An excellent place to source fabric is right in downtown Los Angeles in the LA Fashion District.  Even if you aren’t a LA local….LA offers 90 blocks of sourcing fun plus 70 degree weather in the middle of winter.  Sounds like a nice work-vac combo to me.

Tips for Shopping for Fabric in Downtown Los Angeles:

1.  Let Your Fingers Do the Walking–Go to www.fashiondistrict.org and search through “textiles and notions,” which is located on the left navigation bar.  There you will find a list of upcoming textile shows as well as a list of vendors and jobbers (places that sell discontinued or overstock fabric at reduced prices.)

2.  Pick up the Phone, for real–Call and ask if the vendors in the list if they have the type of fabric you’re looking for.  Some may specialize in woven fabrications (such as what would be used for a classic mens button down shirt), or knits (the family of fabrics used commonly for tee shirts).  Some may have a variety of silks, or only sell home furnishings.  Call ahead and verify they have the category you’re sourcing just to make sure you’re starting your journey in the right spot.

3.  Ask For Referrals–If one place doesn’t have what you’re looking for don’t be shy about asking for referrals.  Many of the fabric vendors have been down there forever….They know each other…and if you’re looking for something they just don’t have…it’s quite possible they know a place that does.

If you’re visiting the fashion district for the 1st time…just a few words to the wise…

1.  Go early..when you call see what time places open.  If you’re looking for something specific you want a salesman to be readily available to help you.

2.  Always..Always… Wear Comfortable Shoes…. Parking can be bananas and it’s much easier to find one good place to park and walk around rather than parking multiple times.

3.  Bring a Bit of Cash.. You never want to carry around a big wad of dough in your pocket…however in the downtown fashion district you always need a little bit of cash. Parking can range from $3-$9 and I’ve never seen a place that accepts credit.  Also do what you can to avoid the meters.  If you’re one second late the heavy supply of traffic cops down there will hit you with a $45 ticket so fast it will make your head spin.

Happy Hunting!

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If you’re a new apparel business owner I’m sure you’ve been there. You’re looking for contractors and what might you experience??

A few snubs. Unreturned calls. That “we can’t be bothered…you’re way too small for us..we have much more important customers “attitude.

Unfortunately it happens. But the end of the day all we want to do is get our lines off the ground. So we deal with it. We take it on the chin and work with people we may feel less than comfortable with.

It can be challenging and scary to invest dollars and time in this type of situation.  So I put together a few tips to help you out along the way….

Tips for Working with Garment Contractors…

1. Be Your Own Publicist. Promote yourself to your contractors. Tell them about your growth plans and get them to believe in you. You want them to feel good about working with you the same way you want to feel good about working with them. If they believe you have a bright future and can eventually become a bigger account they could become a lot more accommodating.

2. Write it out. Show your professionalism. Give contractors written purchase orders and printed directions. Contractors don’t like indecisiveness…and if they do you better believe they are charging you for it. Show them you know exactly what you want and be clear on what you expect. You may be tempted to be overly benevolent if you’ve found a contractor you really like. Be respectful but never forget who’s the boss. It’s you…silly!

3. Do Your Due Diligence. If you’re a little green…some unscrupulous contractors may look at you like red meat. For that reason amongst others, see if you can find a referral, a reference or just look them up on the web. Do some due diligence before paying the real cost as well as the opportunity cost for working with the wrong company.

Finding good, compliant and reliable garment contractors can be a hard road. If you’re new to the industry that’s even more reason for you to start getting involved in the manufacturing community. Attend classes, go to trade shows, strike up conversations as you wait for your coffee at the fashion district Starbucks.

Start by running names by people. Although everyone may not be ready to give up the name of who they are directly working with…people are usually more than willing to give you a heads up if you’re thinking about working with the slimiest company in town.

Good luck….

A fabric jobber buys rows of fabric from manufacturers and mills then resells them to other manufacturers or designers at a discounted price.

It’s similar to buying a product from a place like Marshall’s or TJ Maxx.   You’re offered this great variety of goods– probably more breath than depth– some of which are of great quality, others which could be discontinued or slightly damaged.

Again, some jobbers are better than others offering only the highest quality merchandise, while others may be a little bit more suspect.

When buying from jobbers make sure you closely inspect your product and exercise a little more “buyer beware,” since the product is from the closeout market.

If you purchase multiple rolls of the seemingly same fabric from a jobber, watch out for minor inconsistencies such as the coming from a different dye lot or a different manufacturer all together.

See if the jobber can tell you the fabrics original manufacturer and content.  Also talk to them about the possibilities of re-ordering just in case your product blows out the door.

As a manufacturer be leary of holding any inventory.  Get the habit of producing “Just in Time,” never “Just in Case.”  The last thing you want to show on your balance sheets to a potential or current investor is a truckload full of inventory you’re “trying,” to sell.

The more nimble you can be in adjusting your product to current trends and your customers needs the better off you’ll be as a company.  Your working capital should be used for working on this and not being tied up in goods that could or more importantly could not sell.

Once you start selling you should definitely take notice of your rate of sale and put in place an infrastructure for a quick reaction to a specific product.  You may want to have your materials on order or quickly accessible.

Keeping inventory may seem logical once you start noticing a clear rate of sale.

Wouldn’t it be great to take a photoshop or illustrator class and leave with a sample of your design actually printed on your product? How about getting a quick sample completed without having to run to your printer? At the Fashion Business Inc. we think so.

Now thanks to a partnership between Brother International and Fashion Business Inc., FBI’s Resource Center will be able to provide instant digital garment printing on-site.

No more taping paper print-outs to your tee shirts, trying to imagine what your final product will look like. The Brother GT-541 inkjet garment printer prints up to 14″ x 16″ graphics, is simple to operate and prints beautiful, high resolution full color graphics, using water based inks that can withstand repeated washings. Plus it’s conveniently located at the FBI Resource Center in the New Mart, right in the heart of the LA Fashion District.

After taking an introductory course on the machine the Brother Garment Printer will also be available for rental to the public with a special discount to FBI members of course.

For more information on classes and rentals of the FBI’s new garment printer please give us a call at 213. 892.1669 or shoot us an email at info@fashionbizinc.org.

Anyone who’s ever produced swimwear or foundations (which is a very pleasant word for underware,) will tell you it’s not 1/2 as simple as it seems.

With product which can hit your skin to skin literally all day the fit must be perfect. Or very close to it.

So when “fit” becomes of the absoloute utmost importance how do you deliver perfection?

Besides working with professional pattern makers, sample makers and cutters that have foundation specific experience– you as the designer and/or owner should become a fit expert….learning from your vendors as well as on your own.

Join the FBI and Michele De Lozier Saturday, August 30th from 9:30 a.m till 12 noon, for our:

Lingerie and Swimwear Fit Workshop…

Michele a 30 year vet of the Foundations and Swimwear Industry will cover:

–How to Achieve a Perfect Fit with Stretch Fabrics

–Using Special Threads and Elastics to Acheive “Fit” Perfection

–Quick Pattern Adjustments that Make a Big Difference

and more….

Visit www.fashionbizinc.org or call 213.892.1669 for more information.

A lot of companies will simply add their fabric, trim and labor costs together to land at the baseline cost they’ll use for mark-up. Then they multiply the total by 2.2-3.0 to arrive at their wholesale price. Viola!

Well not really.

When costing your products its important to take an “all things considered approach.” It’s not all about the physical product. What about overhead? Sales rep percentages? Hangtags? Your Labor (even if you don’t pay yourself yet), Chargebacks? Who’s going to pay for that?

Then you have to balance all this with the fair market value of your merchandise.

Unless you want to inadvertently establish yourself as a NON-profit you have to get a strong grasp of how to cost for profit.

To get your arms around the concept of costing I highly reccomend Frances Harder’s mini book “Costing for Profit.” The book is small…easy to read and takes nothing for granted. It provides you with a full picture of how to effectively cost your goods so you can stop guessing and start making money!

Finishing houses are a really great service for small manufacturers.

A finishing house or service will steam, tag, remove lint, hang, poly-bag or do basically anything to make sure your product looks fresh and new when it arrives at your stores.

For companies who purchase blanks they may also use a finishing service to take out the blank company labels and replace them with their own.

Most finishing houses charge on the basis of materials as well as the time it takes to complete your process and it can add up….So don’t forget to add this cost into your margin calculations.

Good marking is going to be essential in helping you to maximize your fabric use as well as your profit margins.

A marker (actual person) and/or computerized marking program (such as Gerber Technology) lays out the best position for your pattern pieces so you’re able to make the most of your fabric.

Think about it like a puzzle..with all your pattern pieces adjusted neatly– leaving you with as little fabric waste as possible.

Although you want to save as much fabric as you can remember all waste is not to be wasted.

You can use these scraps in your marketing kit….Cut them in neat squares to make fabric swatch cards for potential buyers.  They love this!

A cutting ticket is a formal order for production. It is a document that lays out all the details of your production– clearly explaining the specifics of what you as a designer expect as a final result.

So when you prepare your cutting tickets remember, no detail is too small.   Can I beat that point in the ground anymore?

Your tickets should include the quantity, sizes, delivery dates, sewing specifications, technical drawings as well as fabric and trim samples or specifications.

Leave no stone unturned. Pretend as if you’ve never had any discussion with your contractor and they had to complete everything to your liking from this piece of paper.  EVERYTHING.  When in doubt write it out…it will become the foundation for any disputes.