Trunk Show - 2011

We’re very excited to say that our first trunk show was a success! All the hard work of designing and crafting, in one month’s time, paid off in those two hours. But first, we would like to thank b. (a resale shop) and the owner Allison Bross-White for hosting this event. She is amazing! And we wouldn’t have been able to do it without her.

The morning of the event, has to be the most stressful experience for any designer. Last-minute, forgotten details need to be completed and time is your worst enemy. I manage to complete all the small sewing details (such as closures), some embellished button earrings, and even sewed a sweater just for visual presentation, all in 3 hours. But we made it to the shop 30 minutes before 4pm, and were able to create a beautiful, visually appealing display for all our jewels!  

Please send visual appreciation to Gaochen!!!

The trunk show was a success – we had attendees and received wonderful compliments for all our goodies, even sold a few here and there. We look forward to having another one in the near future, so please stay tune as we make our mark in the world of design and crafts!

Budgeting Our Trunk Show

Helllooo and what a beautiful day it is!

We knew that coming into this business wasn’t going to be inexpensive. We don’t have sponsors or investors, but we have great family and friends who have supported us unconditionally. And of course, a whole lot of creativity, innovation, and inspiration!

Other than our design/crafting life, we also hold regular jobs, go to school, and have a family life.

So we put our brains together…great minds think a like…and we managed a budget many would be surprised it even created an outfit, let alone a collection. Which concludes the reason why many of our items are affordable.

There are many concepts and supplies that are needed when it comes to creating a collection. Many of those things include fabrics, notions, thread, other materials you may need to complete your outfit, and tools. Because we also make our own accessories and jewelry – we needed beads, jewelry findings, wires, etc. The list can go on and on. This is where our creativity kicked in. Plus, we are bargain shoppers…we love sales!

It was our very lucky weekend – Memorial Weekend. Joann was hosting one of their biggest sale event. All clearance fabric was an additional 50% off (we got fabrics for $2-$4 a yard); buttons and notions were all on sale – 50% off; and we had coupons for 10% off your total purchase and 40% a single full priced item. We also got strands of beads on clearance!! Now that’s a great deal! Some things are really worth waiting for.

We also found a small fabric store that was going out of business. Of course we paid a visit and made some purchases because you can’t pass off fabric for $2 a yard. We also did some wholesale shopping, visited shops on Etsy, and made our rounds at vintage and thrift stores.

Our most creative and innovative idea was…recycling. Because we are shopping lovers and have a tendency to collect a lot of clothes, instead of donating what we didn’t want we reused them. Some items were reconstructed and some were deconstructed. If we didn’t find a big use out of them we found a small use. For example, reusing buttons or lace; or we would turn them into scrap fabrics which could then be turned into fabric flowers, ruffles, or another form of embellishment.

Prepping for Trunk Show

Good morning and Happy June!

 

We are counting down the days to our very first trunk show!! Exciting! I hope you all will join us in this inspiring journey of ours as we introduce ourselves and our creations to the market.

We don’t consider ourselves as new designers, as we have always been designers – we were born to design, create, and inspire. But we are new business women. We are taking on all the challenges of marketing, retailing, and business endeavors that come our way.

June 11, 2011 is the big date! The date of our very first trunk show, which is exactly ten days away from today! We will be keeping you all posted on pictures and tell all moments everyday until the big day!

As our label, “Inspire,” we want to share this experience with rising new designers venturing into the market world. We have searched and googled all the aspects of a “trunk show” but haven’t come across anything helpful. On a silly note, we have never been to a trunk show, so we really have no idea of what to expect. But due to a lot of hope and ambition, we are going to wing this as if we have done it a hundred times before.

We created a check list, which we have made various revisions and we know that it’ll change many more times before June 11^th. Here is what we came up with:

1. Create a theme:
2. Invitations/guest list:
3. Total amount of collection pieces:
4. Displays:
5. Supplies/packaging:
6. Food/treats/drinks:
7. Funding/Finances:

Please stay tune as we work our way through this checklist and complete all the details to the final show!

To start off, we knew we needed a host, a place, and a time. Most likely we would have to contact local boutiques and the owners, but we were some very lucky girls. Nonmala works for an amazing store and an amazing owner – b. (a resale shop) (http://www.b-resaleshop.com/) who was willing to host our trunk show. It’s great to have connections. Also, one of her good friends, Angie Arner, created this flyer for us. We used it to post it on Facebook and to create an event invite.  So use all the social networking you have!

This is our invite on Facebook:

Come and support local designer duo, Inspire by Gaochen & Nonmala!

We will be hosting our very first "Spring into Summer Trunk Show 2011" on Saturday, June 11th from 6pm-8pm at b. (a resale shop) located in South Minneapolis.

We will be displaying current and new items from our spring/summer collection as well as a sneak peak into our fall collection: Antique Romance.

Light refreshments and snacks will be provided!

Also, we will have a raffle for two lucky attendees to win a pair of custom earrings and bracelet 

We also made our own personal invites to mail. Our guest list included local designers, small business entrepreneurs we have worked with, fashion bloggers, local magazine/journalist, friends, and family.

Our theme became Spring into Summer with bright and bold colors with floral prints...with a sneak peak into fall to showcase our antique romance collection.