And you're off! You've made a few handbags on your own sewing machine from your very own designs. Your friends love your bags and you're thinking, "I can probably sell these babies!"
Where do you get started? Someone wants a bag, so you stay up late and make it. Phew! One down... hundreds to go. You get interest from a local boutique, so you put a few of your wonderful creations on consignment. The store across the street finds them fanciful, and then asks to purchase a few from you to put in thier shop. Wow, cool! Another store puts in an order for 3 of each of your designs. Oooh... lot's of sewing ahead of you, so you stay up late for a few more nights. A couple weeks go by and finally you get 15 bags out the door, as you wipe the sweat from your forehead.
You're thinking to yourself, "How can I keep up if I plan to attack the rest of the city??" Then you think to yourself - MANUFACTURER. Let's send them a sample and have someone else slave away at the sewing to save your Pfaff from going pfooof for the umpteenth time, and your fiftieth needle this week.
The challenge for small design manufacturers is enormous, just thinking about upping your output, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are many things to consider:
- What if I get lucky one day and get discovered by a Macy's buyer and they want 300 of my bags?
- Are the fabrics I'm using going to be around much longer?
- How do I negotiate my price?
- How do I finance this venture?
These are the many thoughts and experiences that all of us budding designers face. Is there always a right way to do things? Of course not, but isn't it all passionable fun?
