Since I wasn't sewing the shirts myself (not in my skillset,) I had to rely on the manufacturer I so carefully chose. Their quality and communication kept me happy while I waited (chanting about some things are worth waiting for....) They did send the first round of my order almost on time. These are the shirts I pre-sold and I was able to fill those orders to get a lot of shirts out into the world, which was very exciting!
What dragged on, with slight panic setting in, was the wait for the second round of this initial production run. I still had some sizes available in a few patterns, but not everything for everyone. I spent the summer sadly asking people to hold on, please wait for the backordered shirts that were due in early August, then mid August, late August, etc. It was embarrassing and agonizing! (Thank you to those who waited!)
Now that all the styles and prints are in stock (until they are sold :)) I am focusing on the next collection. I'm going to explore new patterns, possibly solids and maybe some other items. In the meantime, please wear and share Her Riding Habit @herridinghabit !
]]>These shirts are produced in small batches and multiple sizes. The branding hangtag needed to be universal, one tag fits all, in order to get a high enough minimum printing quantity to keep the costs down. A simple tag with the logo on the front and the branded appaloosa spots printed on the back in the signature color for Her Riding Habit was going to do the job. I was also able to get it printed on recycled paper, another priority.
And then I had the fabric tested for a UPF rating, after I ordered the hangtags. That would be key information to have on the hangtag! I added to each tag a sunshine bright sticker indicating the UPF test results. What a hassle that was, but I'm telling myself the stickers stand out more than if I had printed the info on the tag originally.
The shirts are made up of three fabrics, two of them have special qualities that consumers would want to know about, and the fabric manufacturer offers hangtags to advertise that info. The additional tags aren't required, but I think they help to explain the fabric. The back fabric is treated with ChitoSante, which helps the fabric be breathable, anti-bacterial, durable, fast drying and odor resistant. The tag says "ChitoSante is the only anti-bacterial bio-agent in the world that is certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency." So, okay, there's a hangtag for that. (Unfortunately the provided hangtag is a glossy coated little number, not very environmentally friendly.) The front fabric is a Repreve fiber which contains recycled materials, and there's a hangtag for that.
With three hangtags to secure to the shirts, I was ready with the tagging gun. Tagging guns are ubiquitous in retail and those little plastic fasteners are floating around the earth forever. I honestly hadn't thought about this when I eagerly bought the gadget. When I did a test tagging sample, it felt all wrong. The plastic fastener was such a bad move. There is never a good location to attach the tags. And if anyone who purchases the shirt has no patience to find scissors, like me, there's a chance of ripping a hole in the shirt when you try to man handle the plastic fastener and pull it apart. I had to ditch the tagging gun. Other options were branded ribbons, simple ribbon in a signature color, interesting string, tying them directly, securing with a mini clothespin, etc. I ended up going with a delicate hemp string that I could just loop around a button. With the hemp, at least I wouldn't feel bad about it getting tossed in the trash.
What about sizing? Sizing should be on the hangtag, right? Well, it could, but I did want the hangtags to be universal so I could do one large printing. The size is already on the tag-less label inside the shirt collar. And then I realized, for inventory storage, being able to see a size quickly would be necessary. Again with the stickers... I was able to order some kraft paper stickers with sizes and will stick those on the outside of the clear packaging by EcoEnclose.
Hangtag decisions done, and they are ready for the shirts! I'm sure the process in hangtag creation will be quicker in the future, and there may be changes as needed, but I'm super happy they are complete. Now all I need are the shirts!
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I realize the experience of opening a beautiful box with tissue paper lightly wrapping your ordered item, topped off with some branded ribbon goes a long way in making an impression on the consumer. It's nice. It's expensive. And sometimes that item doesn't fit and you still have to return it. There is also the experience of tearing into the Zappos polybag, then ripping through the clear plastic bag, just hoping what you bought fits. And when it does, it's nice. In both scenarios, I have some trash to take care of. Sure I might save the nice box and tissue for re-use, but in the end, it's trash.
I really wanted the packaging for Her Riding Habit to be low impact. I also didn't want the packaging to add a lot into the cost of the items (yes, consumers, packaging is added into the cost of each item you buy!) Cut to the chase, I found EcoEnclose. Their polymailers are made from recycled content, can be re-used again (for returns if necessary) and the material can be recycled. They also make those clear plastic bags, again recycled and recyclable. I had toyed with not using the clear plastic bags, but learned that would be a mistake. They add extra waterproofing for individual mailers and retailers like them for keeping inventory clean and orderly. So okay, protect the product, I get it. With the mailers in hand, I packaged up the samples of the sun shirts to make sure they work as planned (and also to weigh in each package size for shipping purposes.) What else can I do while we all wait for inventory to come in? I'm taking care of as much behind the scenes issues as possible so when I receive the inventory, I can ship it out to fulfill orders asap!
]]>I've mentioned the printing process before but not the button selection journey. It turned out to be not such glamorous fun. I found myself awkwardly muffling my way through a discussion about what kind of buttons I wanted. As with everything else, there is a whole vocabulary of details one should know if you want to get just the right item you are expecting; the button industry is no exception.
Thankfully I connected with an extremely helpful button expert who guided me through the options, sent samples and created prototypes for me. I tried to keep it simple and straightforward, after all, the prints on the fabrics are the quite enough. I went with an 18 ligne, round, nylon, faux horn, flat rim, engraved with Her Riding Habit and a 4 hole round recessed well where the thread goes through to attach the button, and a smooth curved backside. Apparently the recessed well keeps the threads within the button housing to protect them from getting rubbed too much and coming loose. I didn't realize there was so much functionality built into the design of a button.
So while you may never think twice about the buttons on your shirts, no need to, someone has definitely deliberated over those details.
]]>Honestly, when I received the box of samples, I couldn’t even look in it until the next morning. After all the research and development, designing and investment, I feared a bunch of samples with quality control issues, wonky seams and three arms. Once I had a quiet moment to myself and no one was around, I started to take out each shirt, one by one and hung them up. No third arms and I was getting giddy. They all looked great and ready to try on!
I decided to take them to the barn where I ride because I had planned to meet my friend Courtney and I could give her a sneak peak for some honest feedback. It’s hard to expose myself to everyone all at once.
My plan derailed when I arrived at the barn and saw just about all the adult riders had decided to take advantage of the sunshine. It’s been cold and crappy outside, so yeah, that made sense. I left all the samples in my car and went to ride. And then I mentioned to Courtney that I had them. I asked a few others if they would be willing to take a look. The impromptu trunk show began and all my ideas about a future controlled focus group with a feedback survey sheet basically went into the muck bucket.
Actually, once I got over myself, I felt extremely lucky that I ride at a barn with so many wonderful ladies. They took the time to look over the shirts, try them on, give me feedback, and offer their thoughts on what they like in riding clothes. In the end, it was a huge sigh of relief. I begged them to tell me honestly, the good, bad and the ugly. They had so much positive feedback about the designs and patterns. The “constructive criticism” was immensely helpful too, because I need to know what patterns and colors excite people and why some don’t work as well. It was also key to have people try the shirts on so I could see how the sizing worked and what adjustments need to be made. These are summer shirts and it was pretty cold at the barn, so kudos to the ladies who tried on these super thin and vented shirts!
This Spring 2019 Launch is still on target and I’m hoping I can get my own shirts to wear once the weather warms up!
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I currently have this is two color ways, and I love both.
Now I am waiting for my samples to be made in the size gradations, xs - xl. And to kill two birds and cut costs, I had each size made in a different print. This will give me the ability to check the sizing and get feedback on the actual product. And, if all goes well, I'll have a sample set for sales ready to go! For now we wait....
]]>When I started to source fabrics to use for my shirts, I really wanted to find a textured fabric which could be custom dyed. I figured I would go for an interesting color palette, colors I would like to wear, but had a hard time finding. As the sourcing progressed and ideas were tossed about, I learned about the sublimation dying process and was a little bit hooked. I could use any repeatable pattern, adjust it to any color combination I wanted and print on demand. I had found my base fabric, with the tech properties I liked (breathable, wicking, 50% recycled, cooling) and could have any design printed onto it without changing the properties or feel of the fabric.
During this search and learning process, I had selected a few patterns that I would want to wear. I also loved the pattern that my brand designer came up with as she was designing the Her Riding Habit logo. I had sent her some inspiration pictures, one happened to be a very cute appaloosa whose back end had a white blanket with spots. She incorporated the idea of the spots into the branding as a background pattern. One of the logos she developed had a horse with the blanket and spots. As we were talking it over, it became clear that it wasn't about the horse (well, isn't it always about horses?!) but more about the woman riding and what she was wearing. The shirt should be fun and an example of what I was developing for Her Riding Habit. And that's how the lady in the logo came to wear the spotted shirt!
I also had the spots developed into a repeatable pattern that I could have printed onto the fabric. These patterns are not what I had in mind at the beginning of my materials search, but it's so exciting how ideas come about during the creative process. So... come spring, there will be some spotted shirts in the branded colors for Her Riding Habit!
***This is the first time I have ever ventured into the land of youtube, and I did it just to figure out how to get this video snippet on the blog. Hopefully it will be easier next time, and hopefully the video will be more exciting! This one was provided by Oddball Workshop, the printers I am working with, and they sent this to me while my fabric was being printed. Thank you Oddball!
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I started out with a guy that was recommended, although he is based in NY and I am not. I was skeptical as we would be doing this via mail and phone conversations. I sent him a box full of notes, pictures, examples, fabric, etc. My first prototype back was nice quality, but the overall fit was comical. It wasn't cry-worthy, I had done my research and knew it would take several attempts, but the fit was so off I had to wonder if he even looked at the item I sent for a fit comparison.
In any case, not expecting perfection the first go round, I felt I had to give him a chance to follow up with a second try. I sent him notes and pictures with notes and tagged specific areas of the prototypes with more notes. MANY weeks later, after many emails and phone calls (from me), I finally got the second prototype. The fit was better, it seemed okay, but the lack of communication and the length of time it took to finish threw me completely off kilter and I knew I couldn't move forward with him. I needed to find someone I could speak to in person.
I did more research, narrowed down my options, weighed multiple quotes against pros and cons and finally settled on Good Clothing Company in Fall River. I took all my notes, pictures, examples, and fabrics to the lead pattern maker, Katie, and we sat down for a discussion. I left thinking, well, we'll see. She makes the pattern, and then their seamstress takes that information and sews the pieces together. A few weeks later we scheduled a fitting. The prototype was very close and I was completely relieved. There were a few tweaks and adjustments, but overall, we were getting somewhere! I even said, let's go forward with the the second design!
At this point, the patterns are done and graded for size. Next up, the size samples will be made so I can do some market testing. I'm excited to have a variety of people try on the shirts and give me feedback, the good, the bad and the ugly!
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There are some things I could have done to make the path easier, decisions I could have made to spend less money on development (or more money!) I could have given up on some ideas to make the journey quicker. When I take the goal as a whole into consideration, I really want to be proud and comfortable with the products I will eventually put out into the world. My goal is that the designs are made with sustainable materials. I want to work with manufacturers that are providing a fair living wage and clean comfortable working conditions. I like the idea of working with companies that are local to me and are a positive force on the local economy. I've also recently realized I now seek out other women run businesses and women entrepreneurs. (As an interior designer I need to visit residential construction sites on a regular basis, and I get "little lady-ed" way too much, that stops now.) As I move forward with Her Riding Habit, these are some of the ideals that I base my decisions on and why I decided to forge ahead with this new business. Join me in this journey!
]]>I've been collecting more and more riding clothes, yet I'm always in search of the shirt that will fit me just right. I always like the fabric of one shirt, the fit of another, the cuff of this one and the collar of that one. The thought of designing my own riding shirt wouldn't go away.
I've spent a good deal of time researching "how to start a fashion business" (that's probably exactly what I googled.) And now, a few years later, I'm taking the plunge and going into design and development (among other essential business steps.) The journey of starting this business will be chronicled here as I lead up to the launch of the initial collection in the spring of 2019. I share this experience so you will know what values and decisions have gone into the creating of the brand and designing the pieces.
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