Time Flies

I can’t believe I've been back from China for two months already.  I haven’t posted since early March.  There’s been so much going on and not so much going on all at the same time. 

My trip to China was absolutely vital.  We were having issues with some of our patterns but by sitting with the pattern maker at the factory face to face, I was able to clear up some of his concerns.  Our designs are unlike anything they make so it can be a bit confusing for them.  For example, he doesn't understand why the knee placement is so short.  But through Joey, my sales representative who speaks good English, we were able to work through the issues at hand.   Having photos and samples are a great help in communication as well.  

We received the samples about a month later of the youth girl and youth boy in denim and three different styles of the ladies jeans in black.  We've redesigned our ladies styles with improved sizing and we've changed the waistband that the ladies jeans currently have.  We’re also going to offer more sizes as well.

Once our samples arrived, Jill made appointments with all the models.  The youth boy was a successful fitting and we just started production on those.  The youth girl, unfortunately, was not a good fit.  We still have a few more adjustments to make before I feel we are ready to put them into production.  This youth girl style has been a real challenge for some reason…not sure why!

The Sheryl jean and the Diva jean samples were also good.  We will no longer be reproducing the Emily Dip Down style; we've altered the style now with a different shape that we feel will be a better fit for more ladies.  This new style will be called the Rebecca Dip Down jeans and all three ladies styles are now in production.  The other factory that I have been working with just sent us samples of the Danny and Jacob Dip Down style in black.  The fit was good so we’re starting production on those two styles as well. 

We’re also introducing our new website this month.  We’re making our website more user friendly and more fun.  Photos and testimonials of our customers who have sent us pictures of their loved ones wearing our jeans and tees will be splashed throughout the site.   We can’t wait to show off their happy faces.

Our new site will also explain in detail about our exclusive “try-on” service.  This service makes ordering risk free and assures each customer of a perfect fit or their money will be refunded.  The first order takes a little time to get it right, but once the correct size is established, the next order is easy.   We’ll help each customer with their order every step of the way.

Since our first video is now a little outdated, we are starting production on a brand-new one.  We hope it will bring everyone up to date on our progress.  We also will include a how-to-measure video to make measuring more clear as well.   We know it can be intimidating to those who have never sewn or taken measurements.  But getting a great fit is worth the extra effort!

We also have some new marketing plans.  WE NEED MORE SALES!  Downs Designs needs to get the word out to more people who need our clothes.  I think I will talk about these ideas in my next writing.  I want to discuss in more detail about some of our new ideas to “spread the word”. 

Follow our progress on our Downs Designs Facebook page…so much is going on these days!

My next trip to China...coming up!

Wow, here it is March of 2013.  Since my last post, the New Year has been very quiet.  After an exciting November and December in 2012, January came in with a “retail sales letdown”.   It's nothing that I didn't expect, but it has been very disappointing.  But as March has begun, I’m starting to see a little pick up!

I do have some sad news to share.  Late in January, Laura's father had become very ill.  For weeks she was at his bedside and a few weeks ago, he sadly passed.  We missed her dearly while she was gone but she was where she needed to be.   

Laura had made plans to attend the Abilities Conference in Atlanta and DSAIA Conference in Cincinnati but was unable to attend either.  Jillian took the "bull  by the horns" and lifted that responsibility off Laura's shoulders.  She couldn't find airline tickets to Atlanta for a reasonable price because of the late purchase, so she actually drove there.  She said the conference was amazing and met so many people with many different disabilities.  The DSAIA Conference in Cincinnati was another great event.  I can't thank Jillian enough for stepping in and taking care of all the arrangements.  

Well, I'm heading back to China this week to spend time at the factory.  We're working on the samples for the youth sizes and the samples for the ladies jeans in black denim.  During the Chinese New Year Holidays, the entire country shuts down.  It’s the one frustration I have with China.   The whole month of February the workers take time off to go back to their homes to celebrate their biggest holiday of the year.  Unfortunately, many don’t return to their jobs, so the month of March the factory owners have to rebuild their staffs.  This causes about a two-month delay every year in production.

So now the youth sizes will not be ready for a few more months, which is a big disappointment, but if there is one thing I have learned in this business ... its patience.  But I'm glad to be there in person to meet with the sample maker myself.  They have lots of difficulty with our special sizes and shapes.  The shape of our pants styles are nothing they have ever seen and they find our styles very challenging.  So maybe with me there, I will be able to explain more clearly what we need.   

The ladies jeans are of a big concern for me.  The first factory that made our ladies’ jeans did a fantastic job and the ladies jeans fit very well.  Now we are going to make them in another fabric (black) and by our new factory.  If the samples don't come back right, then it will take time to make more samples.  I can only hope they get it right on the first try.  So, this trip may be the most important one of all.

Also, I decided that making skirts is just too labor intensive.  So I'm taking that idea off the table.  It would be cheaper to make new ones; but we're not ready to make skirts just yet.  Our first priority is finish all the pants and to make them into other fabrics.  We plan to focus on making the best fitting pants anywhere for our Down's customers.  

It was finally necessary to raise our prices.  So effective March 1, you will notice a small increase in the price of all our jeans.  Also the post office had a price increase, so our shipping costs had to go up a little as well.  I still believe the cost of our jeans is very reasonable and with our exclusive “try-on” service, I feel they are well worth it.    

Well, please keep spreading the word.  It’s vital to our growth and development to increase our sales this year.  Now that we have products to sell, we need more sales.  So please, if you like our products, help us grow our business!

 

Plans for 2013

Well, January, 2013, is here and, as expected, sales have slowed down, but our work has not.  Everyone is busy with plans for the New Year.  Here’s what each of our team is working on:

Laura (marketing)

Laura has mapped out her year of travel.  She is preparing to “hit” the road in 2013.  She has plans to attend conferences, Buddy Walks and meetings with DS organizations.   She keeps up with our Facebook page and what’s going on the around the country.  Downs Designs had not done any marketing until Laura joined our team because we were still developing our styles and sizes, but now that we have almost all our pants sizes in stock, we now have products to market.  It’s time to let people know about us and Laura is doing a great job with that!

Jillian (designer)

Jillian has finished designing the pants for all ages.  Unfortunately, the Youth Sizes didn't get into production in 2012, but we hope to have them in stock by late spring or early summer.  She is also working on a new order for the ladies jeans in black denim.  The black denim jeans will have no rivets.  We hope that black will be a color that can be worn as more casual wear.  Also, if someone is working and required to wear black pants, this will solve that problem.  And the ladies jeans were our first jeans and we have made many changes in our jeans since then. So our new black denim ladies jeans will have our new waistband and no tags. We have plans to make the rest of our styles in black denim as well.  Jillian is working on some new designs.  I won’t say just what she is planning yet but we hope to create something new in 2013.

Doris (seamstress)

Our "Hope" Jeans with a little added color 

Well, Doris has been another great addition to our team.  She not only is doing a great job at hemming and alterations, but her creative mind has been busy as well.  She suggested adding a little color to our children’s jeans.  We have not introduced her idea just yet because we’re waiting for our improved website to come out.  But here’s a sneak preview of what we’re going to offer in the children’s jeans.  This picture is of our little girl jeans with a flannel pattern added to the cuff…they are adorable!  We will have a few colors to choose from and for the boys, a few plaid options.

Front

Back

She also came up with another great idea.  Remember the 500 pair of men’s jeans that I decided not to sell because of the problem with the back rise being too short.  They've been in storage since 2011.  Well, she took a pair of those men’s jeans and turned them into a denim skirt.  What has she done!  We are going to test the skirt on our models and if the fit is good, we’re going to offer them on our website.  We’ll see how people like them, but I think it is a great idea.

She also suggests that we could make shorts or even capris from our existing jeans.  Since we’re hemming the jeans anyway, maybe someone would like us to hem them shorter.  That would be an easy solution for now if someone wants a pair shorts or capris.  We’ll have to see how that goes as well.  Next summer we hope to offer shorts, but this year it’s just not possible unless we use our jeans in other ways.

These are some ideas we’re discussing for 2013.  We’ll do some posting on Facebook to get opinions from our almost 3000 Facebook “Friends”.

Our Website

We have plans to improve our website this year.  We’re going to try to make it more “user friendly”.  We’re going to make our shopping cart part of our website rather than a separate link.

Then, with the help of modern technology, we hope to offer even more personal service.  We’re going to try to add a video chat on the sight so we can do visual fittings with our long-distance customers.  If we can see the person trying on our clothes, we can help make sure they get the best fit possible.  Even now with smart phones and email, I’m able to help with our fittings, but I think if we have a video chat line, it will improve our service even more.

My plans

Well, for the last few months I've been working with a fantastic woman, Susan Swartzwelder.  Susan is a professional business plan writer.  She has a consulting business helping people like me write their business plans.  My goal this year is try to get a bank loan.  I have personally been funding Downs Designs for three years.  We have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars of personal and personally-borrowed money because banks will not help a small business get started.  Even though our government says there is lots of money available for small businesses, it’s not true at all.  But Downs Designs is still a very young company and relies on constant financing from me.   Our first 2 years were all about research and development.  Last year we just started getting in products to sell, but until August of last year when Laura joined our team, we had done no marketing.  So I feel that 2013 marks the beginning of Downs Designs.

With the help of Susan and the great job she is doing to create my business plan, my goal for 2013 is to get some financial help.  We need working capital to keep us going until our sales are able to support the business.  But I have confidence that the help will come.  God didn't give me this business just to see it fail, so I know this is the year I’ll finally be able to present our plan to financial institutions with positive results.

The next thing I must do is raise our prices.  If the business is going to survive and continue to give our personal “try-on” service, I must increase prices.  We’re going to include the hemming charge into the price of pants and then raise the price of the pants $7.00.  The other price increase will be the shipping costs.  The U.S. Postal Service is increasing their postage rates January 27.  I will have no choice but to increase the cost of shipping.  This is not going to be a pleasant task, but to sustain Downs Designs and keep it operational, I have no choice in this matter

My next trip to China is March 6, 2013.  This trip I will be choosing other fabrics for our pants.  I want to look at khaki, navy and another denim option.  The black fabric I chose on my last trip looks great (I've already seen a sample).  But the most important part of the trip is to continue to build my relationship with the factory owner.  Because of our special designs, the owner’s cooperation is vital.  He is so kind to allow me to order very small quantities.  The small-quantity orders he allows me to place is almost unheard of in this industry.  Most jeans factories require much larger minimum orders than I place.  But because of my trips to the factory and the relationship that I continue to have with the owner, I feel confident that our good relationship will continue. 

I've been studying Chinese for about a year and have increased my lessons from twice a week to three times a week.  It’s a tough language to learn but I feel I must.  Because of my travels to China several times a year to a place where only one person speaks English (the owner’s son) I feel very strongly about learning the language.  My goal is to actually talk with the pattern maker and factory owner myself instead of through an interpreter.   I wish I were younger, I think it would be easier, but I’m doing my best.  I have a great teacher who has the patience of Jobe; I don’t know how she does it.  I take my lessons from an online school called E-Chinese Learning.  My teacher is in China and we have our lessons over Skype.  We meet at 8:00 am three times a week for 50 minutes.  This on-line program is exactly what I needed to help me with this language.  I've tried learning it on my own though CD’s but it’s just too hard.  I don’t have to leave the house or sit in a classroom and I have private lessons from a true Chinese person who lives in China.  It’s the perfect solution.  I’m sure I’ll be studying for years before I get comfortable with the language.

I’m so proud of all my team and their hard work.  And I’m so grateful for our customers and their patience and support as we develop Downs Designs.  This year increasing products and sales are our top priority.  Now we need your help to spread the word.  Please share our website with your friends, school or organization.   We have our jeans in stock and we need to get them off the shelf and in your hands…Karen

Holy Cow is all I can say!

November is going down as my most exciting month ever.  At last I feel like a business in motion.  So much has changed since we began in January, 2010.  Back then I had no office space, Jillian and I worked together in my home.  Then I found a place to rent that Jillian and I could go to.  It seemed just perfect!

I rented space about 5 minutes from my home that was both an office and a warehouse.  Previously it had been a construction business and it needed quite a bit of redecorating.  I prepared it as a place where we could work, bring people in for private fittings and have a space to warehouse our clothes. 

The first year it was certainly adequate, it was just Jillian and I.  But by the second year we were getting a little crowded in our work space.  I had hired a second designer, but that turned out to be a bad idea after the fact.  Our warehouse now was shelving our order of ladies jeans and tees and the first order of the men’s jeans that I totally scrapped.  I had also created a shipping area in the warehouse as well but was not really doing much shipping as sales were not so much in 2011.

I was taking pictures for the website on a bare wall or in the corner of my office/reception area.  It was the best I could do.  The website itself needed work, but we didn’t have much to sell anyway, so it seemed good enough at the time.

The year 2011 was almost a lost year for Downs Designs.  I was struggling with the factory that I had been working with the entire time.  We were getting one bad sample after another.  We spent months and months getting one failure after the next.  My start-up money was dwindling and by year end, I knew I had to start looking for a new factory.  It really frightened me.

Then 2012 came and we still had no new style jeans.  After Jillian  finished the adults jeans and tees, she had been preparing the small children jeans.   The factory had been given the order in November of 2011 and I didn’t get them into my shop until May of 2012.  In the meantime, I had started working with another factory and we just couldn’t believe how good they were.  We would send them a pattern and the sample would come back perfect.  We were just overjoyed and, of course, I’m kicking myself in the rear for wasting so much time with the first factory.  But, it’s all been a learning experience for me, so I can’t look back with regrets, I can only learn from the experience.

So finally in May of 2012, we receive the children’s jeans from the first factory.  But, during the early months of 2012,  I had started working with a new factory and were already preparing the teen girl's jeans and were expecting them by late summer.  They arrived in August and were just fantastic.  We couldn’t be more pleased.  So now, with the ladies' four styles, the children's two styles and the teen girl's two styles to sell, I felt the time was right to begin marketing Downs Designs.

Laura joined the team at the end of August, 2012, and by the end of her first week she had already boosted sales.  The large men's jeans arrived shortly after that and then by the mid November the small men's jeans and teen boy's jeans arrived.  So with Laura’s hard work and actually having quality products to sell, sales in November were my best ever!  I also added Sean, my IT guy on a retainer.  He has been working on and improving our website ever since.

The Unit right next to mine became available so I rented it right away.  I knew I needed more warehouse space for the addition of all the new jeans and future clothes and I needed more office space as well.  After a little paint and some new carpeting, Jillian and Laura moved into the office space next door.  I then turned part of my main space into a photography studio with proper lighting and backdrop.  I brought in our seamstress, Doris, to take care of the hemming and alterations and prepared an adequate work area for her.

We’ve completely reorganized our warehouse and shipping area and put systems into place to handle the influx of all the new business.  We’ve developed work stations and flow charts to keep track of each and every order.  I’m been overwhelmed with all the business and putting in 12-plus-hour days. So I added another member to the team, Robin Gaw.  Robin is a great gal who has worked for my husband and I for eleven years in our medical practice.  She still works part time for my husband, works as a crossing guard for the City of Mentor and now comes in a few hours a day after her afternoon crossing duties to help me out in the warehouse. 

I also started working with a great organization called SCORE.  They have been consulting with Laura and I by sharing their years of experience in business to help me improve my own.    I also hired a consultant to help me put together a business plan and now I’m bringing in a QuickBooks expert who can help me utilize the QuickBooks program to its full potential.   

Our last age group will be in production very soon and we hope to have them delivered by early next year.  When we finally get all the age groups completed, we're going to start adding new fabric colors.  We have already prepared some of our ladies styles to be made in a black denim.  We're waiting on samples now to see how the fabric works out.  We'll know by the end of the year or early January about the new fabric we're trying to incorporate.  Jillian is also working on designing a short-sleeve T-shirt so we'll see where this goes as well.  This will involve finding another factory for manufacturing the tees.  But with the help of the young man, Joey, that I'm now working with, he'll guide me to the right people.

So you can see how far we’ve come and, hopefully, where we’re headed.  I plan to build Downs Designs into a full line of clothing one day and provide a line of clothing that people will be proud to wear.   I'm focusing now on the hardest to fit shapes and doing our best to create a standard size for people with Down syndrome.  I call our sizing "Downsizing"! 

I'm looking forward to the New Year and to the next phase of my journey.

Karen 

An Amazing October 2012

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

Just back from China Fall 2012

This month’s blog is so far my most exciting to write.  I don’t even know where to begin.  I just returned from my fifth trip to China and it was my best trip yet.  My relationship with Joey and his dad has evolved into one of friendship and trust.  Joey’s dad moved into a new factory since I was there last and I was excited to see him again and tour his new facilities.  We also made some selections of other fabrics that we are going to be working on in the near future. 

Also, while I was visiting the factory, what did I see sitting on their shipping dock ready to be delivered?  Our next order of jeans!  The Danny, Jacob, Charlie and Michael were all boxed and ready to be shipped.  Unfortunately, China started another big holiday this week and won’t be back to work until October 8.  So these won’t get shipped out until next week.   I wanted to strap them on my back and bring them home with me.  But once they are loaded on a ship, it will take about 4 weeks until they reach our shop. Just in time for the Christmas season!

Also while I was in China, the Jonathan and Timmy jeans were delivered.  These two styles are for men with larger round tummies.  There are ten sizes in all for each style and our largest size is really LARGE!  We feel that we can now accommodate those men with Down syndrome who really struggle to find comfortable pants due to their unique body shape.  I can’t wait to get them into customer’s hands to see what people think.  That’s the true test of our pants…how the customer likes them and how well they fit. 

When I got back to work this week, I was able to get our model in for pictures in our two new style jeans.  We put him in two different colors of our men’s shirts and in the Jonathan and the Timmy jeans.  He looked amazing!  Ray Sawyer has been working with us for months and to finally see him in the finished product brought tears to my eyes.  Jillian did a fantastic job designing the jeans and the factory did a great job manufacturing them.

I also spent time with my friend Andy, who is now working with a very large factory and seems to be doing well.  He's even got his own brand and is selling it to other countries.  When he sold his factory, he was able to keep his brand name, "Jeansburg".  I was so proud to see his own label on a pair of jeans that he designed.  His first order was being shipped to South Africa while I was there.   Andy is also working on black pants for us in the Jacob and Danny style.  We're still tryting to find just the right fabric.  

Well, my Chinese lessons are finally paying off.  I was much improved in my communication skills since my last visit.  My Chinese is still very limited, but I was able to have small, simple conversations.  I was really proud of myself for how much better my Chinese was compared to my last trip.  Both Joey and Andy have been helping me as well, but my Chinese still needs lots of time to develop (maybe the rest of my lift)!

With all the positive changes happening, my excitement and enthusiasm is hard to contain most days.  Seeing the growth of our product line and the increase in sales renews my faith in what I am trying to achieve.  There have been so many disappointments along the way, but I’ve never lost faith.   I see the vision clearly in my head and I know exactly where I am going.  It seemed that for a long time I was going the long way around and forced to take detours.  But now the road is beginning to straighten and I’m overjoyed with the current path I’m on.

September has good news!

Well, at last things are starting to fall into place.  I have such exciting news to share! 

First…the Jessica and Marcia style jeans have finally arrived.  When the truck backed up to the warehouse, I had no idea what to expect.  The driver opened the doors and, to my pleasant surprise, they were packaged perfectly and the boxes were not damaged.  The shipment was small (about 15 cases);   250 of the Jessica and 250 of the Marcie. 

In this industry, it’s rare that a factory would agree to make such a small minimum quantity.  But the new factory I’m using now has been so helpful and cooperative and I’m so impressed with the quality of their products.  Their samples have been amazing and now to see the final production, I’m “over the top”! 

The next two styles on their way are the Jonathan and Timmy “Dip Down”, our larger men’s style jeans.  They should be arriving about September 20^th and now I have confidence that this will be a successful delivery also.

The factory has started production on four more styles as well:  The Charlie and Michael “Dip Down” for smaller men and the Danny and Jacob “Dip Down” for larger teen boys.  They should be arriving near the end of November, just in time for the holidays.

The last size group, the Youth style pants, are now being designed and I'm hoping to have them available by year end.  Unfortunately, we hadn't been able to find any models in that age group until just recently,  But at last two adorable models have been found and Jill has begun working on those pants styles.

With product finally becoming available, it’s now time to develop a marketing program.  So I’ve added a new addition to our team, Laura Smiley.  Her experience in Marketing and PR should bring improved sales and more public awareness. 

We’re also building an advisory board and preparing a business plan.  I want to take Downs Designs to the next level and will start to look for outside funding.  I want to manufacture pants in khaki, navy, black and another style denim.  This will take a large sum of money, so I think it’s time I reach out for help. 

With the economy in such bad shape, banks will not loan a startup company money, they say you must have sales, but how can you sell something if you don’t have money to make it.  It’s a frustrating situation…the chicken or the egg!  But, I’m going to see what other options are available and I’m certainly open to suggestions.

I’m thrilled with the direction Downs Designs is headed and so encouraged with all our progress!  I think we have a bright future ahead!

Karen
www.downsdesigns.com