Business Decisions from My Workroom

I'm now surrounded by stacks of new fabrics - fabrics for fall and winter. It's taken me awhile to accumulate them because along the way I had to make some decisions on how I wanted to focus. (All that procrastination led to plenty of time thinking about possible options for what I wanted to do about business. My wheels move slowly, but I am comfortable with my decisions.)

I spent some time looking for a glen plaid or houndstooth material like I used last year. Couldn't find what I needed with the fabric content or price point I wanted. But I did keep running into lush cotton prints which felt as soft as silk. So I decided to buy the 100% cotton in small lots and keep my line as limited editions. When I run out of these fabrics, it will be rather difficult to reorder. There will be no run of many duplicates in all sizes. Annarella Girl will remain handmade by me with limited inventory. I know it's difficult to see from these photos how it will all blend together. For me that is part of the creative challenge that I love. You're looking at hours of stacking and restacking to see what can be used and where. And it is the part of these dresses and skirts that make them unique - my play, my vision. So for this year I'm going to stay small, love working with my regular customers and slowly through etsy and regional fairs, build a larger customer base. I want to keep it personal and fulfilling. I don't want to cookie cutter my special Annarella Girls.I'll be doing some fairs this fall. (When I have the list complete, I'l post it here.) You can always visit me on etsy. And my next challenge is how to actively use my Facebook page. I'll always keep you all posted on what's going on in my workroom.

Now let me get to work.