I saw the sign ...

      Monday is the big day. I'll finally be selling my wares and you can come have a look, try them on and buy them between 8 and 5 at the Seaport Market. I'm a bit ahead of schedule actually. I was planning to start selling in the first week of September on the weekends but I got an email from the market saying they were looking for vendors to come in during the week to serve the cruise ships. I carefully weighed my lack of readiness against my lack of money and decided to give it a go.
      For those of you locals who'd like to check it out I'll be at the Seaport Market on

Monday the 22nd, 

Wednesday the 25th and 

Monday the 29th 

during cruise ship hours which range from 7 or 8 am to anywhere from 3 to 7 pm. I'll be brown bagging it so if you want to stop in on your lunch break I'll be there. My booth is set to be on the main level near Steve O'Reno's, but I hear that things can get moved around a lot so if you don't see me ask at information under the main stairs.
      In preparation for my big entrance into the world of retail sales I have made myself a sign. I'm not sure yet if it's finished, I think I might add a bit of blue to the background (many of you know how I feel about blue). Here it is so far:

      Now picture it hanging from a white iron, scroll-work divider behind my table of wares.
      Hopefully you'll be able to compare what you've imagined to the real thing when you come to the market in the next two weeks, or on a weekend over the course of the next few months.
      Wish me luck with the mountain of sewing to be done between now and then and I'll let you know how it goes when I write again next Friday. See you soon :)

ps- apologies to Mike Dixon for calling him Matt on the poster and flier I posted last week. It's fixed now  so if any of you posted last weeks poster you may want to replace it with the poster that is now in last weeks post - say that ten time fast why dontcha...

Shameless Self Promotion

      It's time for some shameless self promotion... Tamper Sustainable Fashion is having a grand opening party at the Seahorse Tavern in Halifax on September 28th beginning at 7 pm. The lovely Julia Feltham, the better half of the Saddle River String Band - James Phillips and Matt Dixon, The Sorrys and Hindlegs will be on stage with soulful lilting, good time jigging and rockin' rollin', respectively.
      I just finished doing up the poster so have a peek (if you double click you can see a bigger version which you may print and display where ever you see fit):

There's also a flier that you a encouraged to share freely (two to a page so don't forget to cut'em in half):

    

      And of course you're all invited to the facebook event: 

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123293054434180

      I'm happy to say that this is my second week in a row of blogging so here's hoping I can keep that up. Leave me some comments to encourage me why don'cha?

      As for the business in general things are really moving along. I'll have my first market days at the end of this month at the Seaport Market while some of the Cruise ships are in port on the 22nd, 25th and 29th. Based on those sales I'm going to revamp my sales projections in order to go before the funding committee at CEED in the 1st or 2nd week of September. Wish me luck because I'm already feeling some Dragon's Den induced stage fright.

      Also these days I'm networking my little heart our. I've attended two Balle NS events in the last two weeks and I met with a representative of the NS Chamber of Commerce yesterday over dinner. Did you know that the NS Chamber of Commerce is the oldest Chamber of Commerce in Canada? 

      I'm sure I'll have lots to fill you in on in the coming days and months so I'll sign off for now. Until next time...

Up and Running

      It's really happening. Last weekend my mother and I put in three 10 hour days sewing prototype garments together to get ready for a dress sizing event held at the Hub on Barrington St this past Tuesday. I would've blogged about the event if I wasn't scrambling to get ready for it. I got some great feedback from friends and people who were working at the Hub and now I'm going into production.
      What's the Hub? Well, that's where I'm writing this blog from today. It's a shared space in downtown Halifax where independent business people come to work. There's an international network of similar spaces around the world. I've begun volunteering here on Fridays in exchange for use of the space and I have to say I'm loving it. I'm meeting lots of great people and making connections for the business, I have access to fax, photocopier and scanner and meeting rooms if I ever need them. Not to mention a lovely bright space to do my computer work with people around as opposed to all alone in my basement.
      Speaking of my basement, here's an update on my studio renovations. It's not a miracle yet but it's a workable space now. Check it out (you can see the before shot in the blog archives) :

      Well that's all for now, my dears. Now that I'm at the Hub every Friday I hope my blogging will be slightly less erratic. Until next time ...

Fabric! Fabric! Fabric!

      New in the world of Tamper this week is all of the fabric I've been ordering for the fall line. It's very exciting as I envision the clothes.
      This beautiful chocolate brown will become a straight leg trouser for men and women:

      I will also be making a mod style wrap skirt out of it with accents in either this blue folklore print or the khaki below it: (If you think one would work better, leave a comment and let me know.)

    
I'm going to make the same skirt in this crimson with the jacquard print below it as the accent:

      I never wear red but I'm going to make an exception for this skirt.
      All of the above fabrics are certified organic cotton with low impact dyes. The chocolate and the crimson were grown in the USA and the two patterns were grown in China. Here is what my suppliers have to say about their Chinese sources:

"We personally check and confirm that workers operate in a well maintained, healthy and safe environment; they are well trained for their jobs; they are treated with respect; they are paid fairly and have health insurance, sick and maternity leave benefit, no child labor and more."

      I'm excited to say that I'm now able to purchase organic cotton locally through Laura Chenoweth Organic Apparel:       http://laurachenoweth.com/      As you can see from her web page, her clothing is breathtaking. I'm so pleased that she is wholesaling fabric. Laura has visited the mills and the farms where her fabric is made in India, and she has built a relationship with her suppliers there so I feel very confident that the fabric I order through her is ethically sourced. If anyone is looking for a source of fairly traded organic cotton I highly recommend contacting Laura.
      I also have some lovely natural or cream coloured hemp that I'll be making into a plain tunic for men and women, and a more feminine cap sleeved top.
      Now, dear readers, it is time for me to admit that I'm not blogging every week and that I likely won't be able to for a few months yet with all the researching, projecting, networking and planning that's been absorbing my time. So my new goal is a monthly post until further notice. I'll let you know when it's up through facebook and twitter, and if you'd like an email too just let me know.
      That's all for now. With any luck my next post will contain photos of finished garments available for sale...