Such is life.......

Meet Daisy, our new family addition (and my new grand dog). She's a spunky, animated Boston Terrier and the perfect match for her "brother" Scooter, in temperment and energy. I finally have a model for the Tigger sweater, though Daisy is growing so fast it will be outgrown in about a day. Lollypups Petwear is still struggling at this point in time with both finances and finding the right vendor to make the sweaters. I contacted the people at Fairtrade Knitters, and was advised to contact them again in January since the holidays are obviously their busiest time. The garments are made in Equador and they may be a good resource both for the highland wool and baby alpaca qualities that are available. I also contacted a rep from Textiles of Peru and they will make a sample from one of the prototypes and advise the cost so I'll be sending them a sweater after the new year as well. Lead time for both vendors is long but would be doable since I probably won't launch the garments until the next Holiday shows in September. Lastly, I contacted someone from ProArtesana, another fair trade venue working with the women of Bolivia. After a couple of tries, I still haven't gotten a response so they may not want my business. I will try again only instead of directly e/mailing the contact name that was given me, I'll send a message to the actual association and go from there. Lastly, I'll meet with someone from Aid to Artisans at the Javits Center NY Gift Show , the end of January. They seemed to be the most helpful and I really feel more comfortable with a face to face meeting where I can show the prototypes and explain what I need.

I'll be making up some new samples and am adding a "people" head warmer and scarf to be made using appliques and vintage fabric which, since it will be made in small quantities, I can embellish myself. Found out that The Limited is making dog sweaters to match their women's sweaters. Nice. I'll keep track of them and see how they're selling. Not ready to do the same, so small accessories will have to do for now. Here's hoping 2010 will be a banner year for Lollypups Designer Petwear!!

Seasonal splendor.......

Out walking with Lacy this morning and the trees are aglow in bright sunlit golds and reds-- the smell.....intoxicating. As sad as I become at summer's end, autumn provides a crisp pick-me-up on days like today. The unseasonal chill that permiated the air last week, made way for one more day of 70 degree luciousness, driving me outside to rake and garden one last time, just because...........

Discouragement is the word for the day

............so here we are again, stuck in the quagmire of business blah blah blah......It is most unfortunate that an artist's sensibility is stifled by REALITY. The reality of a situation is what one must focus on in these "so called" uncertain times. I know things are uncertain. big whoops............ What makes me crazy is that .......I've done EVERYTHING right!

(hmmm.........well, almost)

Enter.........this thing called "recession" . Yep, that's what it is. It's a RECESSION. No money to be spent on..............well, anything. People are holding onto their dough. Very careful about where it's going and for what. We're all trying to keep our heads above water but who in their right mind will spend $80.00 on a beautiful sweater for their beloved pet. What am I trying to do here??

OK.......enough self pity. Updates in brief are:

Another sweater style, called "Candy", is completed; still terrified to approach a bank for capital (see above ); sketches and ideas are pouring out of my brain; the ongoing pursuit of quality manufacturers has segued to Peru, the mish-mash wool and intarsia sweater capital of the world (all those alpaca make for some very beautiful yarns). So on I plod.

PS. Lacy went under the knife today and had 7 cysts removed, poor girl. She's doing fine but has to wear one of those cone collars until the stitches come out. She won't be posing for ten days so I'm glad she let me take her picture yesterday in the new sweater.

I LOVE THIS BUSINESS

Had a great trip to SuperZoo Pet Product trade fair in Las Vegas. Being my first big trade show, I felt like a kid in a toy store viewing a vast assortment of products available and seeing their quality first hand. Some of the apparel was very high quality and well made, and there was also lots of clothing that was cheap looking and poorly made. But, regardless, there is a market for high as well as low end.

I found most of the exhibiting, were enormously friendly and helpful even when I explained that I wasn't a buyer but simply attending as an observer and hoping to launch my own business. They were willing to give advice regarding manufacturing resources, importing issues, best sellers, the economy, the future of the petwear business. One vendor, Bob Siemon from Rockin' Doggie even showed me a video of how his beautiful collars and leads are made by hand in California. Classy. I showed him the Misty Heart sweater and how it worked so beautifully with his color choices on display. And got his feedback on my sweaters (loved them) as well as what his experiences were working with China
www.rockindoggie.com

Another terrific booth was newbie Zoe & Co. Karen Tsai, owner and a real sweetheart, has a beautiful product. Coats with "real"couture details and high end fabrics. The picture on the far right is her little dog Zoe, modeling one of them on the runway. I immediately went to her booth to offer my congrats. She also admired two of the sweaters I showed her and with her high taste level, I was doubly honored.

www.ZoeandCo.com

There was a rep I spoke to who I will keep in contact with, and Shari Smith from Green Field Paper Company with whom I discussed the possibility of having greeting cards made to send to my customers' pets or to package and sell as gift cards. They're made with seeds embedded in them and the whole thing can be stuck in soil to produce a garden (of what variety I'm not sure)

I had actually gotten something similar from a friend some 12 years ago but the card was so pretty, I never planted it. Shari gave me a sample and I'm going to give it a try.

www.greenfieldpaper.com

I also attended a couple of workshops on internet commerce, marketing and SEOs and how to make the most of your website. Lots to learn and all good to know (and helped my cottage cheese brain to grasp) once I'm ready with a REAL website.

Meanwhile, I was able to make another sweater (crocheting really helps pass the time and anxiety of 5 hour plane flights) and am in the final stages.... just need to decide on the sleeves and embellishments. I'll post that when completed.

As for my suppliers, and on the advice of several of the attendees showing at the trade fair, I've started looking into Peru (great wool resource) and Canada as possible manufacturers of Lollypups sweaters. Also tried to reconnect with a vendor I worked with at LCI who made ladies sweaters in Mexico. Once I have more information from various resources and am more comfortable with the process, I'll be able to move forward.

Thought of the day..................dog lovers are a whole different breed of person. I'm grateful to everyone who was so free to give me pointers on this business.

PET FASHION WEEK...NEXT STOP, SUPERZOO

Pet Fashion week(end) was an interesting experience for Lacy and me. Held at the Metropolitan Pavilion on 18th Street in Chelsea, the first thing you see to the left of the entrance are manikins of 5 different breeds of dogs, groomed in wild "fur"styles, one dyed hot pink, others puffed out to there, for a grooming competition. No best in show award for the FIT designs chosen to be exhibited this year (last year a competition was held for FIT students, to create a garment utilizing Swarovski crystals) Across from that exhibit, was the display of the FIT student designs chosen to travel with PFW globally, Sorbet Valentine lead the way. It was placed on one of those black "pleather" dog manikins that was a bit small for the garment but showed it okay. Though my name and description of the sweater was displayed and a half inch black & white image of my logo, I was disappointed that my brand identity was excluded which would have been a big plus getting the name out there. Turns out the purpose of the display was to focus more on the FIT School for Professional Studies program. So Lacy walked around in a tee shirt I made for her with the Lollypups logo and a shot of the Sorbet Valentine display was used in a Daily News article on Monday.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/galleries/pet_fashion_week/pet_fashion_week.html

There were lots of cute dogs, and TOO MANY strollers (but I've always objected to strollers in indoor public places whether they contain pups or babies -- that's just me) and Lacy and I were interviewed for a documentary (can't give you details because the director ran out of business cards) which will be about why people love their dogs.

I also spoke with a number of the vendors who proved to be very gracious and helpful in giving me advice on manufacturing and suppliers -- one being Carmina O'Connor of Oscar Newman, (a family run business in Peru) who's product I've always admired. Another really sweet and exuberant vendor was Tara Brown of Poochie Kingdom, a Canada based dog coat manufacturer. The coats were exquisite and lavish and Tara turned me onto the idea of maybe producing my sweaters in Canada. Don't know about that but it's certainly worth looking into. So I learned a lot, which was one of the prime reasons I wanted to attend PFW. SuperZoo in Las Vegas is next, and there will be seminars to attend as well as more vendors to speak with. I'll also be meeting with a rep in LA who works with China, to discuss manufacturing possibilities. Today is designated 'DESIGN ONLY' day. Word of mouth is spreading and I need more product so I'm shutting down my computer and phone to avoid being sucked into the information vortex, and won't show my face until I have at least 5 new sketches (and the one garment I put aside, completed). Dinner, wine and jazz this evening will be most welcomed.

Such a dweeb!!!

There are some things I just cannot do........a website is one of them. The plan was to get something up and running then worry about what it looks like later when I can afford to pay someone, and so that's what I did. Now that Lollypups Petwear is starting to get noticed, I try to update my 'pseudo' website (in between meetings, trade shows, designing, communicating with China, coming up with new concepts and preparing for Pet Fashion Week 2009) which ends up being less time than should be allotted, I end up getting disgusted and only update with text on the news page. My first venture into talking with a knowledgeable web designer, Jeff Cahn, back in March (who I was happy with , btw) was so expensive that I moved onto plan B (getting something up and running myself) but then, product development took over and web planning went back a notch. Then logo design, sample corrections, re-merchandising the collection, then personal stuff........each notch backward made it harder and harder to get back on the website track. I'm looking at SVA student and grad portfolios to maybe find someone who would do it on the cheap, then hope Jeff is available to take it over when I can afford him. So ...........
what I have now is http://www.lollypupspetwear.com/ . Any suggestions or advice (read 'free') would be more than appreciated and will result in less grey hairs and anxiety attacks for this old gal. Go ahead.........make my day ;)

Why I do what I do.........

Attended the Directions trend show yesterday and happily pulled out of my month long creative funk just being surrounded by beautiful sweater swatches, print patterns and colors. Learned a lot by just observing and talking to people face to face especially after being holed up in the studio for so long. It was so refreshing and made me realize that I need my city fix at least once a week in order to keep the creative juices flowing and not get bogged down with ONLY the financial and business prep work as has been the case lately. I've been so concerned with creating the perfect business plan, figuring out the resources and how to get things done, that I've forgotten the reason why I'm doing this in the first place. To design beautiful pet wear!

Spoke to a young woman at the print show who happened to have her lovely pup Lola with her and she gave me lots of feedback as to what she (as my target customer) is having a hard time finding that's truly "fashionable" meaning, within the current fashion trends. I'm remembering my initial concept for Lollypups was exactly that.....fashion conscious sweaters for fashion conscious pet owners. Something they would wear themselves. I feel like I've lost focus since the last print show (also, losing my mother-in-law, and Erika's wedding were so all consuming)

then, Lacy being so sick! Point being, life goes on even when shit happens........so I'm happy to say, I'M BAAAAAACCCCKKKKK! (and Lacy is too).

Got a message from FIT that the Sorbet Valentine sweater was chosen to be showcased at New York Pet Fashion Week (August 22 - 23rd) at the Metropolitan Pavilion in a special display and then to travel globally with Pet Fashion Week for one year. Nice little boost to the old, battered ego, I must say. This was the sweater that was worn on the "catwalk" at the FIT Pet Fashion show back in April. Strictly a promotional item, I'm sad to say, since it's way too expensive to produce (all those tiny stitches and silk and mohair yarns!) ::sigh::

So, in closing today's report, I must say much progress was made in the time span of only one afternoon. All is good!