As I am finalising my designs and collection range ideas I am starting to make decisions on not only how the collection should look and what garments it needs, but also how it will work for the customer (mums) and the consumer (boys).
The look of the collection has evolved (very!) slowly from my design research and mood ideas through to the fabrics I have sourced. I deliberately want the colours to be quite bright to get away from the bland high street colours for boys of navy, brown and grey. The inspiration for the print work in this collection is my childhood. The prints encompass some of the fun, innocence and the nostalgia of childhood with a dash of British eccentricity. That stage then lead into what types of garments would comprise the collection. The British element comes through again here with classic favourites such as the duffle coat and blazer but added in with that will also be some Scandinavian style knitwear, functional jeans and denim dungarees and quirky printed shirts and jerseywear. At the moment I have ten different shapes in mind with maybe some of those available in different prints and colours. However this is still work in progress and maybe I am setting myself an impossible task I don't know! It may be that I have to cut down the range to keep within budget and what I can realistically manage to achieve. I want to create a kind of capsule style wardrobe with different garments working alongside each other. Mixing together some casual styles which are practical and comfortable with more formal ones will cover all the bases needed. My experience of being a mum and shopping for the Boy Wonder is that I have to go to different shops to find different types of garments that I like. So the idea of a one stop shop for everything you need appeals to me and hopefully will to others too. I know busy mums have so little time these days that anything that makes their life easier is a real winner. Quality, longevity and durability are designed into the garments which will mean less time spent shopping for new clothes too. I love the idea of being able to suggest outfit and styling ideas to get the very most out of the different garments and that works best with a capsule style collection. The other main design decision is that it will be a trans-seasonal collection to fulfil my slow fashion ethos. This means that rather than doing the traditional spring/summer and autumn/winter collections I will only design one collection that will cover the whole year. In our mild UK climate this will work as most of our clothes can be worn throughout the year with less or more layers. Those items become more useful in our wardrobes, thereby shrinking our fashion footprint and reducing textile waste. I am nearly at a stage now where I will be approaching manufacturers with my designs. This will be a massive step for me as at that point it will no longer be a concept but will start to become very real (eek!) Keep reading to find out what happens next! Ismay x #CapsuleCollection #Transseasonal #DesignDecisions Yikes, I am at an impass! Writer's block has set in and although I maintain a long list of blog topics to write about and bookmark many interesting sites and articles to stimulate that creative spark I am stuck in the blogging doldrums.
Some weeks I already have an idea that is bursting to get out, the narrative semi-formed and ready to grow. But some weeks, like this one it seems an impossible task and a heavy burden. So far I have written 36 posts in as many weeks and have managed to not miss a week even through Christmas, illness and the demands of a 7 year old! So I am admitting openly and honestly how hard this all is. And although I try to I just sometimes cannot do it all. I am a widowed mum trying to start up my own business and often it just seems too much. I am doing this all on my own and find it very hard at times to make all the decisions and not have anyone to bounce my ideas of. It can also be very disheartening to see my readership fall as it has done steadily since January. One week I posted my blog post and only 9 people read it on that posting day (which is when I get the peak amount that week) and I really didn't know whether to carry on. It can sometime feel like shouting into the ether not knowing if anyone is listening or cares. As I am trying to set up the business, design and make a collection, blog about it and create a social media following and presence all at the same time I am always juggling everything (as all working mums do these days) Maybe I have given myself too much to do or maybe I am expecting too much to quickly? Or maybe what I am blogging about is not capturing people's interest enough? Maybe the environmental and ethical issues come across as too serious and put people off? I would love to hear your responses on what works and what doesn't and maybe I can work on that feedback. Maybe you could all do me a big favour too and check out my other social media channels to help boost my following and share my posts with friends. I really appreciate any help at the moment to keep me going so thank you in advance! Ismay x #Fashionblogger #mumboss #smallbusiness #startupbrand After the worrying news this week of President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement I felt I had to use my blog this week to send out a call to action.
It would be all to easy to get despondent and feel that there is now no way we can curb carbon emissions with the USA, being the second largest contributors, not being on-board the deal. But maybe, this is a turning point. Maybe that decision will become a driver to galvanise everyone else. Thankfully it seems that many others are stepping into the breach including many US states, cities and businesses and also, notably, the Chinese government. So what can we all do to help fight the good fight? Many people think that their actions are insignificant in the grand scheme of things so why bother, but I disagree. We all have the power to change things and now we need to use that power more than ever, for the sake of our children and our grandchildren. Let's join with others across the globe who care about the planet and become part of the solution! A good way to start would be to find out what your carbon footprint currently is to then get an idea what areas need looking at. There are various carbon calculators on the web but the one on the WWF site is particularly good. It's really quick and easy to use and gives you ideas on how to reduce your footprint. Just doing it myself has made me think about changing my car to an electric one as soon as I can afford it. Changing your diet to a plant based diet is one of the biggest things any of us can do to tackle climate change according to many scientific reports, including the United Nation's, and is something we all have control over. Even if you start by reducing your meat and dairy intake by half it would make a significant difference. Eating organic, locally sourced produce or growing your own is a great step too. Other ideas such as switching to a green energy tariff, using our cars less, and being more energy efficient are also easy to do and some will even save us money! Energy monitors are a good way of seeing where energy is being wasted in your home and can be purchased online. Smart meters do a similar job and are being rolled out across the UK over the coming years to encourage us to be more efficient. Even if just half of the total world population implemented some of these ideas to lower their footprint, can you imagine what impact that would have? So please do your bit today. Ismay x http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/ #WeWillMoveAhead #MakeClimateMatter #PeoplePower |
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