The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. Network/partying, planning events, looking at venues, sourcing leather, meeting with boutique owners, Twitter pals and potential buyers, and working a full-time and a part time job at the same time. Despite the missed sleep and feeling stressed and overwhelmed, it is definitely worth it! I am being presented with new opportunities every day. It is hard to believe that it's only been 6months since I have officially started this journey!
I've spent the past few months meeting people, exploring the fashion and art scenes in Philly, scouting the competition, and now I'm at the point where I have to start producing in order to continue to grow my brand. I've got a lot going on, but fortunately I have well spaced deadlines and a great support system!
First thing, my leather envelope bags are now available on Etsy, and will be available for purchase in a Philadelphia boutique by the end of this month (July). Stay tuned for the location...
August 24th Annual Etsy Craft Party at the NextFab Studios. What is a craft party you ask? It's anything you want it to be; a chance to meet the people behind your favorite Etsy stores, networking with other Philly makers or a chance to swap sales tips with other Etsy shop owners. Check out the MeetUp Group for more info and RSVP!
September 15th I am presenting an event as part of the Philadelphia Collection, which is held the week before Philadelphia Fashion Week, entitled, "Fashion Model for A Day". After professional hair, makeup, and fashion styling, have a mini photo shoot with Philadelphia Fashion Photographers. Pose solo or with friends at this fun fashion event! Please visit Eventbrite for ticket information and event details.
October 20th Fashion Presentation and Trunk Show (aka My Birthday Extravaganza) I figured that this is a great time to cross this off my bucket list (Yes, a birthday fashion show is on my list, isn't it on everyone's?) I've just settled on a venue and I'm still playing around with the format of the event. There have been some great shows during Men's Fashion Week that went outside of the box, like Thom Brown, Pitti Uomo Carven, and there's the current exhibition Britain Creates 2012: Fashion + Art Collusion at the Victoria&Albert Museum in London where artists and fashion designers collaborated to create some interesting pieces. All of these images, Cindy Sherman's work, paperdolls, the Ralph Eugene Meatyard exhibition "Dolls and Masks" at the PMA and "Savage Beauty" by Alexander McQueen have been bouncing around in my head, so stay tuned.
For many of these events, I've enlisted the services of some talented friends, outstanding photographers, emerging fashion designers, a phenomenal deejay, lighting tech/video editor/stage everything, art installation genius, yup I'm talking about you Grace, and her equally talented...sidekick Cat. Cat isn't her sidekick in the Batman/Robin sense where one is more dominant. They take turns bouncing ideas off of one another and although they sometimes partner together, they both have distinctly different views on the world. And some views are oddly similar, like their pet stick named "Stick".
December 2012 Emerging Artist Showcase and Spring 2013 Emerging Artist Juried Show: I'm partnering with the a fore mentioned dynamic duo to create a series of art events that will expose emerging artists to the Philadelphia market of city officials, museum curators, gallery owners, art appreciators, private collectors....
Although I still haven't finished my formal business plan, the Wharton workshop did help me to develop my outline and most importantly find the right words to better explain my vision and to describe the mission of my company.
Are you ready?
Drum roll please......
The mission of JRochelle Designs is to create quality fashion and art
experiences
and to present them to a diverse range of audiences in
Philadelphia.
JRochelle Designs is making a mark on Philadelphia this fall and I hope that you can join me!
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