Sunday, 29 August 2010
1 dress 10 fall outfits 2010
this is my new video show you that you don't need to have lots of clothes to look great you can just use a simple dress and layer it with accsesories and items.
Monday, 23 August 2010
how to make a handmade clothing store
this is probably one of my most asked questions every month someone messages me about this and i tell them the same thing so i think I'll share this with every one who cares to read my blog. the first step to making your own clothing store is to set goals. ask your sell what do you want to achieve and start from there. take Baby steps. If you don't know how to sew, then that should be number one on your list of smaller goals.Be realistic when you're thinking about starting your own clothing business. If you think you're going to make a load of cash selling your clothes, or you think you're going to be an instant success, you're probably going to be incredibly disappointed. when i first started i thought i was going to be a big success but only got about 1 customer a month it takes about a year or two for your website to get well known then you get regular customers.
so probably if your reading this you already know how to sew (the first paragraph was aimed at beginners) are you ready to start selling? Before you can start making cash, you need to know what you're going to sell and who you plan on selling it to. In my opinion, the best and easiest way to be a successful designer is to find a small, specific group of people to sell to, the group of people sell to are people who like cute and girly things like what my store is aimed at. Find what makes your style unique and start there. my clothing is based on my style i love looking cute and girly so the clothes i sell should look cute and girly it shouldn't be punk or sports wear because that's not my style. pick the style that suits you.
now you know your audience time to sell!Take a look around the etsy and do some research. What sells and for how much? Where can you get deals on supplies? places you can sell on Etsy, make your own website , wholesale and ebay (but ebay is not a good idea). for a free option you can choose weebly to make a free website but you will need to promote it lots more because people will find it less eaisly. on etsy people are looking to buy handmade.
pricing the clothes this is the maths bit you need to make profit!!! to make a top i used 1 a yard of the main fabric (£4.00),2 yards of lace (£2.50) ,1 yard of elastic (£1.00) so over all i spent £7.50 to make it. now you need to pay your self a hourly wage minmum wage is £5.50 a hour i spent 2 hours to make this top so it is 5.50 x 2 = £11 so you earn £11 for making it. so the over all price of the top is matirals spent + wage = price
so the top costs £18.50.
photos are everything when it comes to selling online because the buyer can't actually touch or see the item so they have to rely on the photo so you have to make sure its a good photo. One of the most important things you need to know about digital photography is to control the flash. Personally, I hate to rely on the automatic flash that comes with the digital camera. Depending on the situation, you need to switch off or switch on the flash. if you taking photos of clothes its good to have a model and take the photos outside in the natural lighting. (i just use myself as a model get my tripod and use the self timer) I recommend this tip to all budding photographers - camera tripods are an essential tool in your photography arsenal. When will you need a tripod? Well, it's useful if you're taking shots under low-light conditions or trying to capture fast moving objects. I like to use a tripod when taking night shots city streets, for example. Always try to look for a tripod that's convenient to carry around. For personal use, you don't need a huge one - just a simple compact one that's easy to pack.
now finally the clothes are made the shops ready now the packaging. packaging is so important its what makes buying handmade special! your packaging doesn't need to be expensive but it needs to stand out and make the customer want to buy from you again for example making your own clothing tags from card and wrapping your items in magazine paper instead of boring brown. How much time and effort you want to put into your packaging is totally up to you. You can quickly create simple stylish packaging or spend more time creating something totally customized to your business. Another easy option for hang tags is to take your business cards, punch a hole in it, and add a piece of ribbon or string.
so probably if your reading this you already know how to sew (the first paragraph was aimed at beginners) are you ready to start selling? Before you can start making cash, you need to know what you're going to sell and who you plan on selling it to. In my opinion, the best and easiest way to be a successful designer is to find a small, specific group of people to sell to, the group of people sell to are people who like cute and girly things like what my store is aimed at. Find what makes your style unique and start there. my clothing is based on my style i love looking cute and girly so the clothes i sell should look cute and girly it shouldn't be punk or sports wear because that's not my style. pick the style that suits you.
now you know your audience time to sell!Take a look around the etsy and do some research. What sells and for how much? Where can you get deals on supplies? places you can sell on Etsy, make your own website , wholesale and ebay (but ebay is not a good idea). for a free option you can choose weebly to make a free website but you will need to promote it lots more because people will find it less eaisly. on etsy people are looking to buy handmade.
pricing the clothes this is the maths bit you need to make profit!!! to make a top i used 1 a yard of the main fabric (£4.00),2 yards of lace (£2.50) ,1 yard of elastic (£1.00) so over all i spent £7.50 to make it. now you need to pay your self a hourly wage minmum wage is £5.50 a hour i spent 2 hours to make this top so it is 5.50 x 2 = £11 so you earn £11 for making it. so the over all price of the top is matirals spent + wage = price
so the top costs £18.50.
photos are everything when it comes to selling online because the buyer can't actually touch or see the item so they have to rely on the photo so you have to make sure its a good photo. One of the most important things you need to know about digital photography is to control the flash. Personally, I hate to rely on the automatic flash that comes with the digital camera. Depending on the situation, you need to switch off or switch on the flash. if you taking photos of clothes its good to have a model and take the photos outside in the natural lighting. (i just use myself as a model get my tripod and use the self timer) I recommend this tip to all budding photographers - camera tripods are an essential tool in your photography arsenal. When will you need a tripod? Well, it's useful if you're taking shots under low-light conditions or trying to capture fast moving objects. I like to use a tripod when taking night shots city streets, for example. Always try to look for a tripod that's convenient to carry around. For personal use, you don't need a huge one - just a simple compact one that's easy to pack.
now finally the clothes are made the shops ready now the packaging. packaging is so important its what makes buying handmade special! your packaging doesn't need to be expensive but it needs to stand out and make the customer want to buy from you again for example making your own clothing tags from card and wrapping your items in magazine paper instead of boring brown. How much time and effort you want to put into your packaging is totally up to you. You can quickly create simple stylish packaging or spend more time creating something totally customized to your business. Another easy option for hang tags is to take your business cards, punch a hole in it, and add a piece of ribbon or string.
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