After enjoying a very successful trunk show in Naples at Kathryn’s Collection, I set off up the coast to Boca Grande for my next show at The Gasparilla Inn. The drive was cold, windy and rainy but the day ended with one of the Gulf’s magnificent sunsets that are only rivaled by our beautiful sunsets in the desert.
The next day arrived sunny and bright and I was greeted by the elegant facade of the historic Gasparilla Inn where I would be showing for the next 3 days.
Down this beautiful hallway and to the right was a small little room where I set up a couple of tables and a rolling rack from which to peddle my Jackets.
At one end of the hallway was the dining room. Now if you stayed here at the Inn you could have a meal plan included in the cost of your room serving extraordinary dishes by the award winning, executive chef Peter Timmins, CMC. And by the way, the palms and orchids in this room were fabulous!
At the opposite end of the Dining Room is the Living Room where tea is served every afternoon. After a busy and fun first day of working with all new customers, I treated myself to unbelievable little tea cakes and Key Lime Tartletts – yum!!!
Naples, Florida is one of the prettiest cities in the country. The beaches are fabulous and tropical breezes are punctuated with the lovely mingling of flowering plants and salt air.
I am a closet “Beachcomber” and have to get my fix every time I am near the water. This is pretty difficult living in Phoenix but I am fortunate to have trunk shows at several wonderful stores that have coastal locations. Typically my walks on the beaches of Naples do not yield much more than pretty shells but this time was a surprise. I couldn’t believe the wonderful and unusual pieces I found – coral, bits of sponge, driftwood – beautiful. I have no clue what it all is but I’ll include it with my stash.
To be able to spend 3 days in Naples doing a trunk show at Kathryn’s Collection in Old Town was a treat. The store is beautiful, the staff was wonderful and the customers generous in their purchases. This store brought back memories as it originally housed the first store I sold through in Naples. So, the location was familiar but the current store – Kathryn’s Collection - is different and lovely. For a store that was new to me, I was pleasantly surprised at the first time response of the customers. Probably half of the sales came from prior clients but it was fun to meet new and intresting women who respect my work. I enjoyed so much working with Desiree, Stephanie, Suzanne, Susan and of course Kathryn. They have fun, are engaging, and have great rapport with their customers.
While I was there I stayed at the Cove Inn- a landmark in Naples. Accommodations can sometimes be a little rustic but luckily I had a good room with a great view from my little first floor balcony. The restaurants were fun and warm and friendly with great fish at both the DOCK and BOAT HOUSE but for sure the most memorable meal I had was at the COFFEE SHOPPE. Breakfast was unbelievable with the most amazing crepe like pancakes, buttery scrambled eggs and bacon cooked to perfection. I can’t get back there soon enough - but, it was time to head up the coast.
Sunday, January 10th, 2010
December was an amazing press month for me. One of my jackets that is sold through Isadora Gallery in Sedona, AZ was featured on the cover of SEDONA MONTHLY. Unfortunately Cici Bianca was not mentioned but I understand people from all over the country called the store to inquire about it. Sounds like they are all arriving in March so I guess I had better order in materials!!!
December Issue Sedona Monthly
Next I’ll tell you about the article in the NY Times!!!
Friday, January 8th, 2010
It amazes me how slight changes in circumstances affect a person’s outlook.
Somewhere this week I lost my direction.
But an afternoon spent with the inspiring and uplifting
Lara Serbin of Minnie Jeanne and Sam Harvey fame, set me back on course with her introduction to me of the adorable fashion Blog
Style Rookie written by 13 year old Tavi.
I am going to spend the weekend reading all of her posts from the last two years!
We had a fabulous sunset this evening.
This always inspires me to give Thanks to
God for this beautiful world we live in.
Friday, January 1st, 2010
Blackeyed Peas Image Wikipedia
Happy, happy I am that we are in the year 20-10. Last year was tough. Did I accomplish much? I don’t think so. It wasn’t that I didn’t attempt things – it’s just that the outcomes were not what I wanted. My fault? Of course – I should have done better…
So what is on tap for this year? Well, I have done my goals for the year and although they are not anything I publically want to share I must say that almost all of them are business related and certainly pertain to the success of my company.
So here’s to:
And:
May this year be exciting, creative and profitable!!!
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
What has happened to the last six weeks??? My original intention was to post once a week… Obviously there was a hang-up somewhere. It all started with my wholesale show in New York for my Cici Bianca jackets. Preparing for this event is all consuming. I could not even begin to address the obstacles I was running into with Cici Bianca for Baby http://tinyurl.com/yhkvtf7 until I handled my primary business. www.cicibianca.com
The show was good – not fabulous, but good – a few new stores and a new rep and I did have a chance to visit baby stores in New York. I was really on a fact finding mission with the baby line. I probably hit 11 or 12 stores in the Lexington, 5th and Madison Ave areas. Mostly I was looking for stores that could handle my price point, were independent, and didn’t carry only one brand (theirs)… Tough mission. The purpose behind this was to hopefully find a rep in New York that was well respected and handled high end lines of baby and children’s clothing. Forget it… Certainly I worked with a very small sampling, but I did not receive one positive recommendation of any rep, in fact most stores said they dealt with the manufacturers directly.
Well fine… but, how do you get to those stores without an intro??? It is the same situation I run into with the Cici Bianca line for women. Unless a store discovers you, you don’t exist. It is a constant battle to get in front of the retailer/buyer, but a battle you fight again and again because you know you have something they can sell and a product their customers will love.
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
A huge problem has been determining what kind of closures to incorporate on the baby jackets. What can I use that is easy and convenient? We are looking at a rather elegant little jacket and however it is closed needs to be in keeping with the style.
Initially the thought was to close it with the tie at the neck. Bad decision as the jacket gaped open. Well what about buttons? It is difficult to weave a button hole in this jacket so what could be done there? Actually magnets would be great although there is the worry about that little great grandmother with a pacemaker… This calls for a little experimenting.
I found these darling little star shaped Lucite buttons that looked wonderful. They were unobtrusive and classic and appeared they might work. Problem - there is no way to make a good little loop/tab to slip over the button that is easy to use and didn’t cause distortion on the front of the jacket when it is buttoned.
The thought of covered snaps crossed my mind, but who wants to cover them – that would cost a fortune – so, what about the magnets? Would that work? How are they enclosed in the facing? Do they need to be covered? Are they going to be strong enough to keep the jacket closed? Trial and error – trial and error. So I am still working on this. Nothing is quite right but it will get figured out.
Now I need to deal with the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) – our government at it’s best!
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
This is tough – Babies and Toddlers are all different sizes! Short, Tall, Chubby, Skinny, Long Arms, Short Torsos – no different from adults but I need to get some averages.
- Newborn Jacket
The first baby that gets to try this on is my Granddaughter Remy. After all, she was the inspiration!
Cute eh? But does it fit? The bow is tied way too big (my fault – I tied it) and I think I need to shorten the ends but that is only cosmetic and has nothing to do with the real fit. What about the sleeves? Is the neck too tight and high under her chin? What about the body length? Is it too much fabric around her body?
Obviously I need to try it on some other bodies!
I enlisted an employee of a friend who has two little girls 18 months and 3 years old. I took several sizes to their home for a fitting and came away even more confused. The 18 month old was chubbier than her 3 year old sister. Hmm, what to do…
The next fitting was with Kaylee, daughter of the owner of Essenza Boutique in Scottsdale where I sell my women’s jackets. She is adorable and will be my one of my on going “fit models” when I don’t have access to Remy.
This was interesting because I noticed shoulders were so different too! How in the world will I ever figure out the correct fit? What do I know of babies and toddlers? It has been a million years since I was there!
I think it is back to the drawing board with the sizes. Maybe it won’t be a total revamp but I do need to at least make my sizes consistent. I don’t think it matters that they compare exactly with other manufacturers because it appears one manufacturers 6 month size is an other’s newborn or even an other’s 9 month. I just need to have my patterns always exactly the same with no variation.
But… Here is the next delimmna and it is a biggie - causing me too many wide awake hours in the middle of the night.
What about the closures???
Saturday, July 18th, 2009
One of the first steps in the process of developing the line – Cici Bianca for Baby, was determining the different sizes that would be offered. I didn’t want it to be too complicated and wanted to start with baby sizes first – New Born, 6 Mo, 12 Mo, 18 Mo, and 24 Mo. If I liked what we were doing and the response was good, toddler sizes could be added later.
The technique to produce these jackets is unique. This is not cut and sew, nor is it like hand knitting or even regular machine knitting. It is actually closer to weaving, using an over and under process combining yarns and ribbons to create the fabric.
Figuring out the sizing and writing the patterns were, and are, a challenge. The only way I knew how to do this was to take measurements (length, shoulder, chest, neck and sleeve) from other jackets and make those into patterns my workers could follow to weave the bodies and sleeves.
A trip to Kohls to purchase some inexpensive little jackets was on the agenda! Once again I found out there are no standard sizes - one brand’s 6 Mo may be an other’s 12 Mo. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to find a style by Carter that had the whole range of sizes needed for my measurements.
I purchased the 5 little jackets and headed back to the studio to my work table and trusty tape measure. Now to adapt these inches into stitches of yarn and rows of fabric for each of the sizes and hope they are graded correctly. Pattern writing is not my strong suit – I am visual and to transfer all of this into numbers is way over my head but I’m slogging through it…
Next: Will these fit?
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
This all started months ago when my pregnant daughter-in-law suggested I make baby jackets – specifically, one for my soon to be born Granddaughter. What?? Baby jackets??? I design and manufacture uniquely constructed jackets for women, hand crafted with woven ribbons of fabric and finished with crochet trims. www.cicibianca.com They are expensive and labor intensive and what do I know of baby jackets? I let the thought slip from my mind but awoke several nights later with a vision of the most adorable little item. It was designed using the same techniques as our women’s jackets but made of pink satin with a big bow at the neck. I could see it and knew this was something I could produce.
Christmas was coming and I was excited knowing it would be a perfect shower gift for the highly anticipated little girl so I set upon designing the prototype. I had no clue where to start for sizing but went on line and checked on newborn sizes (which are all over the board) and came up with something that seemed to be somewhat reasonable.
I picked an employee with the best skills for both weaving and finishing and told her what I wanted to do and she was excited and eager to take on the challenge. After several starts and stops and arguments over how it was to look – (it was my vision and my Granddaughter and I own the company!) we came to an agreement. The finished product was not perfect but it was beautiful and I knew we had created something special. Without exception, everyone who saw it had the same excited comment – “You need to make these!” Thus, Cici Bianca for Baby was born.
This is the story of what goes into the development of a new product….
Next: How in the world do we really do this?
