If you called me a nerd, you’d be right. After eight years in business, this is my continuing mission.
I distinctly remember when it first caught my eye. I was walking down the sidewalk of a quaint Michigan town. We had just finished our blue moon ice cream (northern midwesterners, I know you know) and were on our way to the boardwalk with the family. There, in the window of one of the boutiques, […]
Have you ever wondered what makes brides so stunning? I think the clothes have something to do with it. The things that make bridal fashion so special don’t have to be exclusive to bridal, though. Ready-to-wear brands can say yes to the same approach and create clothes their customers will fall in love with.
When someone says something looks “homemade”, it often implies that it doesn’t look professionally made. No brand wants their garments to look unprofessional – including brands who do produce their pieces in a home studio. So how do you avoid a homemade look and instead imbue a garment with polished quality?
As a slow fashion brand, you’ve probably made a point to find production partners that align with your values and “get” what you’re trying to build. This is great, but I don’t think the conversation should stop here. What I don’t see discussed – that I think is equally important to finding a factory that […]
Designers, do you know how your design decisions affect the garment production cost? Each detail you choose, fabric you select, or seam type you go with influences how much that garment will cost to make. When you are aware of the cost consequences, you have the power to fit both your vision and your budget.
Switching patternmakers, graders, or factories doesn’t mean starting over on your fit and sizing. You’ve worked hard to achieve your brand’s fit and sizing. There is no need to throw that away. With the right tools, open communication, and quality checks, you can find a better-fit partner without risking a worse fit for your products.
There is no one answer for how much a design will cost to produce. There are many factors in play and the top influences might not be what you think. In my experience, these are the four things that contribute the most to your production cost.
Each style needs to be onboarded to the factory and you want to ensure that the factory will be able to use the patterns that you and your patternmaker have worked so hard to perfect. Here are the different pattern formats that work for production and let’s figure out which one you need.
When something is not right with your garment or sample, how do you know what to fix? There are many steps in the production process that could be the cause. Here are signs to look for to know if you are dealing with a sewing, cutting, or pattern problem.