CATCHING UP

Is anyone else struggling to believe it’s nearly the end of January already?! Last time I looked it was Christmas, actually probably closer to September of last year!

It’s been an intense few months, full of highs and lows, hundreds of things I wanted to do and didn’t have time for, a few things I did. Oh and most of all, learning. Lots and lots of learning.

But as I suddenly seem to have a few hours to let my feet touch the ground, here goes with some key events from the last few months:

September 2019: registering the new business name and buying the web address. Things start to feel real. Now how do I build a website exactly?!

October 2019: my first delivery of samples arrive from Spain - heart in mouth moment!

I shouldn’t actually call them samples though, it was my first full production order; we’d been working on the samples since early March. 

Anyway, whatever we’re calling them, two huge boxes landed at our front door - with who knew what inside. Of course, I knew what I hoped to find - but would they be ok? Would they be what I’d worked on, seen samples of, tweaked over and over again until they were just right - would they be that, or a total mess, money sent overseas on a wing and a prayer with no real guarantee of what I’d get in return…

It felt the same as opening that letter you get telling you your exam results - you want to do it, don’t want to do it… and everything goes slo-mo till you do.

Fortunately for me, my manufacturer had a done a great job - and writing this, I realise again how lucky I’ve been with the contacts I have, the friends I’ve made this last year.

Which brings me to photoshoots. October was a busy month! Life had backed me up with a really talented, generous photographer who believed in what I was trying to do, and together with a great model who helped me out in return for some clothes, we got two fantastic shoots under our belts and the brand was ready to go.

My big lesson from that first part of last year? You can’t sell gear if you don’t have samples and photos. Sounds simple right?! But then, most of the lessons I’m learning these days are super obvious - once you’ve learned them.

November 2019: all about a website.

Learning how to make one, getting the pictures up online, writing the copy. Trying to be ok with ‘it’ll do for now’ rather than driving myself crazy trying to get it all perfect in one go. Oh and a little thing called marketing - how does that work again?! SO.MUCH.TO.LEARN…

December 2019: making my first sales.

Somewhere around the end of November an email dropped into my inbox from Selvedge magazine. It’s a magazine I’ve been reading for years now, and step back to every now and then when I need some genuine creative input. It’s a mecca of textiles, colour and great design - a regular feast for your creative senses. They do a Christmas market every year - I’ve been myself - and suddenly, there it was, the perfect launchpad for a brand dedicated to beautiful fabrics, great production and quality over quantity.

Did they have any stalls left? Bizarrely they’d just had a cancellation; I was in. Of course they didn’t actually confirm that with me till about 3 days before the show, so there I was packing pants and sweating, and not for the first time, questioning my sanity and longing for the ease and safety of my old life.

But the show was amazing. At one point I was struggling to keep up with the number of people at the stall - I just couldn’t believe it. I got to speak to people who really loved the brand, and picked up some great ideas for what I could be doing better.

And I didn’t know it at the time, but I got myself an agent too.

January 2020: running to stand still.

New season selling starts in February, so January suddenly became about designing Spring and Autumn styles, finding and ordering fabric, getting samples made - all in about 3 weeks flat. With a trip to Paris in the middle - oh and some new tenants for my flat, a boiler service, gas certificates, cleaners and new contracts to be signed…

Until here I am, January 26th, with an unexpected (couple of hours!) breather. The new styles are in work. That contract got signed on Friday. The cleaners were in yesterday… and the fabric is in the mail. If it arrives in time, I’ll have a new sample collection ready for Friday, and fingers very tightly crossed, some beautiful new stockists come February.

So wish me luck guys - I’m not sure what next month will bring, but if it’s anything like the last six… well - anything could happen!