Going & Going & Going. . .

Time waits for no one. So I am just trying to keep up the pace. And that requires a juggling act of epic proportions. I've found it a necessary evil to manage multiple projects simultaneously without them crashing down around me. And that is just the life of a successful fashion executive. Ha. After my friend Chris teasingly called me a fashion executive a few years ago, it just sort of stuck. I think it has a nice ring to it. But back to juggling. As Ashanti, Serosh and I were busy selecting a new web designer and we were preparing for Queens Fashion Week and I was meeting with my hat man, OH, and my make up artist Alexandra, I was also finishing up the sketches for Spring 2011. It was absolutely insane! A couple of years ago, I answered one of those online personality assessment questionnaires and I found out I was a 7 which is The Enthusiast. And basically it described me as a serial multitasker who craves happiness through creativity. Yet, I also tend to wear myself out in the process. Sounds about right. I am so psyched about Spring 2011. It all began with the idea to dissect the trench coat that just mushroomed into an 18 look collection. Now that's ambitious. And I hear a lot about globalization, so this collection is called "Been Around The World". My lady has just returned from far away exotic locales like Bombay, Africa, Bali, and South America with a quick jaunt in Montego Bay, Jamaica too. But all the dresses have a distinctly American sportswear sensibility. Think It's A Small World in New York. And my songstress of choice for this season is Chaka Khan. Man, did I have a crush on her as a kid. Chaka is sexy, earthy, sensual and just bad to the bone. Everything I want these dresses to be. So just sit back, keep up, and enjoy the ride. I've got a ways to go before it's all said and done. I'm just getting started. But right now I've got to polish up my juggling act. The next few months are going to be very, very busy.

Peace & Fashion!

Keep It Moving

At the end of last week, my business partners and I decided to terminate Marla's contract. Although it seemed like she was initially committed to the cause of getting the line on store racks, she lost steam after our disappointing Market Week turnout. Ashanti and I tried several times over the past three weeks to contact Marla so that we could strategize our next move, but our phone calls went unreturned and our emails were unanswered. We are looking into other options as far as a sales professional is concerned and are hopeful. But our success is only guaranteed by a strong team who believes in the goals of Sorta Kinda Enterprises. In the meantime, this Tuesday past, I took a handful of dresses with me and visited 3 different Manhattan boutiques that we are interested in selling to. And the idea of the old school door-to-door salesman is dead. May he rest in peace. Because each one of the style emporiums that I looked into will only consider our goods through email correspondence. I spoke to my friend Chris this afternoon about this phenomenon and both of us thought it rather ironic. Because clothing is very tactile, most of us like to see the way a garment moves, how it feels, its weight. But modern technology has eliminated an integral part of choosing one design over another. And then, what if the buyer dislikes the way my photos are styled or my choice of models. Will that influence their decision? It's all quite precarious. But I've been emailing the images to every appropriate venue possible. All I need is a breakthrough.

Peace & Fashion!

Casting A Fashionable Net

Let's face it. It's a new age. Now more than ever it's not about what you know, but who you know. And you better make some awesome connections if you want to get ahead. As my friend Chris reiterates often, "Make your net work for you." I think he heard it on a commercial some time ago, but whoever coined the phrase has definitely got it right. So how does a fashion designer with talent to spare (so modest!), but not a lot of cash make his "net work for him"? I am on every networking site possible including, but not limited to, Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Fast Pitch. I am out there engaged in conversation with any fashion and finance professional who will listen. I write a blog, for chrissakes! So why isn't my net working? I've heard this theory of 6 degrees of separation. And I think it is so true. I've even met Kevin Bacon! But seriously, I don't think the people in my net are talking me up. So I am asking all of you who still read this to pass the word on. Have you read the title lately?! I really am FABULOUS. I guarantee you that there is somebody that you know who knows somebody who may know somebody that wants to invest in a bright, witty black fashion designer from Queens who is humbled everyday by his odyssey. Just cast your net and see what happens.

Peace & Fashion!