Ordering, ordering, ordering

Ok, apart from being Valentine's Day today (Happy V day to all you lovebirds!), it's CRUNCH TIME! My fabric is days away from arriving, Clint has created patterns for my garments, so now it's time to order swing tags, care labels and trims.

I found out about VistaPrint through a friend, so decided to order my swing tag through them. I've ordered a postcard sized swing tag with the Camelia Carlton FAMOUS logo on one side and Toni-Maree's elaundry business on the other (because it's a joint venture and all!)

And while I was on VistaPrint I couldn't help but order a few things for work - like keyrings, notepads, mousepads, post it notes and mug - just to brighten up my office! I will give them out to my friends and such, I hope they love my camelia logo as much as I do! I also had to order a few more t-shirts with the giant pink camelia flower, just because I haven't got any of them yet. I got one slim fit t-shirt with a small flower, and one oversized fit t-shirt with a large flower.

Now that I've ordered my swing tags and got that expense out of the way, I thought about what trims and embellishments I needed to order.

First up, my Swarovski crystals! I ordered both "FAMOUS" and "Camelia Carlton", one in different sized large crystals, and one in same size small crystals. I hope they look fab! I'm thinking of sticking them on top of the camelia flower.. We'll see how it looks though!

I've also ordered elastic for the waistbands of my garments. I didn't want to go with basic black or white, so found a manufacturer and have ordered custom elastic with FAMOUS written on it. I am BEYOND excited to see what this looks like IRL! I could start designing underwear.. The opportunities are endless!

And in BIG, BIG NEWS... I've ordered the minimum required order (MOQ in industry terms) of my FINISHED & FABULOUS BOOT BAG! They will take a few weeks to arrive, but I can't wait to start selling them. I've told anyone and everyone who will listen (even strangers at the supermarket struggling by with their groceries) about the boot bag!

Until next time,
CC xo

Dancesport Design - BE FAMOUS

After a few months of uninterrupted planning, I've finally got my head around my dancesport range.

Although I love my Ralph Lauren & Chanel, sometimes branded items can be a bit tacky. I want my customers to know that Camelia Carlton is the label of the clothes, but that doesn't mean that I need my name written all over the garments. 

I thought about what I wanted from the range. I want it to be fabulous and feminine. I want to use only the most expensive and most luxurious fabrications and embellishments, because I truly believe in quality and care. I want my customers to feel amazing when they put my clothes and accessories on. I want them to feel empowered, to feel like they can conquer the world one sequin at a time. I want them to look, feel and be FAMOUS. 

FAMOUS - this is the Camelia Carlton catchy cry that represents my brand, my audience, and most importantly, me. I want FAMOUS emblazoned on my clothes, like a boxer's robe has their name in big lettering across the back. The FAMOUS logo has to be BIG, BOLD and BLINGY. I've started designing a robe just like a boxer's one (but a feminine one), with my custom fabric lined on the inside. Do you know how hard it is to find a black silky robe? I do!

Toni-Maree and I have looked into Swarovski crystals and are totally impressed. We can get the FAMOUS logo in different sizes and fonts, even have graduating crystal sizes. Amazing! I've also found decal paper that you can buy online to do mockups. You print your design on it and stick it on to your shirt, pants or bag (whatever you want to test the design out on). Then you can wear it around and see if you like the design/size/colour. I've done this for all of my FAMOUS catch cry sizing and placements on my clothes so they are tried and tested when they reach you.

So this is the catch cry that represented my brand, audience and more importantly, represents me - FAMOUS.