Lessons
Day 1
1Product, Market Analysis and Fundamentals
06:49 2Overview, Tools, & Credibility
13:52 3Concepts and Inspiration
17:34 4Your Time and Action Assumptions
11:52 5Who's Your Competition?
21:39 6Define Your New Product
04:22 7What's Your Unfair Advantage?
03:44Collection Planning
03:42 9Building a Collection Pyramid
09:17 10Understand Your Price Variables
17:59 11Build a Price Structure
10:10 12Create Your Collection Plan
20:59 13What is a Concept?
18:39 14Where to Find Inspiration?
12:42 15Color & Fabric
17:00 16Build a Concept Board
09:56 17What is a Time & Action Plan?
18:14 18Understanding Timelines
24:12 19Create a Time & Action Plan
23:34Day 2
20Manufacturing
21:42 21Raw Materials
21:37 22Communication and Information Flow
25:48 23Growing and Managing the Line
37:33 24Understand Key Terminology
20:36 25How to Find Suppliers
10:25 26How to Document the Process
39:17 27How to Build Relationships
18:11 28How to Maintain Respectful Communication
17:30 29How to Build a Cohesive Line
08:36 30How to Manage Your Timeline
17:15 31How to Test the Market
07:08 32Sustain the Plan
18:15Lesson Info
Build a Concept Board
So we're going to talk about building a concept board now everybody mentioned it it's really kind of a design aesthetic for shape, color, mood and fabric. So now it's really a point of kind of collecting these ideas together, so once you've kind of collected the images or once you kind of, like, really got, like, a huge bunch of tear sheets or things that you're you're thinking about, you need to think about how they cover the elements, do they cover every element? Do you have, like, a color element covered within the images that you have? Do you have a design or shape element? Is there something that evokes the mood? Is there something which evokes the kind of the fabric that you're you're thinking about its, um, again, you can also tie it back to the vision statement it's not uncommon to have your vision statement so closely collect connected to the to the concept because its vision is visual thing. If you're stuck folk for putting a vision statement together, go to the concept of wh...
at does the concept, what inspires you use that to kind of connect those that's a very kind of if you're struggling a little bit of how to put it all together, start with that. You know if you're developing a product comes from an idea the idea comes of something you've seen or something you feel inspired about so use that's a very, very strong feeling and you can really use it to build your line so my vision on again I'm probably going back to the mission of vision statement here its simplicity it's color hidden detail retro luxury and natural all of these things what I see as being my product line and how it's going to come to fruition so can I take a make a color palette from them? Yes, I can here's my answer this cheeky gentleman here in the corner with the big guys is my essentially michaela power even if you take palm springs out of it this one scares me into selecting color so I'm not going to argue with that date okay? Do they reflect shaped fabric or mood? Yes, they didn't fabric probably know I only know my my fabric is is silk in this case but mood definitely it's a kind of a playful nurse it's something retro it's something strong you could even take that's a very strong uh, design statement I'm making um and this architectural structured very kind of linear as well I could take so media from things out of this um it's kind of like this board to work with every time I look at it I see something different and that is kind of the key to again good concert board you wanted to evolve is you evolves, your brain evolves, your product evolves, you see different things in different images and that's and that's a key process that's a part of the development process so I want to hear about some different methods that people use I mean, I'm going a little bit old school, personal photos magazine tearsheets I still stick them on the wall with kind of blue tack next pop stars justin bieber you know, not really. I couldn't point him out in a crowd, but, you know, I like to think I could pinterest I use a lot um, I have a screen grab of one of my of an element I tried to do a screen grab, which encapsulated about four hundred different elements of my concept board, so I use pinterest a lot and I I try and use as my down time, like ten minutes at the end of a day after, you know, picking up white dog hair from my dog. I use this and I kind of just think, you know what? I pull out all kinds of things this I love for color, this is ray eames, I love the design of this I'd love to make a scarf like that, which looks askew is that, um I like I love the color there I like the graphic here there's so many I love all kind of all typefaces and the mixture of these colors in this world's this to me is incredibly inspiring I look at that and I'm just like I just want to make scarves right now right now I'm going to walk off I'm going to take my water with me I'm going to make some scarves krystle takeover ok that's what I want to look at that I'm just like come on what time is it then? I'm going to stick it out don't worry I'm here for a little bit longer um so once I kind of grabbed this inspiration and once I really start working on things I can grab one of these phone boards I kind of stick it on a phone board these phone boards just a pretty cheap I'm in the middle it's you can put pin punch ends in them I've just kind of stuck this on here is very light you guys probably familiar with found board, you get lots of different sizes that could be kind of this kind of size as well, but I also uses this kind of light note boards if I'm putting my mission statement up here on my vision statement all my pictures of chloe and julia my target customer, I'd build a little bored with us of all these images and just have them propped up around around the around the house to remind me of what I'm working on. So the vision so they concert board is another extension of the vision statement of the mission statement of the target market it's a visual that reminds you of what you should be focusing on. Okay, another question do you work virtually or actually I think we fall into two different groups here. I think most people fall into dude if two different groups sought to build out a concept board occurring the four key elements so who works? This is the kind of a good question chris to throw out who works visually uh sorry virtually, you know, literally pulling things out. Sorry. Now let's get this right works on pinterest and who pulls things out from magazines so if you wanna ask the chat room on that ladies in the audience your your magazine terror you destroy magazines, magazines but I also I it's not about because I do exactly the same so we can hear you could be charged together. I think I'm about to out myself is how much time I actually spent on this phase but I also know you're in a safe space now I know it's just a thing going save global space face no one is judging I actually spent a lot of time making photoshopped collages as well highland basically that essentially exactly that only on online like a virtual copy this yeah, actually have that same dragon tio we see connected to me how this kind of you but I like to do a little bit of both okay? Because I do love magazines and so we have like martha stewart, I really just tear out every picture and because you like her or just, you know, I want to get into that argument on tv. No, I would never speak badly of martha. Ok, that's good. Ok, fifteen uh virtually were actually, um I watch a lot of really old movies and old westerns and old musical, and I also listened to a lot of old music, but now I really helps me kind of imagine yeah, I don't know what people might have done way back when, um and then one of my favorite things to do is to go teo trouble jim shows ten gems gym shows, gen shows. Yeah. Okay. Um it's a little kinky, but safe global spice, but more so for, like, the presentation of seeing things and more of a scientific manner. Really, you know, things, aaron cases and they're in their most natural wow, warm I mean, obviously they've been taken out of their natural form, but yeah, but you get to see things like uncut and how they naturally grow and kind of like, um just untainted or harmed or manipulated in their most raw state. And you understand, like where these mining sites are more of the history of of, you know, of actual stone. Yeah. So how do you counsel over this in this information? Do you do just a lot of photo? I think a lot of those I do a lot of research, right? Nice that's a great I've never been to a gym show. Never even heard of a gym show, but they obviously exist, but yeah, yeah, local in the area is it get international or national? They're all over the place, right? They happen quite often everywhere there's, some in san francisco, san matteo but the most popular one is to some okay, you chris, which we have from the chat room. Good variety paintings by kate gilmore says I knew both digital and analog sandra says she does it all virtually sassy seamstress use the combo says that I use ever know and pinterest but I also sketch ideas with actual magazine clippings. Hermie says I make my mood board virtually. Then I go to sketching all all photographed my sketches and digitize it and then optimize it, and then I bring him to photo shop for the final touches and it's, funny red scorpio says. I don't do either of these. I keep all these things into my head until I just go out and actually create things at my workbench and bring it to life. So it's just goes from head actually being created. Yeah, from I'm going to use a fundamental fairies, no from head, toe hand, yeah, absolutely, which which is difficult to do. I think you know, you want to have the actual photos to help your thought process so everyone has a different way of that's. Great, I love it and that's, important thing it, son, because there is no one way of defining inspiration, defying a concept it's so personal on, you know, all I can do in this particular segment is kind of show you what I see and how I can evolve a concept from from where I find, but ultimately it's down to you and it's down to the individual to kind of like, make that selection and determine what's right for the products as well as the individual so great.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Melissa
Thank you for an excellent class on a key pivot point no matter what industry you are in. One stellar quality of this course is how collaborative, friend focused peer culture and (rather than hostile competition or dysfunction competition environment and psychological atmosphere). The structure suggestions enable creativity and acknowledges different mindsets required in different phases. Susie honors the joy that comes from making and creating. She celebrates the interdependence between all stakeholders and the fun and flow as well as learnings and choices from being a 'business'. She is pragmatic but high on the inclusiveness of fun and satisfaction. She is interested and interesting: safe, enjoys being a customer as much as teacher and expressions of creative generation for herself. You can be caught up in the delight of her view of the world if you have become jaded or burnout. This brings perspective and empowerment to your desire and goals.
user-023d31
Susie has this most amazing experience in business - she is fashion royalty - but has an amazing ability to put all her knowledge across in a way that you can learn so easily. I was so pleased that she could show you how to learn from her experience and it would make sense for your business. Pretty much whatever you are doing. I came away from these sessions with so many ideas. But of course ideas are cheap. She has made me understand how once you have an idea, how to make it real. So many great learnings about avoiding pitfalls, practical check lists and honest to goodness 'know how'. I am already putting her advice into practice and can see I am going to transform my business just because of these classes. I am going to come back to those videos again and again. Thank you so much for making this great resource available.
flywheelpress
I LOVED THIS COURSE. After being a small business owner for 10 years it is easy to focus on what's right on your desk at that very moment instead of evaluating the bigger picture, to forget how to look at what is working as well as what isn't and how to improve upon your process. Courses like this make me want to jump up out of my seat and get back to work. Susie kept me engaged and focused. It can be a long day but time seemed to fly by. I am really glad I got the opportunity to take the course, not only would I take it again but would highly recommend future Creative Live courses and Susie's latest book. Thank you again for the opportunity and now I gotta get back to work!