Lessoned Learned

Looking for a designer was not an easy process. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was living in Albany, NY, not exactly the fashion capital of the world. New York City was 2 hours away, but my knowledge of fashion was limited and that made navigating NYC that much more difficult. I decided to concentrate on an area I was familiar with and made frequent visits too, Chicago. I found a fashion illustrator in NW Indiana, which is literally Chicago. First off, let me inject that an illustrator is not a fashion designer. An illustrator is someone who illustrates the concept on paper, no technical skills. I contracted the individual at $100.00/design, which is below standard rates. He drew me a series of designs with french cuffs and European cuts, none of which would work for the Big and all market. It wasn't a good fit. I needed more knowledge of the market and a better idea of what I wanted to accomplish. A friend of mine who had been in business 30+ years suggested I write a business plan. I took that advice and went back to the drawing board.