Bouncing back

So my last post was about how I thought I was going to get a big break with a trunk show at Henri Bendel, but then it fell through because of the recession.

So what does one do when one's dreams are shattered?

OK, maybe that's being a little melodramatic. However, I was very disappointed about the whole thing, and after a little moping, I decided to take action.

I had previously compiled a list of boutiques in the NYC area that covered my target market. I had called each one up and asked how to contact the buyer, and they usually gave me an email address to try. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I cold emailed all of them, telling me about my situation -- that I was supposed to do a trunk show with Henri Bendel but the deal had fallen through and I was interested in selling my pieces with them.

Most of the boutiques didn't respond. I got a couple replies from buyers saying they liked my collection, but that they were either not looking for new designers, or my pieces were out of their boutique's price range, or that they were going out of business because of the economic situation.

However, I did get a few positive responses. One was from Searle. I met with the sales/marketing director and buyer and they were enthusiastic about carrying the collection. I was excited about working with them because they had a few stores uptown, so there would be a bigger distribution than working with just one store. However, they were filing for chapter 11 at the time (according to the fashion blogosphere) and after our initial contact, I found it hard to get a straight answer from them about an order, so I focused on the other prospects.

The buyers from Sucre and Albertine in the West Village had also responded so I met with them. They agreed to carry them on consignment, along with another boutique I had discovered in the East Village, duo. Taking a leap of faith, I decided to try producing the dresses and selling them on consignment with these boutiques, as well as on my online store.

After putting production on hold, I decided to go forward, producing approximately 20 pieces of six of the seven styles I had designed, crossing my fingers.