Kimono Inspired Classics for the Sophisticated Woman
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Alicia Wood had a love for fashion at a young age. After watching in amazement as her aunt turned a white bed sheet into a black wicked witch costume, she decided that as soon as her feet could hit the pedal, she would learn to design and sew.
Fast forward to October 7, 2010 where Ms. Wood will showcase at Catapult, Portland Fashion Week’s highly anticipated emerging designer competition.
Ms. Wood is a chic line designed for the woman who is sophisticated and elegant but with a hint of an edge. This line of classic must-haves with an Asian twist was created by pairing draped kimono sleeves with structured silhouettes in flirty fabrics. Paying special attention to detail down to the custom made buttons and buckles, Ms. Wood’s line includes bold accessories comprised of obi belts, hats, bags, jewelry and handcrafted shoes. Read on to learn more about the designer behind the line…
Describe your line Ms. Wood. Who is your ideal customer?
Ms. Wood is a chic line of classic must-haves with an Asian twist (each sleeve is a kimono sleeve). My collection is designed for a strong, unique, feminine career minded woman who loves to dress with understated elegance but with an edge. Could be any woman from her mid 20′s on up, flattering many different body types.
How long have you been designing apparel?
16 years- graduated from an apparel design program in 1994.
What motivated you to choose a career in fashion?
I have always needed a creative outlet of one form or another and many women in my family were seamstresses when I was growing up so they were a big influence on me. In high school I really got into it and loved the freedom of making whatever I wanted to wear the next day!
What is your inspiration for Ms. Wood?
Three years ago I began working on a line of yukata style kimono robes to sell online. They were a hit and I developed a loyal following but after a couple years I felt the need to evolve with my designs but I didn’t want to abandon my kimono sleeve that I was so in love with. In the meantime I had 2 babies and was a stay at home mom, while I was the “CEO of domestic affairs” at my home, heels and pencil skirts were never appropriate attire. But I became very intrigued with the life of a powerful business woman and what I would wear if I were running around from power lunches to business meetings in the board room. A life very far from my own. I loved living vicariously through my best friend/my muse, Katie Constans, who was getting deeper into the business world at this time and since then this collection has emerged.
Where do you see Ms. Wood 5 years from now?
I would LOVE to support our family with the Ms. Wood line, me on the clothing end, my husband on the shoes and other wooden accessories (no more general contracting for him!) – “Mr. Wood” hand makes the shoes and jewelry! My fantasy is to buy a bigger house for our growing family with a wood shop for Ben, keep our house here and turn it into my sewing studio/show room. And a feature in Vogue isn’t impossible!! Project Runway seems to fancy some Portland designers…who knows?!
Describe your personal style.
Understated, classic pieces paired with bold, statement pieces. Always comfortable, natural fabrics, a little sexy, a little edgy, feminine but not too girly.
Handbag Accessories for the Modern Fashionista
MEET RACHELLE COURTNEY, FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL OF LOCAL HARDWEAR:
What inspired you to jump into fashion?
I’ve always been interested in fashion and while the legal industry allowed me to pay my bills and exercise my mind, I wanted a creative outlet as well. My love of the fashion industry, trends in the marketplace and my ability to shop for others and know what would look good (personal shopping) was really my inspiration. After my online retail consignment store and experience as a personal shopper, I sensed an opportunity in the accessories industry with handbag hangers. So, after 17 years in the legal industry, I put aside the corporate world and jumped into accessory wonderland with both feet.
What makes Local Hardwear different from other collections?
The Local Hardwear mission is to combine utility and design with a pinch of attitude – a harmony of beauty and raw functionality. To the uninitiated, a handbag hanger looks like a pretty simplistic piece of metal. The physical characteristics of the hanger are critical. A hanger must be strong enough to hold the heaviest bags, compact enough to fit into the smallest of handbags yet large enough to fit on a wide range of tables and other surfaces. We have spent a good deal of time on refining our basic hanger design.
As a designer, what are your most difficult challenges?
To stay ahead of the curve and know what people want before they want it. It has been a challenge to create unique designs that are universal to everyone without diminishing our contemporary and fashion-forward designs. Our designs are remarkable, the quality is unmatched and our pricing is quite aggressive in today’s market, however, the majority of women still do not know that these fantastic accessories exist. So opening up that market is one of the biggest challenges.
What do you find most rewarding?
Creating beautiful inspired designs and then describing how we created them in words on our website. Each of our Collections has a meaning and reason behind it, as well as the hanger designs. We create them for women of the world and knowing that our customers love them and can’t be happier is quite a reward in itself. We receive only positive feedback quite frequently from new and return customers.
Who is your primary target audience?
Historically, the working woman who carries a handbag, goes out to lunch or dinner has been our target market. But quite honestly, it has morphed into anyone who wants to prevent the spread of germs – which, in this day and age, is almost anyone. Our customers are of all ages and all over the country, including international customers, so it goes without saying that almost anyone could benefit from the handbag hanger. In this regard, requests and comments submitted through our website by men is also making it clear that the market for handbag hangers reaches far beyond women. Many men these days carry laptop bags, camera cases, umbrellas and other accessories that could potentially be stored on a hanger.
What’s in store for your customers in the near future?
We just launched our “Bliss Flower” design in the Harmony Collection a few months ago and it is continues to sell out and has become a customer favorite. We will be introducing at least one more Collection containing 4 original designs based on symbolism, edgy graphics and stunning ornaments. They are currently in the sample phase and are on track for an early 2011 launch. We have re-designed our physical hanger to incorporate new materials and functionality. We are also adding a few new accessories in the fall to compliment our already fabulous inventory.
Boisean’s web site a hit with fashion industry
As published in the Idaho Business Review, Gaye Bunderson interviews Madison Buyer’s Elizabeth Perryman:
Any work related to fashion may seem a frivolous venture to some, but Boisean Elizabeth Perryman can speak the language of business with ease when she discusses her Web site, www.madisonbuyer.com. Perryman, 26, and a partner, Shawn Madawi of Las Vegas, launched the site in April 2009; according to Perryman, the women had been preparing for the launch for two years.
Perryman called the Web site a business-to-business marketing tool and said, “We’re still testing how to implement a revenue model.”
The Web site is a way to get the word out about young, up-and-coming talented designers, to present them and what they can offer to retailers and buyers. The idea for the site occurred to Perryman as she shopped around the Internet in an effort to open her own boutique.
She noted details about independent designers were kind of all over the place. “The information was scattered and not consolidated,” she said. That’s when she got the idea for a Web site that could serve as a one-stop resource for designer data.
She contacted Madawi, a former co-worker and business owner, with her observations, and the women started to think, “We need to build an online tool to promote fashion designers and promote consolidation in the business side of the industry.”
Perryman is no stranger to business. She received a degree in marketing/advertising from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. She prefers not to mention former employers but has worked for a New York City accounting firm, for instance, and a local advertising and marketing agency. She also worked for a Las Vegas entertainer.
She said she always had a love for fashion, but living in New York gave her what she referred to as “a new perspective of what fashion really is.”
“I lived in the Village, right in the heart of the fashion district,” she said.
Now, her business skills meet her passion for things fashionable. Add to that, her and her partner’s social networking skills. They’re up-to-speed on everything that’s currently in vogue in social media and the Internet. Not only is their business completely online, word about it is spreading fast through Facebook, Twitter and the “blogosphere.”
“We haven’t paid for any traditional advertising,” Perryman said. Though she claimed the fashion industry is among the slowest to adapt to change, she said, “The Internet is changing the business model for the fashion world.”
Unfortunately, until the “revenue model” has been established, Perryman and partner are not making any money on www.madisonbuyer.com – a problem not uncommon for many Web sites, blogs and social media sites that are more popular than they are profitable.
And www.madisonbuyer.com is definitely popular. There are currently well over 100 designers represented on the site, and it has generated a lot of interest in the industry. It was, among other things, recently mentioned on huffingtonpost.com, as well as in some high-profile fashion blogs.
Perryman said designers featured on her site come from places as diverse as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Germany, Brazil and even Portland, Ore., which Perryman said is a burgeoning fashion locale.
Perryman and Madawi recently attended the POOL Trade Show in Las Vegas and served as the official Twitter source for the event.
Social media has been good to them, helping them build and strengthen their business. It’s through ‘Net communication such as Twitter and Facebook that they’ll continue to spread the word about designers, styles, trends, trade shows and cool clothing.
Let the Roll Call Begin!!!!!
Starting Monday February, 8th- 18th we will be running an online giveaway..we will be giving away FREE SWAG from awesome designers showing at POOLTRADESHOW!!
We encourage EVERYONE TO ENTER!!!
IT’S EASY..
Visit Madisonbuyer.com/blog or make sure you are following us on Twitter every weekday thru February 18th. Each day we will debut a new brand and what they have contributed to our giveaway. Follow the simple instructions on how to enter the giveaway and who knows you might be walking away with an amazing pare of earrings from Jessica Matrasko Jewelry or an awesome bag from amykathryn.
If you haven’t already – Friend and follow @PoolTradeShow and us @MadisonBuyer!!
RSS Feed
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Flickr