Two giggles to start off the week

Giggle No. 1 - We call this "Scootshi". Or "Scooter roll."
He does like to be surrounded in a safe cocoon
whenever he rides in the car. Travel anxiety. And that really isn't a mournful look of sadness on his face, but the heavy lidded, drooping eyes that go along with his relaxed Yoda ears. In two minutes he'll be sound asleep. My baby grand dog helps me start the day with a smile.

Giggle No. 2 - is the sort that comes from giddy, squeeking excitement. All four packages of the production order arrived from Peru today. Easy peasy. I picked them up at the post office and am now sorting through them, getting them ready to sell. The new button samples also arrived and they look great on the Lucky and Tigger scarves so I have to order the dozen I need of each since the other buttons I bought don't look half as good. Lesson learned once again-- stick with first instincts. Color always looks great! It wasn't a major expense but I'm trying to keep any additional cost to the scarves as low as possible. Gladly though, the wholesale pricing is 40% less so that will be a nice savings.
In the "any day now" catagory, the hangtags should also be ready this week after having approved the layout last Wednesday.....and finally (and happily) the website is finished. WHOOT!!
It's really terrific and will get better as we update it. Erika is quite the geek (saving me a bundle in the process). Then there's the cost of advertising. Holy Hannah!! Here's another major decision I have to make as I try to stretch the meager remainder of the seed money to accomodate print ads. Like Doggie Aficionado and Modern Dog.
I think I have to forget about the advice from my mentors and get a loan after all. To wait till the sweaters start to sell would just be wasting valuable time that could be spent on
designing, advertising, sending out press releases (for free publicity) and all those other good things that go along with start ups. Still.........I'm feeling pretty good about how things have progressed and if I find the right selling venue, I could get this whole thing up and running in time for the holidays.......which was my intent all along. Good job Patricia! On time delivery is a huge plus.

Elegant yarns are spinning around in my head

Spin Expo, the premier fiber and yarn trade show is taking place at the Altman Building on 18th Street in NYC, July 19, 20 and 21. The yarns I've seen are luscious, especially the ones from Italy and though expensive, I've found several vendors with small minimums (which is the first question I always ask) They are very gracious and helpful and will be sending me style cards and even a ball or two of my yarns of choice to work into the new sweater designs. It's so exciting really because I can visualize what I originally wanted to do with Lollypups from the onset and now that I know who produces the yarns that would work for me, I feel a freedom that had been stiffled before, now opening up with new possibilities. Another thing I'm realizing, that in order to make these elegant, high end garments, although the crochet ones will be the bread and butter collection, with additional styles done by Peru, I may have to consider creating something for to be made by knitting machine. Stoll has a wonderful set up here in NY, with an online library and capabilities to create custom swatches. It's making my head spin.

There's a Spanish supplier I found who has the purple lurex yarn I had searched high and low for to use in the Misty style. Ofcourse it's too late now and Misty is a bit more subdued than the original, but for future reference, his minimums are low and they would send product (as was the case with all the vendors) to Peru.

It's been a fruitful couple of days. I wired Patricia the balance for production so she will be sending out the 4 boxes tomorrow. I've made some mistakes which I know is part of the learning process, but am excited to see the first collection and what the outcome will be.

I'm down to my last thousand dollars so I hope I can start replenishing my funds soon!

And finally, Patricia sent the picture of the Tigger scarf! Looks good. I'm convinced though that I must do the Candy and Misty styles as well. I'll work on the specs and let Patricia develop the samples since she has the yarn . Once I have the funds I can place another order or maybe by that time, I'll have gotten a loan. Back to work.............

There's something just wrong about trying to sell sweaters in 97 degree heat!

I sit at my computer, air conditioner humming, attic fan sucking out the hot air in the attic above my studio ceiling, and my portable fan is clipped to the edge of the desk, turned toward me, blowing. That's how hot it is today.

Lacy has been feeling under the weather for the past 4 days (I thought it was the heat which it was , partly) but it seems she got that stomach infection again so I started her on the rice and chicken diet as before. She sleeps beside me on the floor, not even interested in the nice soft pillow beside her. Then she gets up and slowly moves toward another spot, I never know where to find her, but she sleeps. It makes me realize how old and slow she's getting and I shiver, even in the heat.

On to the business at hand. Patricia is shipping everything on Monday the 19th as promised. In the end I think things were handled kind of sloppy on my part and on hers. In our anxiousness to get things resolved so as to keep the shipping date, I've let a few minor things slide with the scarves. I asked if I could have a picture sent of the Tigger draped on the mannequin since I never got one. Patricia said she can do it on Monday when they're ready to be shipped because one of her ladies is working from her home not with the workshop and so she hasn't seen it. That scares me. If she hasn't seen it, who's minding the store? Next time, I don't want to do development of stock before finalizing everything first when I'm in Peru. Sample development is one thing, production is another. I do have a lot of confidence in Patricia, she's been on target most of the time but my funds are running dangerously low and I can't afford any mistakes.

I finally heard back from Fair Trade Knitters. My last contact with them was back in January!

They work with Ecuador where there is some beautiful wool production so I'm anxious to see if they will follow up this time and give me color and quality information. At least they're local and it might be easier working through them from here. I do need other sources, that's for sure!

Erika is doing a great job on the website. I'm truly in awe of my first born and her tech capabilities. I thought I was pretty website savvy but she has been constantly coming up with little bits and pieces that make the new site look good and much more clever than I can. She does get short with me if I don't understand something after trying to explain it to me umpteen times. Like how the hell does Twitter work?? I can't help it if I'm slow.........hmmmmm........Lacy and I may be "old dogs" but we're not incapable of learning new tricks ;(

I think I'll play my fiddle now.......I know I'm better at it than she is::::hee hee:::

Dog days of summer and petwear progress........

After a glorious and restful 4th of July weekend at our friend's magnificent home in Southampton, and two of their canine visitors Macy and Jack, it's back to work with last minute preparations for the mid month delivery of my first collection. It's been a rocky road, (see earlier entries) filled with frustration and disappointment, but all of that adds up to the satisfaction that comes with hard work, stamina, a touch of stubbornness, a bit of humility and an enormous amount of moxie. I knew I could work hard (always did), and all the rest, but the moxie surprised me. Self esteem was always a struggle, and just like the other qualities needed to achieve one's goals, seems that it was buried somewhere in my insecure psyche just itching to get out....I am woman, hear me roar...........::sorry::
The Lucky neck warmer is in production, Tigger neck warmer has been approved, and the kinks were ironed out and perfected on the Maxine (cotton) sweater and everything looks good.

I just this moment received the pictures of the Pepper neck warmer and was a bit nervous about that one because of the complex button closure but, leave it to Patricia to absolutely "get it". With a few tweeks, that one will be approved too! All I can say is "whew". I'm only running the three for now, to see how people respond to them. The Misty Heart and Candy styles, though my personal favorites, are a bit more complex and might end up being more expensive so, I'll hold off for the time being.


Now the focus is on getting the Lollypups name out there. The label is perfected and will be ordered this week as will the hang tag. Brochures and press releases are being sent to newspapers and magazines, and my friend Christy, a journalist, will be doing a lifestyles write up some time soon. She also keeps me abreast of any pet events she hears about where we can attend and I can push the product. I've already donated a sweater to Dogs In Danger, for their online auction to help ...........well..........dogs in danger, a not for profit organization that I've become involved with. Their goal, to rescue soon to be put down dogs in animal "shelters" across the country. (I use the term loosely since what kind of sheltering are they really doing). Anyway, Dogs In Danger and all similar rescue organizations need money in order to keep going. As soon as I have the link, I'll post it for anyone who may feel the urge to save one of these little guys.

Pet wear you'd wear comes to life.........

The first scarf came in, based on the Lucky Rainbow style and I think this concept is going to work out well. The only thing I'm giving thought to as far as the silhouette, is to modernize it a bit more. Grandma Sophie Lapson made these little neck warmers for all her children, grand children and great grand children and I kind of followed her idea for the shape only longer. Patricia's ladies did a beautiful job, based on my sketch and schematic but I'm used to making the first proto myself so that I can experiment with the style. I don't have the luxury of time to play around with designing right now (the FUN part of having a business) because there's so much to do before the product comes in. I'm pretty clear on the right way to do it after giving it some more thought, I just hope I can clarify how it will work to Patricia. It's not a huge order for her, but I am concerned about timing also.
Meanwhile, the brochures came in and look great! so I'll be busy getting them out in the market and to various publications. I applied to Pet Fashion Week NY and hopefully will be able to get the needed publicity and sales to get this venture up and running. I'm not ready for HH Backer 's Holiday show but who knows, maybe next year!
It's a hot day and Lacy is taking yet another nap. Daughter #1 is in Columbus, Ohio about to embark on her first trade show for her own business, Sonic Legends, at a gaming convention. Daughter #2 is due back Friday morning from a dream trip to Israel though there has been an indication in her facebook posts that she may "never come back" (she will). So, all is as it should be on this Wednesday, June 23,2010. The boss is saying "back to work, Lieberman" and since that's me talking to myself, I guess I better get to it before I'm taken away in a straight jacket.
More later...........

Saving the planet or at least it's canine inhabitants..........

Lacy and I attended the "Dogs in Danger" event in Yorktown Heights this weekend. It was for a good cause, pet adoption and saving dogs from being euthanized, a cause near and dear to my heart. Unfortunately, it was not well attended, possibly because it was the first of an annual event and the weather was soggy, but the spirit wasn't dampened by those who attended, and the dogs were wonderful.......... It got me thinking however, about how some people view dogs and the bad press they sometimes get.

To me, most dogs really aren't so called, helpless victims of human cruelty. They're pack animals that know how to survive as such and so, if they feel threatened, they will fight back........as is their nature. It's man however, who has the upper hand. If they do fight back and attack a human who is hurting them, they are classified as "vicious" and are beaten into submission or worse, put down.
My question is, who are we to determine how another species is "supposed to" survive. The rule of nature is, after all, "survival of the fittest". If a dog attacks a child who playfully pulls on his ears, that's a tragedy, without a doubt. But think about the mind of the dog. The child doesn't know that it's a creature who's survival is based on an instinctual behavioral mechanism. The consequences of pulling on the dog's ears one too many times is not in the child's own instinctual behavioural mechanism and so, the dog may react in the only way it knows how......self preservation. The child doesn't know about self preservation because it has it's mom and dad to worry about that for him. Also, the dog doesn't know that the child is only playing, but may read it's behavior as aggression. Neither one's thinking is right or wrong, but the dog "must be distroyed" because we humans say so.
An old cocker spaniel in my neighborhood some, 34 years ago, was startled by my little 4 year old daughter, who visited him now and then because she loved dogs. He was old and deaf and when my child came up behind him, he jumped up and bit off the tip of her nose. Ofcourse, I was upset for my daughter and as a mother, thought in terms of how this would disfigure the face of a young girl but never did I blame the old dog nor demand that as an uncontrollable and vicious beast, it should be killed. That is, however what happened. Sadly, it was put down by its owners, a hard decision for them I'm sure, but when my little 4 year old found out, it was more devastating for her than the plastic surgery she needed to repair her nose.
I know that most people are good and kind hearted when it comes to animals, and if they saw an injured animal on the side of the road, they would stop and help it. Am I naive? Probably, but then, Lacy and I talk about this all the time......or, actually........I talk, Lacy listens..........(I think).

My daughter grew into a beautiful young woman, but to this day, I still feel a twinge of regret about that old cocker spaniel and the people who loved him.

Samples arrived and all is as it should be.

Everything came in on time as planned. Each style in each available size, corrections made with no problems and the only thing that needed watching was the Misty and Candy styles where the turtle neck collars seemed a little wide. Patricia is back from her trip and will be on top of things.

I sent her a schematic of the woman's scarf style for the Lucky which will actually be a neck wrap instead of a full out long scarf. It is more in keeping with the pet sweater style and will use less yarn, and so, save on costs. Waiting to hear the outcome this week. Other scarf styles will follow the same schematic shape but Misty will be a little different, running the length of the scarf instead of the width. Those should be ready for her in the next couple of days, the plan

being that they can be shipped along with the sweaters, due to arrive in mid July in time for the holiday selling season.

Saturday was Emily's graduation party and ofcourse, the place was overrun with dogs...hectic yes but an excellent photo op. Elegant and regal Scooter sat in the middle of the garden, (his choice) and posed until the shot was taken, then turned and struck another pose. Such a natural. Pepper looks great on his pale coloring.

Then came Harry, the newest member of the clan. I was able to get off some great shots of him wearing Tigger and in spite of his puppy energy, he was the perfect model especially when he finally got tired out (which was way AFTER me naturally).

The newest style "Maxine" was developed in pima cotton for the Spring and Fall seasons where alpaca would be too warm. The styling worked out great and so I'll offer an xs-small; and a medium-large because of the stretch in the rib being enough to compensate two sizes in one garment. I also need to work on a more masculine model without the cute little pointed lace collar and sleeve treatment. My mind is racing as I figure out all these scarf and sweater details. Now that the samples are here,there's publicity to get started with. Upcoming events will certainly be helpful but I need to start sending out press kits and rebuild a better website. Here I go again..................