Behind the Scenes: Fashion Accessories Shoot

(One of the final pics. Definitely nothing professional, however, it serves the purpose needed, and that's good enough for me!!!)

My hats for the day were photographer & marketing specialist. Took up a lot more of the day than I expected. Whew, my eyes were burning from staring at the computer for so long!

Some behind the scenes pics of my set-up for photographing some REHCY accessories.

Nothing too exciting, but hey, it takes the boring to make the fabulous!!

White poster-board used as the backdrop

Bags of buttons for styling the shots

Canon Video Camera borrowed from my Brother, Javan

**Accessories & Happy Trees**

Clothing is all well and good, but accessories bring in the largest portion of your revenue. Every would be designer will benefit from knowing this. Think about is, you're browsing through a store you see an amazing dress, you fall in love with it, you check the price tag, your eyes get huge, and you say, "Holy freaking crap, that's to much for my pockets!!" You quickly walk away, and on your way to the exit you see the most adorable bangle bracelet. In a few minutes you're ringing up at the cash register, all excited to wear the cute bangle with your favorite sparkly top. Sound familiar?

That dress was way to much for you to spend, but you walked out of the store happy and satisfied with the "what-a-great-find-at-such-an-amazing-price" face. Yes, many shoppers do this, and the one's that can afford the dress also buy accessories at the same time to go with it. So remember, accessories, accessories, accessories!!!! Hmmm... needs a cheer...

"Accessories, accessories,

They make me so very pleased!

Fill my tummy with happy...trees?"

Not so sure about that... well, you get the picture. By the way, don't ask me what happy-trees are because I have no idea! ha ha

This post was inspired by the fact that I am currently working on accessories for Rehcy and plan to have some posted for sale this week. Hope this post helps someone on the path to design success!!

"Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it."

Quote by Jacques Prevert


(I do not claim ownership the photo in this post)

Business Cards, Websites, & Finances

Got my new business cards printed, Yay!!! Thanks to my "big sis" Brandi who pulled some strings at Speedee Printing and got them printed speedeely. lol Yes, I know, corny joke. :-P

Finished up some more accessories for the show.

And lastly, finished the websites for both my accessory line and my new clothing line!
Check out
Rehcy & Rehcy Vonne

Now for the bad, due to serious time constraints, I will not have time to make handbags for the fashion show. :-( So I am planning to launch those in the next collection that will hopefully be releasing in the fall.
Also, money is very tight, & because of that, some of the legal steps that I wanted to complete before the show will have to be completed after the show. Other paying projects have had to be put on hold due to the fashion show, and I have not been able to take on any new clients. So I'd better make some sells after the show, or...

Daily Concern: Finishing everything I want to finish in time for the show.

Fashion Show

Hey Hey,

First off today, the SBA called me today, but I missed the call. Wow, they contacted me a lot quicker than I expected! I returned the call, and left a message on the woman's answering machine that contacted me. Hopefully, I'll be able to speak with someone tomorrow.

Now for some exciting news... I will be showing a clothing collection along with my accessories in a fashion show for the benefit of the American Cancer Society on 7 May 2010!! A friend of mine, Tim, is putting on this show in honor of his late mother. This is going to be a whole lot of work!! Exciting though!!

Tim and I met today to go over some paperwork and deadlines for the show. I signed a contract stating that in the event that I do not meet the deadlines/requirements I would not be allowed to participate. Better get on it!! lol This will be the first show I've done since college. Have to say I'm a bit nervous!! :-P

I'll keep you guys up to date on the goings on in preparation for the show.

Exciting, exciting!!!

Step by Step Plan: Draft 1

Alright Everybody,
Here is a list I made to simplify and break down the tasks in Chapter 2 of The Fashion Designer Survival Guide. Each tasks will eventually have to be broken down into smaller sections, but for now this will suffice. At least now the chapter seams far less mind-boggling! And that's always good!! lol

Chapter 2 Step by Step

1. Look for local classes provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA)
2. Write Rough Draft of Company Overview
3. Research my company's Market
4. Write Description of Target Customer
5. Write Draft of Sales Strategy
6. Research and list my Direct Competitors
7. Figure out and list my top three Indirect Competitors
8. Write Draft of Operations Plan
9. Complete First Draft of Business Plan
10. Check out Lawyers (for Setting up Business/Discussing Business Options)
11. Design Company Trademark
12. Talk to Small Business Owners about Starting my Business
13. Look into Bookkeeping and Accounting (Quick Books Pro?)
14. Talk to Lawyer
15. Financing Options

Note: This plan can and most likely will change, grow, and be updated at anytime, but of course I will post those changes so you guys can stay up to date about everything.

Some Supplies

Hey Hey Everybody!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
Today I decided to post some pictures of a few of the supplies I use in making accessories. I apologize for the horrible photography; I am not a photographer at all!! lol
Also, I'm going to soon be reading some more in The Fashion Designer Survival Guide, and I will let you know the details.

'Till Later...

First Chapter

Hey Hey!!

The informative first chapter of The Fashion Designer Survival Guide included several aspects and facts that persons thinking of beginning their own fashion line should know. Some of these facts include horror (HaHa) stories and statistics on how likely a new fashion company is to fail. Such as the Small Business Association statistic that at least 50% of new business fall out within their first year! Scary!!

Readers are let in on a little of what to expect when running your own fashion company-- how much money to expect to spend, how much time the designer will have to work, business sometimes is untrustworthy etc. Let's the reader know the truth about the industry, rather than filling our heads with glitter and glam.

Before reading, I was not truly aware of how important utilizing connections and keeping open relationships are to the success of a new line. Even if someone aproaches you with an offer you can not or do not want to use at the moment stay friendly and on good terms with them-- you may want to take them up on their offer sometime in the future. No bridge burning!! lol

This first chapter taught me several useful tips. Thanks Gehlhar!

Working on Dreams,
AM

Intro to Anna Maria and 365 Days to Runway

Hey Hey Everybody!!!

Just writing to introduce myself a little. My name is Anna Maria, and my degree is in Apparel Design and Textiles. I've in the fashion industry for a few years, with experience in New York City on an urban line and also have experience with a specialty line in Paris, France. For the past two years, I've been working miscellaneous jobs and surviving as a starving artist. (HaHa) Technically I've been avoiding working a "real" job ;-) because I enjoy the freedom of making my own schedule. I love it!!!

In the world today, television shows, magazines, and web-zines make the fashion industry out to be entirely beautiful and glamorous. Don't get me wrong, there are glamorous aspects in the industry i.e. celebrities, travel, art, but these are only a very small percentage of the whole. A beautiful clothing line doesn't just pop out of sketch over night. Blood, sweat, months of work, and many, many hands goes into creating each garment. Everyday I meet people that have no idea what the fashion industry truly is. Friends come up to me saying, "Hey, I saw this leather jacket on a movie, could you make one like it for me by this weekend?" which just happens to be only three days away. They do not realize how much work and time goes into creating a custom garment. Yes, yes, I know some of you are thinking about a certain runway show right now, and yes, I know they create their garments in just a couple days. However, you also notice that often the garments are left uncompleted, and I bet that if you turn those dresses inside out the finishing is most likely not up to par.

Since college I've been wanting to start my own clothing or accessory line, but haven't been able to keep myself focused on this goal. A local gallery and boutique does sell some of my art and my accessory "line." Quotations are placed around line due to the fact that the actual line is a very small amount of items that have yet to have the name made official. I am out to change this...

The blog will consist of my day to day journey of creating a fashion line from start to runway in 365 days. Every detail will be included from the more mundane aspects consisting of such things as fictitious names, legal, trademarks, and financing, as well as, the more creative parts that I personally consider more fun i.e. inspiration, sketching, finding models, and photo shoots. You will get the dirty and gritty along with the shiny and sparkley. My freak outs and my fashion highs. I hope you enjoy the ride, or at the very least, learn a little something.

Remember, 365 Days to Runway...

Working on Making Dreams Reality,

Anna Maria