Dear all!
I am fairly new to Etsy. There is a great story behind my product, but I am not sure if it is not too long. If you have time to read, I would appreciate any comments.
THE STORY
My grandma’s and mom’s genes
My grandma, in her garden, grew flax. With a loom, she weaved tablecloths, which she decorated with embroidery. Those that have been preserved are still used in our family on special occasions. My mom, from the age of 15, bought mags about sewing and made her own clothes: Italian wool suits, silk blouses, warm winter coats. In the 90s, my mother bought a knitting machine and together with my grandma they earned a living making knitwear. In the later years, they ran women’s clothing boutiques. So, it’s safe to say that interest in tailoring, noble fabrics and fashion runs in my blood.
Where’s quality?
For over 10 years, I’ve been working as a translator, but it seems I cannot escape my destiny. As every women, sometimes I like to buy myself a nice garment. About 2 years ago, I was looking for a jacket, preferably Chanel style: it’s elegant, timeless, a great foundation of your wardrobe. Since ages, I don’t buy spontaneously, so I spent time on research. I checked the brand, country of origin, style, fabric composition, lining, and…? BIG DISAPPOINTMENT: poor quality, weird style, sleeves too short, polyester linings (even in premium brands), sad colours, just terrible.
First jacket
My quest to find a perfect jacket coincided with my cousin's, a great tailor, return to the country. So I thought I would ask her to make something for me. I needed a fabric: noble, soft, timeless. After weeks of searching, I found just what I needed: traditional tweeds and boucles manufactured for over 100 years in the UK. For my first jacket, I chose black tweed with a silver yarn - classic look. I also bought specialist books about the making of haute couture jackets and persuaded my cousin to follow as close as possible the rules of this craftsmanship. The result of her work was stunning - the jacket was so pretty and comfy that I wouldn’t take it off.
The idea
Ever since this moment, I just wanted to design new models, choose fabrics and trims. But I couldn’t possibly make them all into jackets just for myself, so I thought that there must be other women in the world who would like to own such a jacket. Many months have passed before I took the first step, as I was afraid: of failure and opinions. Perhaps the stamina came from this saying that it’s better to try than to regret not trying?
I had the idea and fabrics, but I didn’t have a professional pattern. All fashion industry insiders know how important a good pattern specialist is. Before I found my diamond, I came across people who weren’t up to scratch. In the end, it was due to some luck that I found my pattern maker. With over 25 years of experience, she was able to deliver a very precise pattern that has a feminine fit. Before the final version, we made many prototypes to finally exclaim “We got it!”
Sewing company
At the same time, I was searching for a sewing company who would be interested in my order and could delivery the quality I wanted to give to my clients. For most companies, my order was too little. “Call back when you have 500 of jackets” - they said. At one point, I thought I found a good partner. We agreed on the second appointment in September, after a holiday break. But when I called, they cleverly got rid of me by saying “20% of chances we can make your jackets in December”. “To laugh or to cry” - I was thinking to myself. Further search went on for weeks, as potential partners each made samples for me to check the quality of their work. Yet, I wasn’t satisfied.
Eventually, it turned that the darkest place is under the candlestick. My mom, through her acquaintance, put me in touch with a company in my home town. Initially, the owner didn’t realize how tricky my order was: no way he could apply mass production processes. Fabrics were difficult, there was a lot of pattern matching, hand finishing. When he saw all of this live, he probably thought “What have I got myself into?” Yet, he didn’t show me the door (maybe due to my personal charm or a desperate look on my face). We started to make the first samples to make sure quality-wise we were on the same page. And we were!
Message to my client
We have a lot in common if you believe in:
Quality - I use noble British fabrics, Italian trims and natural linings.
Slow fashion - I give you excellent quality jackets that never go out of fashion and can be styled with everything.
Individuality - my fabrics are made in limited quantities, and same goes for my jackets. The same fabric is never made twice.
Family - my cousin works on prototypes, my sister on photos, graphics are the work of my brother-in-law and my husband looks after my website. My parents support us mentally. We are a great team!
Thank you for reading through the end :)
Maja
