Feel free to contact me to respond to any of my posts! Thanks for reading...
- Melody Wilson
5/4/09
Profile of a Designer-Entrepreneur
I'm sure everyone has a different opinion about what it takes to be an independent designer-entrepreneur. We designer-entrepreneurs probably all think, "you have to be like me!"
I know I started out feeling extremely under-qualified. With no current connections in the industry and no fashion education, where was I to start?
At that time I failed to recognize the strengths I had inherited from my family. Both of my parents are entrepreneurs, who can never be happy in an ordinary job. They are always starting something. Since they are both in the non-profit world, I didn't make the connection at first between their careers and what I was trying to do.
But there are very close connections in what was needed: extreme persistence, unshakable self-confidence, problem-solving skills, and an inabililty to stop thinking of new ideas!
I also didn't put two and two together, at first, about the previous generation. My paternal grandfather was a knitter in New York City, who owned a factory and designed his own sweater line. My maternal grandmother was a dressmaker out of her home. Why was I so surprised to discover, at age 30, that I had a passion for design and a need to sew my designs into existence??
And then there's my situation in life. At first glance, being a middle-class stay-at-home mom doesn't seem ideal for starting a new career in fashion design. But there were some hidden strengths there as well. I found I had married (surprise, surprise!) an entrepreneurial husband, who enjoys taking risks and thrives on new business ideas. And I found myself in the position of not needing a salary to support myself right away. That has given me the time to get started, without the financial pressure of mounting debt.
These may not be the characteristics you would list if asked to describe a well-qualified designer-entrepreneur. But I think there's one universal qualification we can all agree on -- slight to moderate insanity. :)
5/1/09
Why Wovens but Not Knits??
It's a little puzzling, given the immense popularity of knit fabrics in fashion today, why knit prints are relatively hard to find. Premier fabric designers like Robert Kauffman (pictured), Amy Butler, and Michael Miller all seem to design prints produced exclusively as woven fabrics.
Is this because their target market is primarily quilters? Today, with the emergence of so much patchwork in boutique apparel, there would seem to be a growing market for designer knit prints.
At this point, Pixyworld is relying on the mercy of fabric printers who bring their minimums WAY down for us (in return for extra compensation, of course.) If there were wholesale knit prints available with the kind of thoughtful and artistic design of today's quilting fabrics, what heaven for a designer like me!
But then again, where would be the challenge in that?
It's a little puzzling, given the immense popularity of knit fabrics in fashion today, why knit prints are relatively hard to find. Premier fabric designers like 
