I highly respect Kathleen and I find it objectionable for people to pick on her… no one is forced to read this blog. If you do not respect Kathleen’s formidable knowledge and professionalism, there is always the mighty X at the top right hand of the page!!!

I can understand your thoughts, but I think as Kathleen has stated, and everyone else has realized is that this industry is a BUSINESS. Always has been. If you don’t understand or know the business aspect of this industry, then there are a lot of things that could go wrong if you are not educated on what this industry is all about.

I am a freelance designer and a fashion designer instructor at a local college. I do my best to pound into the heads of my students that they have to get the stars out of their eyes and realize that this industry is not glamorous and to be realistic in what the industry will hold for them. They have to know how to sew, make patterns, draw (both freehand and computers), Gerber, market research, consumer behavior, all of it, before they can ever be “designers.” That titel goes to those who have been able to successful stay in the business year after year.

We had a seminar last night with several industry professionals who kept saying over and over again the need to know the business aspect of our industry – its 95% business and 5% creative. But all they heard is that patternmakers COULD make $50 an hour (and this fee was mentioned by one of the guest speakers who oversees local costume design production) and that you better know how to make that pattern with your eyes closed or you are not going to make it, at least not with her business, and that she looked at quality of work as well as years experience. What did the students hear? That they would be making $50 an hour…not that they had to have the skills and knowledge, but that once they were out of school, they were going to be making big bucks! Yeesh.

What I am trying to say is that everyone can enter the game…but only those who KNOW the game will be winners. The whole CPSIA thing has brought to light (if we are trying to see something positive out of all of it) that the weak will be out of the game…it is survival of the fittest and the fittest are those who know the business first and foremost. That’s not to say that people who were doing well and now with the CPSIA issues will have to drop out of business due to cost factors, were “weak.” It’s just that people need to realize all of the elements that go into creating a clothing line from scratch….product development, target market research, marketing, sourcing, contacts (!), you name it, you better know all of it before jumping in.

As Kathleen stated, “Like I keep saying over and over (how come no one listens to me?), it costs less to do things right the first time…There’s one big difference between better. With better, most of your costs are up front in one neat package price. With unsupervised DIY, it’s pay as you go and often at highly inflated prices.” Know what you are doing from the get-go and then proceed ahead.

Like I keep saying over and over (how come no one listens to me?), it costs less to do things right the first time. Everyone consistently minimizes the intangible costs of DIY and write off their own labor because it’s “free”. I get it, I really do but often, it’s really a difference in priority. People tend to form very clear ideas of how the process should work and ignore anything that conflicts with it. Or maybe they don’t ignore it, they can’t see that which they don’t understand. The example I consistently flog is people who say they can’t afford to buy my book because they need every penny to hire a sewing contractor (why they’re contacting me) to sew up a bunch of products they don’t even have orders for but if they’d read it, they never would have been backed into that corner. In these cases, they’ve typically gone the DIY route with patterns, again minimizing the intangible costs and then their order is hung up at the contractor because it can’t be sewn successfully. But again, by then they’re backed into a corner and after the fact, have to scramble for the money to pay excess costs for sewing that never needed to happen. There’s one big difference between better. With better, most of your costs are up front in one neat package price. With unsupervised DIY, it’s pay as you go and often at highly inflated prices.

Yes, there’s costs inherent to the process but they don’t have to be inordinate. In all cases, even patterns, it helps to know the right people who can help you work through it. We do this all the time on the forum. The quality of the company you keep matters a great deal. Previously I’d written:

The difference between you and people you want to be like is that they have already figured out that they won’t find what they’re looking for wherever it is you’ve been looking… the only way you can move up another level is to move up another level with respect to the company you keep. You are a reflection of who you hang with, whether it’s your line or your friends. Their influence and advice rubs off on you.

Based on my recent experience of joining the AAFA -which I could not “afford” (meaning, justify based on anticipated return)- I’ve found my own advice to be even more true than ever.

Switching gears, Donna says:

I have been wondering how the laws effect artists who sell on commision or consignment. It seems that a garment being sold in the open market is a garment no matter what. I put care labels and fiber content labels in my garments but no one else seems to even think about this.

They’re required to comply with labeling laws too.

I think much of the broo ha ha over CPSIA is forced compliance with professionalism (better, not bigger). Till now, people had the “freedom” to do as they wished, thinking the laws didn’t apply to them for whatever self-defined reason they had. Again as I said before:

With respect to the tiniest of producers, I think an issue that has not been discussed openly is the conflict born of entitlement, often expressed in blogs and forums across the web as “freedom”. As the system existed, they had the freedom and entitlement to conduct their affairs as they saw fit and it won’t be that way anymore. It is only natural to resent that. We all resent forced change but it’s not practical to wallow in it or throw fits about it. Even under ideal modifications, this law will force many to either become more professional [better, not bigger] or get into something else. If this is something you love, it can only rankle being forced to put on a suit that’s too new or big for you. The truth is though, the only difference between many Etsy and eBay sellers and members of our forum is not company size but professionalism (for some reason, visitors and forum guests think we’re all big companies).

It boils down to forcing a commitment where there once was freedom and explains why men resist proposing marriage. This law may force the decision among tiny producers to become more serious about it. I don’t know how they can comply with the labeling requirements if they’re not using better management and tracking methods. And it’s not that they must use full-bore practices used by the largest firms (we don’t) but they’ll need to mature and adopt accepted standards that stand the test of time (in my book). For what it’s worth, if I were a tiny producer, I’d resent any of these options. It doesn’t seem quite fair if you’re used to doing things your own way and want or need to be flexible. It doesn’t feel fair to take something away from you that you’ve always had

My worry when I read this, ‘tho, is does more professional mean more expensive? Particularly with the financial crisis, does professionalism mean I can’t now/won’t ever be able to afford entry into this game?

I wonder whether similar worries explain most of the flack you get…