Power in Numbers / Quality Control

So today and yesterday I have spent a lot of time acting like an accountant.


First, I added up all our orders (some shops haven't given us quantities yet, so I left those out. Some pieces don't have confirmed prices yet, so I left those out, too).

Then I figured out how far away we are from our target of how much sales revenue we need to break even.

- We set the target on my first day of work by adding up all our expected expenses (by this I mean ALL: every piece of fabric, every printer cartridge, every taxi, courier etc. Be as specific as you can when you make your budget. It might be uncomfortable then, but imagine how uncomfortable it will be when you run out of money half way and have to apply for (yet another) loan?! So I strongly suggest a "contingency" amount as well for unexpected expenses, surprises etc)

Then I calculated our average price per piece and figured our how many more pieces we needed to sell to reach our target.

- This helps to decide how many more trade fairs to go on, how many more shops to approach with our collection. It might also mean that you realise your price needs to be higher, or perhaps you realise you had a lot of interest, but nobody was willing to pay the price. In which case you might decide to lower your price. Either way, this helps you map your progress and keeps you on your toes and working towards your goal.

Then I added up how many styles of each dress we had sold to figure out which ones were our bestsellers. I also figured out how many of each style we had sold in which colour/print, to give me an even clearer idea of what was popular and what wasn't.

- This helps, because it will inform our next round of designing (making it less of a guessing game and more directed towards our customers taste). This might also cut back on production costs, as hopefully, a higher percentage of our stock will sell. And also, because we want to know which styles to push at our next sales appointments and which dresses to send to agents as samples for them to show their clients...

Then I got our cost prices (fabric + production) and calculated our wholesale and retail prices.

- You and your partners have to decide what the margin is that you want to make i.e. how much you want to charge on top of the cost of designing, making (and perhaps shipping) your product. That gives you your wholesale price.

From wholesale, you get to retail prices.
In fashion, the average retail mark-up is 2.5 - 3. So you multiply the wholesale price at which you sell your product to the shop and then that gives you the recommended retail price - which I am sure you have seen on stickers: RRP. If not, look out for it next time you shop.

Please excuse me if you knew all of this already and you feel patronized.
Though I passively knew this, calculating it all has been incredibly helpful in really understanding how it works... I even played around a little with our own margins, adding / subtracting decimal points from the multiplier and seeing what the difference is on the retail price and trying to figure out when it got too high - when the psychological threshold is reached...

I also went through the budget for our LA launch party for the 15th time, trying to cut costs left, right and centre. Our PR mavens in New York and LA have done a fabulous job already and of course, we want our launch to be as fun and memorable as possible, so I am trying to be judicious and frugal in my decisions... We are calling in lots of favours, collaborating with sponsors etc.

Luckily, we have already secured the most amazing location: expat Brit and Issa fan Liberty Ross has kindly agreed to host our afternoon mummy and baby tea!

She, her children and their house are so beautiful and charming that it's bound to be a success already!! :)


Gold digger xx




PS: Have just finished reading the highly entertaining and very well researched "The Jimmy Choo Story", which mixes fashion, glamour and business better than any book I have ever read (and I've read a few on the subject). I can not sum it up better than the Observer "a book with a split identity - half fashion magazine, half business manual" - it's no coincidence it was written by a fashion journalist and a luxury goods equity researcher. Lauren Goldstein Crowe and Sagra Maceira de Rosen did a fabulous job at seamlessly interlacing these two usually disparate worlds and I highly recommend it! http://tinyurl.com/382va8e

Help wanted!

Looking for a self-reliant, enthusiastic, can-do-ist with standard excel skills to intern here at Baby Issa (in Chelsea, West London).

If you're interested in getting your hands dirty at a fashion start-up as well as gaining a behind the scenes look at Issa London, please email me at

pia@issalondon.com


The Trumpsta

It's the way you tell 'em

It's been a week since my last post and it's hard to know where to start. I'm not sure "the beginning" is the right place...

So maybe, instead of recounting what I did, I will recount what I learnt.

I spent the last few days (23rd - 27th June) in Florence, where we took a stand at arguably the largest and most important childrens wear fair Pitti Bimbo.

When we arrived, it turned out (well, I knew already) that there had been a major communication failure.

Although we had specifically asked for the two stands that were separated by a hallway (as opposed to rooms with own doorways, it was basically a corridor with two very large alcoves - EVERYBODY had to pass by: a stroke of genius for a fashion brand with no "brand" to pull crowds/ buyers), when we got there a mere 18 hours before the official start of the fair, our "stands" were a total mess.

The walls were derelict, the whole place was stacked with paint pots, ladders and chairs for other stands that had yet to be distributed.

..Okay, so I am recounting what happened. But I'm getting to the point, I promise.

At this point we had two options:

1. Freak the f*** out

2. Turn into a calm, charismatic robot that ensures all turns our fine in the end.

Luckily, though I have the nervous system of an over-bred racing horse (i.e. VERY nervous), I go seriously stealthily calm in a crisis.

What I've realised is this: there is no point in losing the plot, shouting or crying.
It is literally a waste of energy. If you have set out to do something, and you believe in it, then make it work.

Because it can.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
Especially, if you know something is "right" - it's a different story, when you know that something shouldn't be so hard, but let's address that another time.

So although Andrea, the infamous architect in charge of organising Pitti Bimbo clearly felt attacked and threatened by us when we asked to know what was going on, I let him rant and take me to his computer to prove to me that he had clearly specified that we were to bring our own furniture. I did this, because I knew he hadn't. However, he had now played himself into a corner, showing himself up.

Once he realised that I was not there to make him look bad, had assured him I wasn't pissed off and that we both wanted the same thing: for our stand to look great and be an asset to us / the fair, he played ball.

- Give your partner the time and space to express themselves. Make sure they know they have been heard and their opinion is valued. Get them back on your "side" by making it clear that you're on the same team. Put faith in them and their work. Be explicit about your expectations and that you have faith in them fulfilling them.

At 17:48 on a wednesday evening in Florence, we found a printer who agreed to work late into the evening before a local holiday, to produce 32 120cm x 150 cm panels of printed paper with one of our Baby Issa prints.

- Believe that there is a solution to your problem and you will find it. (Just make sure you are prepared: I had the files with me / in my emails, had printed out the floor plans and all emails between architect and me).
- In addition, I can only say it's worth investing in your team: if we hadn't had the wonderful Issa staff in London to talk to and send us files via email, things would have been a lot more complicated.

We somehow found extra display cabinets, but then disguarded them at the last minute for some hanging rails instead, which fit the aesthetic of our stand much better, as they were minimal and blended into the background.

- Be open to what form your solution might take - it might be very different from what you envisage, it might be better.

We left dinner when the wallpaper arrived and stayed until every sheet was pasted on the walls - right side up and as precisely as possible.





- The contractors at the fair would joke "molto preciso" whenever they saw me after I got my hands (and arms, and elbows) dirty, helping the guys apply glue to the walls and papers and making sure the prints didn't overlap or have too much space between them.
Yes, I was in heels and yes, my clothes and hair got dirty. I also had an incredibly memorable time, a great result in terms of the appearance of stand and definitely feel confident in attempting a DIY wallpaper project in the near future ;)

- I was very aware that my active involvement (young woman) in their work could leave the contractors (middle-aged Italian men) feeling criticised and micromanaged. So I made sure to joke about my German roots, being a perfectionist and generally giving the clear signal that "it's not you, it's me": their ability was not being questioned.

You already know about my pro - DIY ethic: when we realised in London that the designers who were making our display plinths and cabinets were going waaayyyy over budget, we asked them to forget about the furniture and make vinyl stickers in our doodle prints instead. That way, we could customize any furniture, anywhere.

- when things are getting too much / too expensive, someone still does not understand what you are trying to communicate: STOP. Breathe.
Re-address the issue:
What result am I trying to achieve?
Is there a better / easier / cheaper way of doing this? Can I rephrase my question / statement? Are there words that might be clearer? Is there something else that is standing in the way of a great result? I know it's easy to say know and hard to do later, but consciously putting yourself in the moment, and focusing on your goal (not immediate, but long-term / overall) when you are about to get carried away / angry / irritated / violent often leads to amazing, innovative solutions.

Sorry these images are so dark but they are meant to show:

The stand's walls, the hanging rails and the heart print stickers on the table..



...excuse the gangly legs and knock-knees, but the light is a lot better in this pic and you can actually see the clothes.


More on Pitti, how and what people buy as well as our appointment with the Head of Harrod's Childrenswear at our next lesson.
Yes, you can go to the toilet now.

See you tomorrow, kids.
Miss Chatterbox

PS: check out this excellent management blog on keeping your focus and your temper by one of my "mentors" Peter Bregman on Harvard Business Review http://tinyurl.com/28x727u

Greetings...

...from Bubble London. Spent the last two days introducing buyers (mainly UK independents and some large internationals) and press (WGSN, Telegraph, Stylesight and more) to the "integrative brand concept" of Baby Issa - more on that tomorrow.

Am wearing an Issa dress that is also available for children from Baby Issa called Baby Ella. Can't wait to rock this look matching with M!

Also, how cute is our wallpaper?!
And I know you can't see it properly, but our hangers are covered in the fabric of the dress / PJs / bikinis hanging on them. - I spent every free minute spacing them out evenly. I know the people at the opposite stand thought I suffer from OCD, but it's these minute details (merchandising, presentation) that elevate to / position your brand's image in peoples' eyes instantly as luxury.

Proper update tomorrow...before we leave for Pitti Bimbo in Florence, where launch Baby Issa officially and proper madness will ensue. Hopefully!

Bedbug xx

Photo (B)log

"Learning on the go", "Jumping into the deep end" and "Having your work cut out for you" are some of the idioms that describe the whirlwind of a week I've had - amongst the most hectic in my life, ever.

Between thursday and tonight,
I have organised, shot, edited (with the photographer), and helped to retouch a studio photo shoot of 30 dresses, bikinis, pj's and shorts.
Compiled, art-directed, burnt on CD, dropped off, proofed, organised to be printed and picked up the first Baby Issa Sales catalogue (for Spring/Summer 2011).
Organised 100 misc errands - from mannequins in Paris and Florence, delivery of our logo and mannequin plinths from the designers' workshop to our offices, to Florence; to finding the best and cheapest purchase order forms.

Prepared our stand at Bubble London Kidswear trade-show, which I will be manning tomorrow (Sunday) and on Monday from 9 am until 6 pm.

Printed and photocopied line sheets, created home-made purchase order forms with the help of Photoshop, printers, and carbon paper.

As I write this it doesn't look like much, but believe me, I have not slept much, eaten much or had time to think. I am high on adrenaline and I am a bit worried about neglecting my daughter.

But I also feel so excited, challenged, and grateful to have the opportunity to try all this for size, make mistakes (forgot to get business cards printed) and learn from them.

Despite being exhausted, I feel light, free and my skin is glowing.
- I don't think I can keep this pace up over time, and I think my biggest challenge in the long-term will be to organise Baby Issa in a way that defies the "last-minute is normal" mentality of the fashion industry. But for now, this is amazing!

(I must mention that none of this would be possible without the support of my family, friends, my wonderful nanny, as well as Mira's grandmother and her aunt Carlotta (yes, that Carlotta), who are kindly looking after her tomorrow and on Monday, so she doesn't get lonely.





Thursday, 17th June, 6:20 pm in Aldgate East
Sonia, our lovely long-legged photographer and Carlotta, our 5 year old new "house (super) model"



7:45 pm
Carlotta and her aunt Putzi (and self-proclaimed model agent), who kindly drove her to and from the shoot looking happy and excited at the end of the shoot



Friday, 18th June, 1.30 am in Westbourne Grove
The final .pdf for the catalogue is on this CD



9:00 am in Covent Garden
My corrections (in red ink of course) of proof at the Printer



9:15 the final proof that I signed off to be printed!



Saturday, 19th June, 8:01 pm in Angel
Our completed stand (just needs to be hoovered and decorated with our logo before tomorrow's start) at Bubble London.



Notice the print on the walls: we had one of the prints printed on huge sheets of paper, cut them to size at the fair and velcro'ed them to the walls ("Dear Exhibitors, please DO NOT use double sided tape, blue tack or staples. Any damage to the walls must be paid for by the exhibitors").



Sugar(high) Mommy

Getting Carle-d away...

There is so much I want to share, but can not yet... All I can say is: this has been one full-on day!
Plans have kept changing, and as we struggled to make do, better people, options, solutions and ideas have been entering our brains and lives. It has been amazing and inspiring, and I know I sound like a hippie, but in my experience, it is best to let go of things that aren't working, because it makes space for things, people etc that will. Maybe, it's kind of like magnetic energy - you just need to remove whatever is blocking it to make way for the right piece to find you.

I am feeling very very satisfied, I love being challenged and giving my best, consciously being present in every moment, focusing on the positive, and getting s*** done.

Have too much stuff to do to post a proper entry - preparing for my first (non-family-skype-get-together) CONFERENCE CALL with LA and NYC! Feeling super excited, might whip on a power shoulder jacket just to look the part. No, they won't be able to see me, it's not video conferencing, but who cares. It's not about that!

What I shall post here though is my major find of the day. It is not directly work related, but it is definitely related to childhood and magic and memories. And it's giving me lots of ideas for complementary products to our clothes...

I have to admit, I am baffled at how mesmerisingly beautiful and entertaining these illustrations, this story and the book's tactility still is to me, 20 some years on...

.

(copyright Eric Carle - The Very Hungry Caterpillar)

(Also love this book, because - any one who has spent time with me during the day knows this - I am ALWAYS hungry / eating..)

Really feel like Baby Issa is in the cocoon stage now - it's a super busy incubator - actually more like a bee hive!

Another photo shoot tomorrow.
We're shooting every look on the super cute Carlotta - aunt to my daughter M - at my friend Sonia's photo studio. Although our photographer dropped out at the last minute, we'll be able to do it anyway, because luckily Sonia is a photographer, too!!!

Update tomorrow!

Fingers crossed the photos will be a butterfly NOT a caterpillar!!! ;)




xoxo Not a Girl, not yet a Woman.

Under Pressure (Is-sa Baby)

It's only Tuesday and I have aged 10 years from exhaustion while feeling like a 16 year old on an adrenaline-high!

I think I'm starting to get to grips with what needs to be done and have figured out where we stand (where the two girls that were running Baby Issa before I arrived had gotten to) and slowly slowly, I'm starting to instinctively do things my way...

My vision for Baby Issa is to treat it like a very very small start-up with very very big dreams.

By this I mean, as much DIY as possible. Not just because that keeps costs as low as possible (always a good move when you have zero budget), but mainly, because that makes it as "us" as possible... I think it is evident when you look at any issue of The Face or old ID or Dazed, enter any designer's studio who is just about to hit the big time: the energy is INCREDIBLE. TANGIBLE.
And that is because everyone is involved in everything. Communication is flowing, everyone knows what everyone else is doing, gets involved and helps wherever possible. Nobody is ever bored. Exhausted yes, bored never.

Once you become a big company, it is easier, cheaper and more efficient to outsource a lot of things - most things in fact that aren't your "core" activities... This is a mentality which is obviously prevalent at Issa, which today is a large company.

Baby Issa on the other hand, is not.

We luckily have access to a lot of their infrastructure, but apart from printers, stationary, contacts and the kindness and help of their staff, I feel it is better to ignore everything they can offer us and instead "make do" - because that is when magic happens.

It is also when you learn how what needs to be done in your company, the energy involved and what kind of results can be expected - and I am sure this is invaluable knowledge and experience, when one finds oneself in the position of hiring someone or managing people...

To give you a little idea of what needs to be done at this stage in production / press / sales, I'm going to lazily post my To Do List and let you imagine the rest for yourself.


Pipi Stinki (told you I was feeling juvenile)

To Do Tuesday

1. TRADEFAIRS

• find cheap / make own Orderbooks (go to ryman / viking etc - try different options with carbon paper, lighter than 80 gsm paper / get quotes for that special carbon-style paper in yellow and pink)
  
• contact buyers for Bubble London, Pitti Bimbo Florence, Playtime Paris, ENK New York, Kidsmarket LA
• Convince Playtime to give us a space (ask Saskia or Mark to charm them in their best French)
• organise cheap and good quality mannequins for Paris (no freaky looking ones! see image)

(copyright 2ememain.be, 3B scientific, Puces d'Oc)

• get design company's budget for display plinths for mannequins and vinyl stickers for stand personalisation approved - find own shipping company, their quote much too expensive!!
• try and get an answer from Pitti whether our design is okay (find alternative phone / fax numbers to the WRONG ONES provided in their email!! ARGH!)
• decide on pricing for all dresses (include ribbon and packaging and tissue paper in cost)
• find showroom to take on our collection at kidsmarket (they don't rent out temporary space)
• make appointments with buyers to see Baby Issa

1. LOOKBOOK

• write contacts page for press and sales inquiries
  
• write accompanying text including all style names and numbers
• find studio to shoot individual looks
• burn all print files on a CD (too big to email)
  
• and send to Philippe to add to the lookbook
  
• compare all quotes from printers and decide
• contact cool friends for "mother & daughter" shoot next week
• find location for "mother & daughter" shoot
• send pics of collection to NYC showroom
  
• ask Alice to send all pics to her press contacts (Vogue, vogue.com, style.com, vogue bambini, Junior mag etc)
• ask Philippe to make prints on dresses stronger in pics
• Return all unused goods bought for photoshoot (can do any time next week)
• Thank all mothers for their patience, kindness and help with our photoshoot!!

1. LOGO

• what is our final logo??

1. M

• take M to doctor re cough
• find a new nanny as new one wants more money :(