The Boot Bag: Australia's Most Efficient

The tote has arrived! After much planning, waiting and a few tears, my first design - the Camelia Carlton Boot Bag has been shipped in from the international manufacturers, and I LOVE it. As you can see above, I had both a male and female design made. This bag is the perfect go-to bag for all the junk that congegrates in your home and car.

Other benefits of the Boot Bag:

• It keeps your life CLUTTER FREE!
• Great for beach towels, toys, sports gear, laundry, dry cleaning, ironing, paperwork, camera equipment, ski gear, travel rugs, yoga mats, drink bottles & groceries
• Family proof, SUPER TOUGH American canvas
• Iphone pocket on outside - no more missed calls!
• Ipad or magazine sized inner wall pocket
• Karabiner for your elusive keys!
• Folds flat, dark colour and washable
• Professional from car to office to home
• Classic Colt and Luxe Chandelier designs

You can purchase the bag here. While you're on my site you'll notice that the webstore is coming along nicely! You can purchase most of my accessories & t-shirts. It should be completed in the next week or so. Can't wait!

Until next time,

CC xo

Behind The Scenes of Pattern Making

I wanted to give you a little snapshot of the behind the scenes goings-on of fashion production. It's a little less than glamorous - scientific programs are used to create graded patterns that are specific to mathematical dimensions.

There are still a few Camelia Carlton products that are in production, like the men's short sleeve t-shirts, the makeup mini dress, the hot bodysuit and more. For now, you can start shopping my range in my webstore which is being updated as we speak!

Until next time,

CC xo

All About My DANCESPORT Weekend!

So I'm dying to tell you ALL about how I spent my Easter long weekend - behind a blinged-up trestle table at the QLD Dancesport Championships held at Jupiter's Casino on the Gold Coast.

It was a late night on Friday making my way down to the Gold Coast (with the rest of Brisbane, it seems - what horrible traffic!) to set up the stall. Upon our arrival, we found that one of the other stall owners had taken our spot that Toni-Maree had paid top dollar for, as elaundry was a sponsor of the event. Well, after much confusion and confrontation, we settled for a smaller space. However, our hair and makeup team had to be separated from the stall which was a HUGE disappointment. Clint was on hair and had enlisted the help of a makeup artist to design winning beauty looks to compliment the competitor's ballroom gowns - which turned out beautifully!

While our stall was beautifully set up with a sequin tablecloth to make the embellishments on the range and the amazing custom signage that Toni-Maree had printed - we didn't draw in the crowds we had expected on Saturday morning. It appears, that since we were wearing our fab FAMOUS tracksuits - the other dancers thought we were competitors and steered clear! Let me tell you, dancesport is a FIERCELY competitive sport - dance groups pinned against dance groups and the like, so we were initially viewed as the competition. However, after a few dancers began to approach us and question who we were, word spread quickly that we just in fact a humble fashion designer and dry cleaner! From that point on, we were very popular!

Interestingly, all of our high-fashion pieces were selling out, like the sequined bag, the makeup maxi (which looked AMAZING in the hot pink!) and plenty of Toni-Maree's cleaning products from elaundry. In fact, one product in particular was SO popular that it sold out in a flash! And we have word of mouth to thank for that!

One dancer was wearing a white leotard that looked like a man's business shirt, but was made entirely out of spandex with custom cuffs and collars. While it looked stunning, once she had hit the dance floor and started moving about with her double-layered faux tan and highlighter, the leotard went from stunning, stark white to brown in a flash. She visited us for some cleaning advice and we sold her the Cinderella Stain Remover, which she sprayed on her leotard, rinsed and then dried under the hand dryer in the bathroom. While she was at it, she told anyone and everyone who would listen about how fab the product is and people came from all corners of the casino to purchase!

All in all, we had lot's of enquiries about the men's range (which unfortunately was not quite ready on the day) and made some useful contacts which will come in handy for next time.

Speaking of next time, Camelia Carlton will make her next dancesport appearance at the Brisbane City International Dancesport Championship on the 9th and 10th of September this year!

Until next time,

CC xo

The Dancesport Weekend

What a whirlwind of a weekend! If you follow me on facebook or twitter you would've received some updates about the Dancesport Championships at Juniper's Casino, but I have so, so much more to tell! But for now, I'll leave you win a couple of happy snaps!

The beautiful Camelia Carlton & elaundry stall

Waiting for customers! Bring it on!

elaundry superstars Clint and Toni-Maree

Clint is also a talented hairdresser - look at him go! He was all booked out both days

That's one happy customer!

The dancers working their magic - what a spectacle!

Until next time,

CC xo

Shopping Cart Dramas

The posters for the Dancesport stall arrived, aren't they amazing! Remember Clint? The super amazing designer? There he is! This was taken right before we did our photo shoot, which also went amazingly well. The clothes are amazing when combined, I can't wait to show you!

In other news, we've had a bit of trouble with getting the shopping cart ready for the long weekend, so have taken drastic measures and will be selling the range via the blog until the week of the 2nd of May when the website will finally be completed. Tonight I begin the momentous task of uploading all the pictures with Add to Cart buttons. Stay tuned!

Until next time,

CC xo

Prepping for the Weekend!

The countdown is officially on until the Queensland Dancesport Championships this weekend. Camelia Carlton with elaundry will be hosting a stall at the event at Jupiter's Casino in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast where my range will be sold.

Although there's expected to be over 3000 attendees, we needed a little pizazz to make our stall POP out of the crowd! Toni-Maree is having two giant posters printed, and one of her employees at elaundry has graciously created a FABULOUS custom mirror, which I secretly want to steal.

If you're free this Easter long weekend, why not pay us a visit? We'd love to meet you in person! If you can't make it, you will be able to shop the entire range THIS WEEKEND. Excitement!

Until next time,

CC xo

Some Exciting News from CC HQ!

I have some truely exciting news to share with you all! My range is back from the manufacturer AND over the weekend my brand new and improved website went live! Not all of the information or the fabulous shopping cart (where you will be able to shop my ENTIRE range) is available just yet, but we're working on that!

Tonight Toni-Maree and Clint are helping me shoot the products with a beautiful mystery model (you will soon see!) and then will begin the momentous task of uploading it all to the website. The website will feature my best work, travel & fitness tips (if you have any to share - please email me at cameliacarlton@gmail.com), a fab shopping cart and my blog of course!

Let me tell you, everyone who has been involved in this project is running around like headless chickens trying to get it complete before the Dancesport Championships this weekend. It doesn't help that I work 9-5pm either.. Anyway, it's been a long time coming and I'm so, so pleased that it's all coming together the way I knew it would.

Until next time,

CC xo

Do you want to BE FAMOUS?

Now that we're loving the FAMOUS text, my dancesport range is moving away from being branded Camelia Carlton (well, technically it still is, but not obviously). Well, Toni-Maree and I have been pooling our brain power and expertise to create a whole new website & social media concept that's all about BEING FAMOUS. And in other news, my website is having a HUGE overhaul as we speak and is due for completion on the 17th April. Excitement is a severe understatement!

For now... Do you want to BE FAMOUS?

Until next time,

CC xo

FAMOUS in Glitter!

I don't think I mentioned this as it was happening, but as we were having difficulties sourcing Swarovski, Toni-Maree and I made the decision to experiment with glitter screen printing. We were't sure what the result would look like so we sent off lot's of different tee shirt colours and shapes to see how the FAMOUS glitter text would come up. Well, let's just say WE LOVE IT!

Clint wore the man's famous shirt on Monday to begin pitching the range to retailers and there was so much interest and excitement for the range! Now that we know it's fabulous, we've been playing around with different placements on the tee - FAMOUS on the front, FAMOUS on the back, even a glittered outline of my personalised camelia flower! The t-shirts will retail between $34.95 - $39.95 which is SO affordable! Now Toni-Maree is going to be selling her Swarovski crystals to anyone and everyone. You can contact her if you're interested at tmb@elaundry.com.au

Until next time,

CC xo

Spankin' Spandex

I wanted to share with you guys just how fabulous the fabrics I am using are. I've been harping on about how I use the best and all that, but I've got to prove it! The spandex in particular I am so proud of and excited to be using in the range. It's called Combed Cotton Lycra and a natural, luxurious fabric with a premium finish. The combing process gets rid of the impurities and gives the fabric incredible strength and softness, and also reduces pilling. So you can wear my range 'til your heart's content and not worry about pilling! Amazing.

Toni-Maree has been rigorously testing all of the fabrications and embellishments in hot and cold water washing as well as ironing and dry cleaning. I want to make sure everything holds up and will actually last (unlike some labels I know..)

Until next time,

CC xo

Flip Flops

The artwork for the Camelia Carlton FAMOUS flip flops has been approved! Do you love them? They will be black rubber thongs with a translucent strap.

Until next time,
CC xo

Barcoding & Endorsement Dramas

With the range nearly here, my thoughts have turned to sales. Where will I sell my product? Online only? Or will I pitch it stores like David Jones and Myer? Will I own my very own store one day? Of course I'd love to own my own store, but that's years down the track. For now, I'd love to have my clothes & accessories in the big Australian department stores. But how?

Toni-Maree has again been my saviour! After much research, she's found the answer: BARCODING! This is all very new and confusing to me, but Toni-Maree has taken charge and organised the whole thing.

I'll try to explain.. In order to sell to department stores (or any store, for that matter), you need barcodes for your products. You apply online, pay an annual fee and then await qualification. Apparently this process is much the same as applying to use Swarovski - you need to provide the company with a business plan. They won't just give you the barcodes, they need to aware of every single, specific piece. And even once you've paid your membership, you have to get through the red tape before they'll hand them over.

As well as figuring out the barcoding conundrum, Toni-Maree is also pitching to Swarovski to gain qualification to be able to use their name on our products as an indicator of quality. As we've used the absolute best of the best, we want to be able to tell customers this. We want them to know that we've cleaned every fabrication 5 times to test it's durability, that those crystals are genuine Swarovski and will stand the test of time. But of course, nothing is for free. The process of getting the genuine Swarovski stickers is a complicated one. Thank god for Fairy God Mother's!

Until next time,
CC xo

Camelia Carlton PJs

We have so much FAMOUS elastic that we're thinking of all new ways to use it in the range. Next up: Camelia Carlton PJs! We already had the oversized camelia flower print t-shirt, so are now creating a pair of silky pajama shorts in my custom fabric with a FAMOUS elastic waistband.

Now that the range is expanding, Toni-Maree advised me to create a new colourway in my custom fabric to add flair and dimension to the entire range. I've been playing around on Illustrator, and played around with different combinations in black, white and magenta. I tried a black background with magenta outlined flowers and then the opposite but finally settled on an all-magenta background and outline with white flowers. It's my key colour throughout the collection, and is bright, bold and funky for sleepwear!

The matching t-shirt will be an oversized fit with a giant pink camelia flower printed on the front, and FAMOUS Swarovski crystals adorning the flower. This is EXACTLY what I want to be wearing to bed!

Until next time,

CC xo

FAMOUS Elastic & New Product Inspiration!

So the FAMOUS elastic I ordered arrived last Friday so was just short of arriving before the range was sent to production. I was really disappointed at first, but have since had a new wave of enthusiasm for the range as Clint has gotten creative and thought of all new products!

Let me present to you the Camelia Carlton Men's Dance shirt - thanks to Clint's amazing creative streak (that's him pictured above - say cheese!) he has designed a tuxedo shirt with built in underwear for male dancers who face the problem of tucked in shirts coming loose during performances. The FAMOUS elastic will be an amazing feature on the shirt. Clint is such a genius, I honestly couldn't have though of this by myself! This new product will be going to production very soon.

Until next time,
CC xo

Going to Production

As soon as the swing tags arrived, Clint bundled up the samples and prepared them to be sent to production. I didn't realise it was so involved! Everything - from care label, swing tag, spec sheet and pattern (a.k.a "block" in industry terms) is put into a bag, with a production sketch stapled to the outside. If there are any errors on the block or production sketch, the actual garments manufactured will also have errors, so Clint has been meticulously going over each and every piece to make sure it is spot on.

We are having 20 pieces made in each style in Small and Medium. This is based on the dancer's physique, but Large sizing is available on request as it's a simple matter of angling the block. We also decided to go with S M over 8-12 to keep costs down. Most of the garments in the range are elasticised, so simply pull on over the head, hence fitting a range of sizes.

A few garments we are having made are:

• Sequined Hoodie - my first & favourite design!
• Black Bodysuit - thick black boyleg body with exposed zip at back
• Pole Pants - knee-length tracksuit pants in grey marle
• Dance Pants - long tracksuit pants
• Dance Tube top & skirt in high quality spandex
• Make up mini & maxi dresses - a personal favourite - simple spandex tube-style dress with elastic and frill around bust for those competitors who are having their make up and fake tan done in front of 300+ other dancers. Will be in washable black so make up stains are no problem

I'm also having a scarf made up in my custom fabric. Looks stunning, and elaundry has already had interest from a local business to manufacture as an accessory to their uniform!

Another new addition is the sequined hobo bag pictured above. It's a gorgeous slouch bag that you can wear across your body with silver sequined outer and custom Camelia lining on the inside. The inside of the strap is lined so there's no snagging to delicate fabrics, and a magnet clasp allows easy access. We've put an iPhone pocket on the inside and pleated the seam on the inside of the bag so the contents don't roll around. It wraps beautifully around your hips when you wear it!

You may notice that the black robe spoken of earlier has been culled from the range. Although I had faith in this piece, it was just too complicated to go to production, and would have been a much more expensive item than we had originally opted for. And when you took off all the trimmings and embellishments, it was just too basic and that's totally not my style!

So in a month from now, I will have my range ripe and ready to sell to Dancesport! I hope you all have your fingers crossed for me!

Until next time,
CC xo

Look What Arrived!

The mailman has been busy delivering things this week! My order from VistaPrint, which included my swing tags, hats, t-shirts and stationery arrived! Although I love the look of the hot pink camelia flower on the simple white background, we had a bit of a hiccup with the final cost of postage as each individual item was manufactured in a different country. Hence the cost was considerably more - so consider this a word of warning if you're thinking of using VistaPrint.

What else arrived is the FAMOUS and Camelia Carlton blings in Swarovski crystal! If you look closely at the FAMOUS bling you can see there's different sized crystals in the "F", whereas the Camelia Carlton bling is all one size. I got a bit creative and stuck the bling on the white hat. I've already worn it out today and gotten heaps of compliments! Just gives me a big boost that this range is going to be a huge success!

Until next time,
CC xo

My Custom Fabric!

My custom fabric arrived! Look how fabulous it is! And trust me, it looks EVEN BETTER in real life (if that's possible!)

As soon as the fabric arrived Clint moved quickly to start putting the garments together. Here is the black robe at the moment - Short sleeved robe with front pockets and waist tie in absorbent & washable fabric (so you can throw it on after the shower). The new fabric looks amazing as a trim on the pockets and tie, and in the hood. Of course my logo is embroidered on the front. Love it!

We also played around with creating hangers to display the range when it's completed. It's all about ATTENTION TO DETAIL! We've made a few so far but aim for 50 or so. I'm also thinking of getting a gorgeous Swarovski crystal star to hang from it too. What do you think?

The range is slowly but surely coming together. Clint has to make up a sample of each garment to send to the manufacturer. He has a great industry contact who is local to elaundry. We made the decision to have our production line in Australia, rather than outsourcing. I want to support my community! Because Clint knows the manufacturer, we have a 3 week turnaround on production. So I will have my range in my hot little hands faster than I imagined!

The QLD Dancesport Championships are at Jupiter's Casino on the Gold Coast on the 23rd & 24th of April this year, so we're aiming to have the range completed by then.

Until next time, 

CC xo

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. 

Where Have I Been?

Firstly, happy birthday to me! I celebrated my birthday on the 1st January (yes, a New Years baby - that must be why I'm so fascinated with glitzy/shiny things) and had an amazing break with my boyfriend and family in Noosa.

In other news, how wild is this weather!? The recent floods in Brisbane have put a serious dampener (excuse the pun!) on my Dancesport range. elaundry HQ in Stone's Corner was closed to flooding, so the range has been put on hold for a few weeks.

I'm still sketching, brainstorming and researching. I've come up with some totally amazing ideas while away and can't wait to share them with you! In the meantime, Toni-Maree's PA Brigita has been out and about in my screenprinted t-shirts getting my name out there. Thank you Brigita!

Until next time,

CC xo