Fashion Slow Lane!

I recently interviewed David Larson, from www.negotiatingsalary.com .   Daivd is a professional negotiator who focuses on women in the workplace.   I reached out to him for an interview because women’s topics have always interested me.    When I first started negotiating with factories in China over 10 years ago I would change my name to Thomas Sauvage in order to get the respect and timely replies I required for the brands I represented. More recently my interest in women and discrimination in the workplace peaked due to recent interview in which my marital and family status was scrutinized and then I was offered a part time job for a few dollars above minimum wage!    Wait! That’s not all… to top it off…the hiring manager said the reason he wanted me to leave by 2 pm was so that I could get home in time to make dinner!   Really?   Yes, really.   (See my blog post here .) The part of my conversations with David  that w...

Have you thought about bringing your Contemporary brand to Asia?  I am working closely with a well connected successful Chinese-American entrepreneur who has successfully launched American brands in handbags, belts, accessories and apparel in high end Chinese department stores and high end Japanese stores.  I recently met up with her in Beijing and Tianjin to visit some of the stores has launched American brands in. (The smog in Beijing/Tianjin was horrific but that is another blog post)   The American brands are successfully selling more per square foot in China than in USA department stores. China is an incredible emerging luxury market.  If you follow any fashion news such as businessoffashion or WWD I am sure you have read about this trend in the past few years. “One of the most exciting findings is that by 2018, in the next five years, based on our predictions and based on how fast the region is growing, Asia Pacific will be the biggest region in the wor...

We love our new logo for Rocco Sauvage www.roccosauvage.com mens leather goods.  Check it out and let me know what you think.   We have also been working with a team and have put together our new online esty store.  Here is a link:   https://www.etsy.com/shop/RoccoSauvage   Etsy is great because we can go direct to our consumers and not have to worry about wholesale or dealing with a middle man.  Now one of the biggest trends in retail is direct to consumer.  Customers are getting smarter and they are looking for that transparency in the fashion industry.  Customers are getting tired of paying huge markup for quality products from their favorite brands.  More and more younger brands are leaping online and forgoing wholesale and middlemen all together.  At Rocco Sauvage we thought it would be great to go direct to our customers so we decided to go on Etsy.   Let us know what you think.  Follow us on twitter @roccosa...

For anyone that knows me well, they might have heard me talk about my penpal in The Philippines.  I have a penpal in Southern Davao, The Philippines since I was 12 years old.   We started writing letters back and forth before the Internet when we were young teens.  She lived in a village in Mindanao and I was growing up on a farm in Washington, USA.  Over the next 25 years I went to visit her in the village and meet her family on many occasions.  My last visit was in November 2014, just over a year ago.  It was wonderful to see the family and meet the new grandkid. Last night I was checking my facebook page.   I had a couple of messages which is unusual since I don't normally talk to people that way via facebook. It was an urgent message telling me that my penpals husband, Zaldy had died suddenly.  He died of cardiac arrest and was only in his late 40's.  I have known him since he was a young man.  He married my friend when she was 16 ...

Do you have a bag idea and want to create a sample?  There is much more to it then that-read on to learn more!  When you hire a freelance designer to design your collection and to take it to a manufacturer, a good designer needs to get in your head.  We need to learn about the brand, the target audience, the price point and the DNA of the brand. Your Brand Considerations  -Target Audience demographics - Price points - Competition in the market - Brand DNA - Distribution Channels - Name and logo design   For example if you are designing a collection of travel bags for mature professional women that can be sold at Nordstrom then your colors, materials and factory will be different than someone who is designing a kids handbag collection with matching charms that will be sold at Kids R Us.  The materials, factory and themes are completely different.  The trims and metal fittings on the bag designs will be completely different. DESIGN...

Bloody Mary's and The Beach  I have been living in La Jolla for 2.7 years. It has been an interesting journey.  When I first moved here I was worried that I would not fit in such an affluent and small town.   I have had some ups and downs but overall it has been divine! Some of the not so great things;  In the past few months I have had a PTA mom tell me that she was sorry I had to work in Los Angeles and that I could not be there for my child and basically that I should just drop my kid off at her mansion because she had a private nanny and tutor.  How could I not trust her?  After all, she was rich and probably beautiful? The thing is that I am also amazing, rich (in my own way) and awesome and I don't take crap from people like her.  I just blocked her number.  (:  It is an easy way to get rid of La Jolla PTA moms that are sure God put them on the earth just to bake the perfect cookies and tell the working moms they feel sorry for th...

In the past several years I have helped dozens of start up and potential start-up fashion brands. I have met them when they are just tossing an idea around or after they have already got their brand idea off the ground and need help with the design or sourcing stage. At Sauvage Private Label LLC, our specialty is start-up consulting for fashion brands.  Whether you are just figuring out what your name brand will be or if you are at the point where you need seed money to take your business to the next level, we can help! We can also be the designer behind your brand.  Who said anyone has to know you are not the designer of your products?  We have designed several collections for brands that refer to themselves as the "designer."  That is fine.  Our goal is to help your brand succeed. Need help?  Let's talk money.  Many start-up brand consultants put the money talk off for the last minute.  We prefer to be up front. The first ...