Wow, I’m so late writing my blog this month. I’ve been so busy I just haven’t had any time. But the busy is a good thing. So much good news to share and I wish I had more time to write.
First of all, what has happened since Laura came on board is nothing short of amazing. Sales are up eight times now and I’m hoping that November continues the trend. Sales are certainly not where they need to be but the fact that they are rising at such a good rate is very important for us. She has such creativity and a “heart” for what we do, that I’m so proud to have her as part of our team.
Laura and I attended the ARC conference in Washington D.C. a few weeks ago. It was the first time that I attended one of their conferences and I’m so glad we went. The people came from all over the world and everyone was so nice. We met leaders of ARC organizations from all over the United States and Laura made a lasting impression on so many. She is a true “people” person and connected with everyone in such a positive way.
A lot of changes are happening at our office as well. I finally got Doris Jackson to work as our seamstress and do the hemming for our jeans. This will free up Jillian to do what she does best…to design. Because we’re finally getting more orders, Jill has been pulled away from what she needs to be doing. So with Doris now as part of our team, Jill can focus on creating and designing. Jill is also working with Laura to make new brochures and other marketing tools. So you can see that Downs Designs is beginning to grow its staff so we can better serve our customers
Doris Jackson is an amazing seamstress. I don’t think there is much she can’t do with a sewing machine. So with Doris now part of Downs Designs, I’ve finally moved forward with something I’ve wanted to do since I started Downs Designs. And that is to start an alteration business for people with special needs of all kinds. I call my new business … Special Fits. Special Fits can now serve our local community and we can alter clothes to accommodate any kind of special needs. It’s a great addition and compliment to Downs Designs to be able to take existing clothes and make them fit better or accommodate a certain devise or wheelchair issues.
Our Facebook has been growing, thanks to Laura’s input. Also, our Newsletter is now functioning so look for our monthly updates and specials. If haven’t joined our mailing list, please do. You might be missing out on some suprises
Four more styles of men’s and teen boys are almost here. The Charlie and Michael Dip Down jeans and the Alex and Jacob Dip Downs should be available by the end of November. I think there are lots of you waiting for these sizes. Also, we just sent in our Youth patterns to the factory. They will begin the process now of preparing the samples for us. Once we get their samples we will test them on the two models we have been using. If they are good, then production can begin. Production will take about 3 weeks. Shipping may add another 4 weeks, but we may air ship a few of each size to get them in here sooner…not sure. The cost of air shipping is very, very expensive.
Well, I guess that sums up the last month or so of progress. I’m so excited the direction that we’re heading. I’m glad to see sales increasing and to see how happy our customers are with their new jeans. Our plans are to finish the first round of all the jeans, our second project will be to remake the woman’s jeans and thirdly, we will start making our jeans in black denim. I want to complete khaki and navy and possibly another denim color by the end of next year. We’ll just have to see how it plays out.
I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving holiday. I can’t believe it’s just around the corner. Thank you all for the support I have been getting and the pictures you have been sending. It’s so helpful for us to see how our jeans are looking on our customers.
Karen
