Insights for the Textile and Craft Industries: The Red Papers By Mary Wingo With special thanks to Lisa Shalek and Stephanie Probst Please forward all inquiries to roxwellwaterhouse.com. Roxwell Waterhouse is the leader of fabric branding solutions. Copyright © 2013 by Roxwell Waterhouse All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Table of Contents Preface............................................................................................................................................ 1 Interview with Matt Muraoka of Permute Clothing..................................................................... 3 Interview with Victoria Behrends of SensoryBugs® .................................................................... 6 Interview with R.J. Diaz of Industry Portage ............................................................................. 10 Interview with Daniel Burch and Lisa Silverman of Nadiflow ................................................... 12 Interview with Alexandra Weiss ................................................................................................. 15 Interview with Teju Owoye of Tusodo ........................................................................................ 18 Interview with Rebecca and Paul Connor Stephanis of Cover and Connect ............................. 21 Interview with Kerry Nash of Little Lids .................................................................................... 25 Interview with Mary Jo Stockman of Fabulous Hat ................................................................... 28 Interview with Olivier Buigues of Obinova ................................................................................. 31 Interview with Joy Hutchinson of Chappel Creek ...................................................................... 35 Interview with Renee Drake of BLUEDRAKE ........................................................................... 37 I am Isabel of 'Beau Je Boutique' ................................................................................................ 39 Interview with Robyn Germanese of Eating Black Feathers ..................................................... 42 Interview with Lisa Landvik-Geyen of WarmEmbrace ............................................................. 44 Interview with Ninette Terhart of Terhart Enterprises ............................................................. 47 Interview with Jason Leach of HighCountryRugs.com .............................................................. 49 Interview with Kiki of KikiDzine ................................................................................................ 52 Interview with Pamela Frazier of Pamela Hunt Productions Seamstress Extraordinare ......... 55 Interview with Lauren Runion of YellowBobbyPins .................................................................. 58 Interview with Elyse of elyse oRiGiNaLs .................................................................................... 60 Interview with Natalie of Helmet Huggers LLC ......................................................................... 63 Interview with Kain L. and Bianca O. of TRAMA Textiles ....................................................... 66 Interview with Ralph Laborde of Swaguclothing ....................................................................... 69 Interview with Tracey Kearse of AcARRE Crochet Designs ..................................................... 71 Interview with Mazen Baltagi of StackOnRacks ........................................................................ 73 Interview with Karen Hunady of Crafts For All Seasons ........................................................... 76 Interview with Ellen Eustace of Code Red Clothing Company .................................................. 78 Interview with Judi of J.Bissinger Designs ................................................................................. 80 Interview with Judy Tan of tanQ ................................................................................................ 83 Interview with Carlene of Dries Preston Handbags ................................................................... 85 Interview with Jo Lynn Haussmann of So Cute Kidz ................................................................. 87 Interview with the Sara Scholl of Bunzuke Cloth ....................................................................... 89 Interview with Amir Usher of Amir James Clothiers ................................................................. 92 Interview with Margaret O'Donnell of Dolce far Niente Texas.................................................. 94 Interview with Keri Rogers of BAYA Wellness, LLC ................................................................ 96 Interview with Jim Lafferty of eLLz Brand Shorts .................................................................... 99 Interview with Young Ozogwu of Derasoft Clothiers and Interiors ........................................ 102 Interview with Anthony Davis of Four-T's Apparel ................................................................. 105 Interview with Erik Hover of Suburban Apparel Group ......................................................... 107 Interview with Sharon Blair of Portland Sewing ...................................................................... 110 Interview With Della Glein of della Q ....................................................................................... 113 Interview with Emily Kramer and Amanda Gaskins of Anno Domini Designs....................... 115 Interview with Jamie Godfrey of Jamie Godfrey Home Collection ......................................... 118 Interview with Averian Turner of Humble Clothing Company ............................................... 121 Interview with Jacqueline Polanco of Gaulf Clothing .............................................................. 123 Preface The fabrics products industry includes products of all types: clothing, accessories, household goods, industrial products, and artisan crafts. The fabric product industry is over a trillion dollar yearly market internationally. This guide was compiled to explore the entrepreneurial business end of such a huge, largely unnoticed market. This book is series of interviews with people from all aspects of the fashion and textile business. In it you will read how they began their businesses and how Mary Wingo of Roxwell Waterhouse they have made them flourish through hard work, marketing and sometimes just plain old good luck. But to quote Lucille Ball, “Luck? … I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: hard work - and realizing what opportunity is and what isn’t.” The interviews in this book will help you see what is and is not a great opportunity. Beginning a business is a daunting task, and a business in the arts can be even more difficult. Fashion and textiles may be one of the most difficult businesses to break into. Fashions, whether in clothing, accessories or household goods, change at breakneck speed and can take a great deal of time just to keep up with. Other businesses may not take nearly the amount of time or ongoing research. Our interviews often stress the need for education and the guidance of a mentor. Without guidance, a fabric products entrepreneur can fall into many pitfalls: expanding too quickly, not expanding quickly enough, having too much product, running out of inventory, working with people who don’t support your vision, trying to do it all alone and hiring unscrupulous subcontractors. I would like to thank the over fifty men and women featured in this book. Their time and thoughtful answers to my questions will make your transition into the business of fashion easier. I urge you to learn from their example – both in what they did right and what they did wrong. Not only did they tell me what worked for them in their business, they shared the mistakes they made and the most surprising things they have learned. This is valuable information for any new entrepreneur. If I could summarize their wisdom into a few sentences, they would be: Learn about business before you start one. Study the fashion and fabric products world. Start slowly, but don’t be afraid to leap at an excellent opportunity. Do plenty of market research before you invest in developing a product. Customer service is key to ongoing business success. But don’t stop reading there. Each person brings their own unique perspective and wisdom to these interviews. Whether you want to start a business in casual wear, theatrical costuming, home decorating, high fashion, children’s wear or exercise gear there is someone here to advise you. You can learn what forms of promotion work for each of these businesses, the importance of inventory control and how critical it is to make sure you surround yourself with the people who share your vision and your drive to succeed in this dynamic and rewarding business. Enjoy the interviews, learn as much as possible and I’ll see you on the runways! Interview with Matt Muraoka of Permute Clothing In 2011, three creative students pooled their resources together to create Permute Clothing, a funky streetwear collection What is the name and contact info of your business? Permute Clothing A CH∆NGING CLOTHING COMPANY STPL x MPLS // Minnesota