Half Dot Brooklyn

With the help of my trusty little studio assistant.

“You’re not?” She was trying to tease him, but it came out wrong, like a lizard with a little hat on.
- Willing, Birds of America by Laurie Moore

I’m still here! It’s been a summer of stops and starts. A series of production misshaps led to a sudden halt on forthcoming seasons until things were resolved. There were some serious mistakes on the part of the factory and that had me very worried until a month later when everything was remade and arrived looking perfect. Now, finally, winter 2010 is officially in production and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that things go smoothly.

The hiccup in seasons and schedules has turned out to be a good thing. Instead of rushing around always being busy, I’ve had a chance to return to some things that had been neglected as I’d been so caught up with work (and being a mom). Reading, writing, and most importantly, painting.

“They stayed at a tiny stucco bed-and-breakfast, one with a thatched roof like Cleopatra bangs.”

From “Which is More Than I Can Say About Some People,” Laurie Moore’s Birds of America.

I’ve been catching up on some reading while sitting next to my little son as he dozes off to sleep each night.

With production almost complete, the little coats are now awaiting the webshop debut just a few weeks from now. Here’s an update on what we’ve been up to:

I received my production samples a while ago through some amazing coordination with transcontinental and transatlantic mail (thank you to Art and Em). I’ve heard my share of horror stories with production in terms of mismatches lines, horrific sewing, missing pieces and such, so I when I opened up my package, I had a bunch of labels, safety pins and marking pens in front of me, ready to tag every place that needed to be corrected. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the only mistake was that the girls’ coat had an extra inner pocket. And really, there’s nothing wrong with having an extra pocket to stash a wad of shiny stickers or a small toy in!

We’re now working on some final product shots for the website. Flats, mannequin shots, model shots – I think they’re all equally important in showing the details of each coat. I do my share of shopping online and I really appreciate having more (rather than fewer) product pics to look over before I click and buy. So we’re taking that into account as we put together the images that will accompany each coat.

And we’re tweaking the logistics, trying to make the website easier to navigate, and have the checkout and payment process be as simple as possible. Stay tuned for a the Half Dot website makeover, coming very very soon!

It’s been a really busy month over here. I learned that if you really care about the details when it comes to production, you should factor in an extra month of just overseeing those things. There was a 3-week holdup at the cutting room as I insisted on getting some final adjustments made. Now everything is at the grading company where the final markers are being printed. Over here in the studio, I’m writing up specs, packing things up, and getting ready to ship everything over to the factory.

Work on the webshop has also begun – we are on schedule to open in October. Excited!

And of course, while all this is going on, its also time to start making samples of the spring/summer 2010 collection. Full speed ahead!

A Cutters Must. I can’t imagine going to production without it. I have yet to assign pattern numbers to all the pieces. This is organizing on a whole new level.

We got our kiddo the book but right now I think he’s more into big bright pictures, so it seems like we’re a lot more excited about Where The Wild Things Are than he is. We also got him a new chair, which he loves (not to mention it looks great and fits the decor of our living room oh-so-perfectly).

When he was hanging out with the babysitter the other night, we headed over to the Joyce Theater to watch the Stephen Petronio company dance to live music by Nico Muhly. Big fans we are.

It’s good to be home. After a great vacation visiting family and friends, it’s time to jump into work again.

I was lucky enough to meet some incredible designers at Bubble and I know that the things they told me will influence me for years to come.

From Jennifer of Chapter One Organics, that we can really impact the lives of others in a positive way through the choices we make.

From Dave of Save a Penny Banks, to be resourceful, and to always have a good time!

From Marilyn of Marilyn Tov, to pay attention to every detail and to follow each step of the process as the pieces go to production.

From Chris of Short Hat Company, to be persistent, to follow up on contacts and to not give up until someone actually says “no”.

From Suna of Hummingbaby, that even though people say the industry is competitive, we are all better off when we are willing to share resources and help one another.

I hope that I can remember these things for seasons to come.