Thinking of starting your own fashion label? I had a really great question come through this week from one of our listeners that I would like to discuss today, and the question was: “If my plan is to create my fashion label one day, what fashion specific tech skills should I learn, that would have…
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Last week, I discussed what pattern grading is and what choices you have or how you read between the lines of others’ opinions on the best path to take. I extend this conversation today in this blog to discuss whether you should digitise your patterns before or after grading. It seems like an obvious answer, but you…
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Whenever you are looking to create a range of clothing, pattern grading is a critical step in the process. So, what is pattern grading, and what are your choices, or more importantly, how do you read behind the lines of others’ opinions on what is the best path to take? In simple words, pattern grading…
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Are you paying too much for your pattern making process? When you are not really thinking about the process or you are unsure about the best pathway for your patterns, you might waste time and leave money on the table. In today’s video, I am sharing my expert tips and insider information to help you…
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One of the biggest questions we hear all the time is about the cost of starting a fashion label. There are some rough numbers that are easy to give you and there are costs that need a detailed investigation to give you an accurate price. Offshore manufacturing is different again, with a production price given…
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When it comes to offshore pricing and local pricing for freight, you are not comparing apples with apples but more so, apples with oranges… If you have just received a quote from a freight company for the products you have made and now you are wondering if it is a rip-off or if it is…
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In my last blog, I spoke about one of the major issues that we need to address for the survival of the fashion industry in Australia: the exclusion of the pattern makers, makers and manufacturers and the lack of opportunities available to them within the public sphere. I believe it is really important to highlight…
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We all love an inclusive industry; I was lucky enough to be invited to a wonderful inclusive fashion parade this week. But unfortunately, not everyone in the fashion industry feels included. I often see pattern makers, makers and manufacturers being excluded and not given as many opportunities as offered to designers within the public sphere.…
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This week has been super busy but very exciting and fun as we have been in the process of our Start Your Fashion Business Workshop! As you must already know, this is a 4-part live video series for people who are thinking of starting their own fashion label or looking to move their label onshore.…
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I recently had a ‘Ask me Anything’ call with my mentees, and we discussed the current climate and present challenges of concern for established labels or near-to-launch labels. When I look inside the Facebook groups, I see many conversations around starting or launching a label centred on offshore vs. local manufacturing. One of the main…
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I see majority of my clients getting stuck with fabrics and I see this as the number one stumbling block for pretty much all of our clients. Yesterday, I had a conversation with one of my mentees who is working on her special range of clothing, and she mentioned how stuck she is in the…
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Our Mentee: Pippa of La-ze Studios Pippa has an amazing sense of style and has selected some absolutely gorgeous fabrics for her first range. The entire range was the talk of the workroom…with most of the team anxiously waiting for launch so they could buy some! Tell us a little bit about yourself and La-Ze…
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Our Mentee: Jessica Wadeson of Love Jessie Jess started working with Sample Room in March 2021. The idea for Love Jessie stemmed from Jess’s daughter’s love of imaginary play. She, herself, had memories of a play dress from when she was a girl that she loved and could not get out of her head. On…
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Our Mentee: Steph Van Maanen of Bug Activewear Based in regional Victoria and a runner herself, Steph Van Maanen has created a range of activewear designed for runners, with an emphasis on comfort, style and performance and for women of all ages, shapes and sizes. Investing in local development and production adding to the story…
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Our Mentee: Fiona Roberts owner of Strebor Clothing Adelaide based Fiona Roberts is a teacher by day and an artist every other spare moment who was looking for that outlet to help share her passion. A range of expressive, easy to wear, size inclusive women’s wear was the ideal way for this to happen.…
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Much has changed in the world over the last 18 months. We seem to lurch from one version of the ‘new normal’ to the next with limited warning. Nobody really knows where we will end up or when. One thing is clear though, there is a groundswell at the consumer level towards locally produced. We…
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Much has changed in the last few years. We are pretty happy to see a strong push to bring development and manufacturing back on-shore. There is little doubt that many in the industry have, for the first time in a long time, danced a little jig. But it isn’t all smooth sailing. Not everyone in…
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Sustainable and ethical are probably two of the main questions asked of Sample Room and it is clear the consumer is wanting to know more about where their clothes were made, by whom and what the label is doing to minimise the impact on the environment. Here are four questions to ask clothing brands to…
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Transitioning from race wear, Marilena Di Florio recognised that it was hard to find versatile, comfortable, stylish workwear that easily transitioned into casual wear. Pairing with staple wardrobe pieces, Marilena’s range is destined for office wear, casual wear and after work wear.
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Cardboard patterns have long been a staple for many in fashion, custom sportwear, corporate wear and clothing manufacturing. While there is some move to purely digital, cardboard remains affordable and reliable and can withstand plenty of use and abuse. We print cardboard patterns for our client from time to time. These are not hand drawn,…
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