for entrepreneurs. Once the program is officially launched, we will begin building an online school for entrepreneurs, fashion designers, jewelry designers and crafters. The courses will be an affordable option to individuals wanting to learn the trade, but not concerned with receiving a degree. We plan to offer classes on various skills including sewing, pattern drafting and my specialty, draping and lingerie design.
We plan to start developing the classes in April and May as soon as time permits. I’m a busy lady. I’m also writing a series of lingerie design books presently.
by trish on February 14, 2011
by Mo on May 5, 2009
Don’t you want to know more about Nolcha and what this Fashion – Business – Network is all about? We have been posting Nolcha opportunities here in the Smashing Blog to entice you to jump in and see how Nolcha can help you and your business. Some of you have done just that…congrats go out to Kimberly Hendrix, we’ll be seeing her designs hit the Nolcha runway this Fall during New York Fashion Week and we can’t wait! In the meantime, get to know Nolcha better below.
Darlings: Give us the skinny on “Nolcha,” and the meaning behind it.
Kerry: Nolcha provides business resources to the emerging fashion market in a professional and sophisticated manner. Although our resources and opportunities are cost effective for the emerging and independent fashion designer, this does not reflect in our events, materials or programs. We are aiming to be the one-stop destination for new fashion designers and retailers to grow their brand whether through promotion, marketing, sales and business connections. Networking is key to Nolcha. It has got us where we are today and we encourage all members and associates to do the same. Nolcha means sun in the sky in Native American. This is not why we chose the name, but you could say we are the enlightenment of the emerging fashion market (grin). On a serious note we chose a unique name that allowed us to create our own brand association and mantra.
Darlings: Where did the inspiration come from to start Nolcha, and how did the project come together?
Kerry: My background is in business communications, marketing and events. I moved to NYC from UK after college and quickly learned that there is a huge gap in the fashion industry for those starting out – they need business advice and support. I provided consultancy to brands but knew there was a larger demand and decided to grow an online network. I met Arthur Mandel, current President and Co-Founder of Nolcha, and we have grown Nolcha to what it is today.
Darlings: When was the first fashion show produced?
Kerry: It feels like many years go, but the soft launch of Nolcha was September 2007 at the Maritime Hotel in New York City. We did fashion shows for new designers in New York, London, LA, and Miami. Looking back it was a rather courageous thing to do with only enough money for our plane tickets, staff and solid relationships in these fashion cities!
Darlings: What is the most important thing you learned from doing that first show?
Kerry: Plan ahead, protect yourself with contracts and always be ready for the unprepared.
Darlings: What’s the criteria for a designer to be considered for a Nolcha fashion show?
Kerry: We are looking for designers that are bringing something new to the marketplace. A fresh eye with a strong business plan and a willingness to succeed. If they have the basics implemented we can do the rest but the designer needs to be ready to produce and sell once Nolcha Fashion Week is completed. An oooh factor from the crowd is always something we look for as well. Will the garment be show-stopping in a good way? Good cut, good drape, and great fabric choice is also very important. There are a lot of young designers that produce 20-30 looks with cheap fabric when they should be producing 15 with finer materials
Darlings: You recently opened your first retail space, will the designers change from time to time? If yes, who should designers contact to be considered?
Kerry: Yes, the designers can rotate every six months however the original eleven have first right of refusal. Designers should contact retail@nolcha.com.
Darlings: You are launching a new online resource, can you tell us a little bit about it and how you see it being used?
Kerry: The online retail portion is how we keep ahead of the trends before they even happen. We like to think of ourselves as trend makers, so if a piece by one of our designers makes it on a celebrity or in a magazine we can post it online for sale before anyone else can, giving our loyal clients the first pick. It is a new evolution in “get it while it’s hot” almost a “pre-press” instead of “hot off the press”. In the in between time we will have bi-weekly features of products that adhere to the current trends seen in the likes of the major fashion magazines chosen by some of NYC’s top stylists just to keep consumers ahead of the pack. All items will be available only for a limited time.
