Wednesday, June 30, 2010

vacation

Now is about the time of the year that I start really thinking about booking a vacation. Here are some lovely photos to get us all in the mood.

I think we ALL deserve a vacation...














Have a great day.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

cherry blossoms




After seeing this shoot in the latest Vogue issue with my favorite French actress, Marion Cotillard, I'm finding it hard to keep my A.D.D tendencies at bay... I'm loving how the cherry blossoms look in this photo shoot and how they simply exude spring time and femininity. Unfortunately, I think I have missed the blossoming this year but nevertheless, they are beautiful to look at.

I'm loving both dresses on her and how they have taken on a more romantic feeling being shot outside amongst the blossoms. Oh! and dying over the rosette bouquet cummerbund by Nina Ricci.

photos: Vogue

Friday, June 25, 2010

possible shoot location #1

I scouted out a potential location for the photo shoot yesterday. Thank you Haydee for the idea of that area, which I seriously would've never thought of! The only thing that it's really missing is a body of water (the lagoon across the street is unkempt and bare.)

Does this feel spring to you guys? Perhaps with water it will soften up?

find my inspiration here




I heart poloroid







I recently purchased a poloroid on ebay for $4.99! I just love the feeling that I get from a poloroid photo. In fact, I love it so much that I want my look book to be displayed in all poloroid (digitally done of course).

What do you guys think?

photo: little blue deer

Thursday, June 24, 2010

meet jenna...



Jenna Lyons is the creative director of J Crew. Responsible for the embellished cardigan and kitschy advertisements, she has transformed the brand into a go-to retailer and a lifestyle. A few things you might be surprised to know is that she has a collection of Vogue from the last 25 years (think about moving?!) and that she only wears high heels! Keep on shining Jenna, I heart you.

You can read the entire article here.





"I always borrow something from the boys and something from Grandma" ~Jenna Lyons.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

happy as a clam

So as mentioned on Monday, I received a lovely little 7 pound parcel from Fedex full of my lil' babies. My China contact, P made most of the fit comments that had been requested and the samples came back in the "correct" fabrics and colors!! It is FINALLY looking like a collection.
Somehow though, my contact P thought that the color mustard was in fact a blush color...wtf?! So she ended up making a couple samples that had been requested in the yellow color in a blush color. In any case it has worked out for the best since everyone who has seen the color, likes it. The only thing that could be an issue is the fact that I really only have two POP colors in the collection, everything else is of neutral decent. I really, really like the two pop colors though.

Received 20 out of my 22 1st samples and 12 out of 20 2nd fit samples. so far so good!


Also, thought I would mention that James Perse is having a sample sale this weekend in Newport! happy shopping.

Monday, June 21, 2010

"meet the stylist"



So last Thursday I was lucky enough to attend the event "Meet the Stylists" at the Beverly Center hosted by Los Angeles Magazine.
On the panel were three successful L.A stylist; Mandi Line, Lindsey Albanese and Melinda Tarbell. All three had different areas of expertise, Mandi is the costume designer on the new television series "Pretty Little Liars". Lindsey has been a wardrobe stylist for many years working with some greats such as, Access Hollywood, E.T and American Idol. And finally, Melinda's focus is on print/commercial and celebrity styling.

While the event was really for inspiring stylist, it gave me the chance to ask if they ever work with emerging designers and what is the "typical" process for getting samples? All answered "definitely!" and they usually work with the showrooms but will also work directly with the designer. I'm going to shoot each an email introducing myself and hopefully get the "kendall k." seed planted for the future...

~k

summer solstice



Welcome to summer everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. I personally spent the weekend in the desert celebrating Father's day and checking out my favorite boutiques around town. This way I could assure myself that my product would work for these retailers and the price point was on target- check, check :) Also, it was a good way to get some contact information for the buyers and ask about their favorite showrooms and/or if they buy directly from the manufacturer (me)- all said they do both, which was very positive.

My mom just came into town so we might hit up the beach for a walk later and swing by Fedex to pick up a little package that arrived from China today! Inside should be about 5-6 2nd samples that I have been patiently waiting for... Can't wait to see them, it's driving me mad :)

~k

photo
: Becca Mann

Friday, June 18, 2010

antiquing and such..

Today was full of great finds, good laughs and amazing company!
I had the pleasure of attending (with Bianca of bink and boo) a few fantastic estate sales plus the mother ship of antique sales at the "Betty Crocker" estate in Valley View. I had NO IDEA there was a house that cool in Valley View. The Matilda's Mouse event happens once a month and has a plethora of really old goodies and reasonable prices! You should check it out.

Here is Matilda herself...


crazy amounts of stuff




how amazing is that chandelier?!


here are the treasures that I found today...


the clock ended up being the most expensive purchase all day at $22.

all I could imagine in the little serving dish is little cocktail weenies :)


and of course we had to stop for Julian pie... (for father's day...promise:)



have a great weekend!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

a little manifestation..


Yesterday I walked around both the California mart and the New Mart in downtown L.A. It really gave me a good idea of the type of showrooms that I want to be in and the process that I need to start in order to make it happen!

I would take either really, but the New Mart is definitely high on my list.




photo

Monday, June 14, 2010

Resort 2011

Here are some of my favorites from the resort 2011 collections:
Chris Benz



I love the 60's inspired silhouettes, feels like he was channeling the lovely Jacki O.


Stella McCartney



I love the cape style over the mini-shorts, the large exaggerated floral pattern and the tonal lace fabric.

Diane von Furstenberg




and DVF made me feel as though we were on the French riviera in the 1940's (with a modern twist)


I love how each designer's interpretation of resort was so different from one another. It just shows the beauty of fashion and how collections can speak to people on different levels while connecting them at the same time.
all photos: style

Friday, June 11, 2010

Happy Friday


What a great week this has been. I got some work done, tackled a few major projects around the house and went with Haydee last night to meet up with some fellow bloggers. What started out as a trunk show for the talented and charming Catherine from Rikshaw designs, turned out to be a mini blogging convention :) I had the pleasure of meeting Heather, Bianca, Alexis, Grace, Melissa and Alexandra. I have to be honest, I was a little nervous at first seeing as though I'm a little baby in blog world but everyone was so sweet and welcoming that I quickly made myself comfortable. thank you.



Have a great weekend.
~k
photo: tig-fashion

Thursday, June 10, 2010

photo shoot inspiration

I'm starting to pull inspiration for the upcoming lookbook photo shoot. A lookbook is basically a small catalog showing each piece of the collection working together. This is essential to have (for the show room) when presenting the line to buyers. It is something that the buyers can take away and reference back too. Also, it is helpful for PR by sending to boutiques or even industry publications for marketing. It should portray the overall theme of the collection while also showing how each piece works together.

One of my best friends Amanda came up with a brilliant idea of having a location inspired from scenes of "The Notebook"; think large willow tree, small body of water and overgrown grass. It definitely feels romantic and feminine, much like what my spring collection represents.

I have pulled a few images to give you more of an insight. What do you think?









...if you can think of anywhere like this in Southern California let me know. thanks!


~k

All photos above ( except for the one labeled "the notebook") came from http://lookbook.nu/

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

richard powers

While I'm on the subject...I want this living room :)



although I think I would add a crystal chandelier instead.

Check out all of his other genius photography @ Richard Powers

a great house

Here are a few photos of the ah inspiring house which belongs to top celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe and her husband Roger.







The house has a very calming effect, perhaps it is the indoor/outdoor feeling I get from the extra large windows or the clean lines and muted colors?! Everything has a place, there is no clutter (shown) and it seems very quiet tucked in beside the hill.
Great place to host your closest friends for a dinner party.


Thanks Everything Fabulous for providing these beautiful photos taken by Richard Powers.

Monday, June 7, 2010

business plan



This week I am starting on my business plan. Not really the most exciting thing but important nevertheless.
A business plan is essential for many reasons. One of which is that it is required to get a business loan. Another good reason is that it helps to keep you on track with goals,profit expectations and growth. It's a good thing to just keep referring back to while in business and always updating with new objectives.

It is important for me to have a plan in place for kendall k. since we will (hopefully) need to obtain a small biz loan for production. You see, once the orders have been placed, then the factory will start the production process. We will have to pay the factory for production before we see any money come in from the orders. Depending on the order size, production can be very costly. So needless to say, I'm hoping that we need to get a loan!! :)

Any tips?!

~k

Friday, June 4, 2010

gold ribbon



Yesterday I went and bought some gold lurex ribbon for the hang tags. The gold is playful, glamorous and eclectic... however it also counteracts the simplicity of the font and antique eyelet...BUT a little juxtaposition could be a good thing, right? ahh perhaps I'm reading too much into this?
The ribbon is still in the race but I still have some time...


Happy Friday everyone!!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

research



I am starting to do some research on finding a showroom, which could be one of the most important decisions that I make. A showroom is where the collection will sit and be shown to prospective buyers. The sales reps who work in the showroom will really handle the buyer contact, show the line and write the orders. So you can see how important finding the right showroom is. Usually, you can get a lot of information by looking at the other lines that the showrooms host. I'm definitely going to start with taking your advice Haydee and doing some cold calls. Also, I will make my way down to LA and walk around the La/New mart buildings. stay tuned.


great quote found at Slumber Designs
~k

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

san fran and tech packs...



I hope that you all had a wonderful Memorial day weekend! Kyle and I spent the weekend in San Francisco with very dear friends of ours, Kirk and Alicia. It was a perfect long weekend.
(Click on her name and you will see her house recently featured in Apartment therapy, isn't it fantastical?!)

This is us go karting around the city... highly recommend it if you are in the city.


and relaxing after a long ride...

On another note, I was talking to Kyle this morning about the blog and he has suggested that I talk more about the technical side to starting a clothing line. Unfortunately, I started the blog once I had the majority of "technical" items checked off my list but in any case I will start by explaining a tech pack. Whenever I told people what I had done so far, saying "I just sent out my first five tech packs..." I would always get, "what the heck is a tech pack"?!
So here I will explain what a tech pack is:
A tech pack is a pack of information that contains a sketch, measurements, construction/sewing details, fabric and trim info and any photo inspirations for each style. When I was at bcbg, we didn't have to really create tech packs since all the sampling was done in house but when you are dealing with overseas manufacturers, it is important to have all necessary information on each style bundled together and easily accessible.
I create a tech pack for each style that I send out- always. Not only is it good for me to keep for records and such, it is good for the factory.

The construction/sewing page which I create on illustrator, is inserted in later. This page is what takes up the majority of my time. It is where I give very detailed instructions and measurements in order to make the sample. Then I save them into pdf format and email them off as I complete them. If there are any questions, then a simple email is sent.
Hopefully, that gives you guys a little insight :)

On another note, I received five 2nd samples and one first sample today. I had ordered fabric based on a tiny little swatch of color and now I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I was thinking it was going to be a rich vicuna or cogniac color but instead it is much brighter than I had imagined. Hopefully if I keep staring at it, I will fall in love. I don't know, what do you think??



Sorry for the extra long post tonight, I guess I was making up for yesterday...
~k