Website Update

Even after an 8 hour shift and an hour with my friend.
EVEN after a much needed lay in.
I took another look at my website and have almost finished it!!!!

Exciting times!!!!!

When I have a few more items I'll add them which will make the store look a little better and when I have a constant supply of stock I'll upgrade so purchases can be made on the site instead of through ebay. But not may changes to be made now!!!!!

Take a look at My Boutique ! =D

Next Steps

Just made a huge leap forward with my business!

Its still under construction and requires you to use ebay for the time being BUT
I have my own website!!!!!

Check me out http://charhar.wix.com/cherish


Short ad sweet!!

Its been forever

It feels like forever since I last posted but I've just been so busy with work, picking up the overtime while I can.

Only a brief post today. I have worked at my local Morrison's supermarket for a year and I have just been promoted to checkout supervisor =D

I still hope to open my own store but this promotion gives me the perfect chance to practice being in charge of workers, how to deal with customers and staff no matter how difficult they are being and to be trained to be a great leader. With people there to support me I can improve without the worry of going wrong as others will be able to help out which is so much better than if I had opened my store soon without this experience where I would have no support from my staff.

I have to work still on how i talk to people and this way I can practice with the safety net of others around me. Trying to run a store without this experience would have been foolish as any mistakes would cost me money but now I've had my training and I have got the job I'm much more confident about being able to handle situations in my own store when my time comes.

I'm so grateful of the opportunity to progress and that they looked passed the fact I hadn't been with them long to see the potential I hold. Now the world is my oyster and things are going well, why stop now =D

Aw13 (miss selfridge)

With a new season and a host of new trends, weather turning miserable and a need for layers now is a great time to go shopping.

Especially for students who can't afford too many luxuries or even the price of turning up the thermostat now is the time for some great buys. 

Take this lovely sweater and great pu trim skirt - both Miss Selfridge.

Seperately these were £37 and £35 for the skirt. Together they came to just £17. 

Sale and bogof, WHAT!!! 

They have some great pieces, this seasons and an outfit for £17?! Don't mind of I do!! 

Seen any great bargains why not comment below and share the wonder. 

Pure London - Wholesale Fashion Trade Show

So yesterday I visited PURE London a wholesale trade show, showcasing just about every supplier for your store. Where to start?

Well first I'd like to start with 'Why do the signs for Kensington Olympia just stop?' I was almost there when I took one wrong turn when the signs stopped 20 mins later I was back at shepards bush station -.-

Secondly it was massive. I mean MASSIVE. I wasn't sure where to start!

The size of this pink glamorous stall was a small retailer to give you perspective !!

With so many wholesalers (9 pages worth!) 

 all wanting to show you they're the best they gave out lots!! Being young and not pushy I barely got anything!! But all the same I was over laden with everything! No wonder at the end of the day it felt like my back and feet were broken. 

The amount of bags I was carrying!

All in all a VERY good day, very fun, now know who I want to stock! and spent the whole of this morning sat on the floor sorting every business card and leaflet!!

Just the free magazines!

After sorting through all my favourite wholesalers!

When pricing goes your way

Today we headed out to the shops at Romford in search of some new work trousers. So I didn't find any but my friend found hers so it wasn't the end of the world. 

We managed some great feats this week!!

Sunday night we went to Leicester Square casinos and managed to make a great profit considering we barely put anything on the table. I came back with £10 up and my friend, the gambling master, came back with a £30 profit. So obviously thats what the shopping came out of =P

Here are my two brlliant purchases that I'm very proud of!
This purse is a present for a friend (shush she'll never know of the bargain!!) So at the end of finding great cosmetics bags but weren't suitable as purses, cute purses but tooexpensive we ended in primark. My last chance at a present and I found this adorable purse ticketed at only £2. BARGAIN!! So I went to pay and it only rung up at a pound, £1!

 I was so happy especially as the same happened in New Look with this great bracelet/ring combi. Again ticketed at £2 but only costing £1!! SCORE =D

Getting Somewhere

After numerous hours teaching myself As Business Studies, researching laws, licences and money and typing up everything its done!!

You may be a little confused as to what I'm talking about so here it is.
I have finished writing my business plan!
I have written my terms of employment, cash flow forecasting table and everything needed for my business plan.

A long stretch down a very long road but now I'm wel on my way.

This coming Monday I will be attending Pure London's Wholesale trade fair making connections and seeing every option I have for buying. Should be fun, even with an early morning!

And on top of all this I'm even making a profit in my first year!! Good times ahead after Monday next step - The bank!

Summer Holidays

Although I've been back for the last 3 weeks I thought I should mention . . .

This summer my only holiday has already been. I spent a few days with a friend in Bournemouth and even though we didn't  do much I got a lovely view from my window and a great view if the pier. 

This was my packing thought I did a great job with such a small bag!! 

Since we got back the weather has got a lot better and have been enjoying writing my business plan while topping up my (non-existent) tan =P

Enjoy your summers!!! 

1w&1d left argh!! (FMP)

So I started typing the info for my fabric folder - SOOO many materials













This week I : Cut my dress

Started embellishments
finish altering my top patterns
lay plan/costing and cut my vest top
Started my working drawings





Wednesday I sewed leggings most of my leggings
I start sewing my dress. because it sheer I have to use french seams - which made it harder when I forgot to add my back shoulder panels: qhwn you rush you make mistakes!!!
Also I cover stitched my toile and final vest top


I sewed and coverstitched my lining



We discussed the vest tops overlocked hem - if a rolled hem would look better?

Today has ben about adding 2nd stage designs to my book, updating my diary,
writing my blog, reviewing my time management and setting my goals, careers day and updating my CV.

Plan for tomorrow - sew dress and cover stitch hem
finish leggings
bind neck
embellishments

2 weeks left (FMP)

Tops can be finished so nicely with a double row of stitching and I found out last week that this is cover stitching and we can do this at college =0 (bit late to tell us)
I came in early to practice cover seaming but with the amount of work and ease of being distracted I didn't use it  on my garments this week.

With such little time I'd be stupid not to work from home so I put in my back panels into my vest unitl I broke the over locker oops. I managed in lesson to alter my lining pattern, alter my dress pattern adding seam allowence for coverstitching. I had to change my design slightly as binding wouldn't work in material I wanted and I didn't know we could cover stitch.I planned to cut my top but I forgot my jersey so couldn't. I did my lay plan for my lining and legging contrast. Then I ran out of thread =S

I managed to do more theme research into alphabets and language. Next I cut those I had done my lay plan for as well as finishing off my vest panels.

Productive week but it had to be to pass!!!!

Little treat for everyone - playing with scraps is fun!! =P

Thats enough of that now

3 weeks left (not even that) FMP

This week I have spent a lot of time adding everything into my book. Photos and pictures illustrating what I have written. I added all my designs to my sketchbook from the separate pages.
I added my research into codes, hieroglyphs and symbols into the sketchbook.

I didn't make as much progress this week as I wanted to upgrade my sample folder from last term to get the highest mark I only just missed out on.


Before my sewing lesson I sampled overlocking without the knife to see how this might work on my scallops. In the lesson I worked on perfecting my legging details and started toiling my vest top.

I couldn't find crepe for my garment so I am using chiffon instead which will be harder to sew but will give the same effect. The chiffon is more similar to crepe than  I had expected so still goes well with my jersey.

Management lesson was used to cut and stick research. Design methods was more sticking and designing - annotating my designs too. Aer was resubmission work, designing and checking my material choices with tutors.
Over my weekend I overlocked  my hem, roll hemmed my chiffon hem and pinned together.

getting close now - FMP

When buying my materials for my final garment I had to bare in mind my target customer. My customer is fairly young so probably doesn't have a great disposable income. I am also looking at creating everydaywear therefore people wouldn't necessarily spend as much as on evening wear. Keeping this in mind I have looked at materials that would be in the price range of my consumer. The materials I have gone for are jersey, mesh, cotton viscose and lycra.

To give an idea of my target customer and the use for my clothing here is my customer profile board:

Over this week I carried on designing, sticking gluing etc.

In sewing I cut and mostly sewed my leggings, I fixed my lining for my dress which was too big as I had traced off my pattern again forgetting the flare starts above the point my lining starts.  I'm quite happy with the outcome of my legging toile but I realised I need to be careful handling as well as sewing as pulling on the leggings to check the fit I stretched the back of the waist. Right leg has been left unfinished to play with how I might finish the seam nicely. I plan to test sewing with the facing on the right side and turning under.

My leggings created some difficulty as I wasn't sure where to start adding my contrast facing, or how to nicely finish the gap before the knot (pictured left the notch even became problematic). Also the end of my inside leg seam wasn't finished nicely as I have no hem and I don't believe the overlocker has the correct tension as the threads seem to fall out.

Once again pages of quick designs

FMP Whichever post # comes next

6 WEEKS AND COUNTING

Quick overview of the week.

Quick sketches for design development, pages and pages of it.

Sketchbook research sticking, reading over the making of 'THE MUMMY' for design ideas and background research.

Through online store research I also completed research on my target market, looking at the lengths, cuts, details, embellishment etc.
These will be uploaded as graphs or at least pics of the info when all compiled into one document.

Sewing: I have lengthened the back length of the vest top to accommodate the knot detail and traced off my contrast (colour and material) strip. I started laying the material for my leggings. Note - pinning on jersey/similar materials is really not the easiest; it slips like sheer materials and stretches (and as my stretch block only has 1cm SA slipping and cutting into it could really throw off my patterns).


Last but not least continuous work on observationals - picking out what I'm taking for inspiration for my designs and designs - YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH until you run out of time =P

FMP again (Post 4)

Not as much done this week but more fashion visualisation work - no talking more pics. I focused on visualisation this week and web though they aren't perfect I'm pleased with the results so far (minus spilling my ink on one :/ ) Fmp wise I have done some sampling work with the new fabric heat tool I purchased. It worked brilliantly on sticking rhinestone gems to my materials but the tool to cut through synthetic materials (cuts and stops fraying simultaneously) hasn't yet worked more trial needed with it I think.
Here is my progress:

Fashion Visualisation:

Sandra Suy

Laura Laine

Helen Jameson Hall

David Downton

George Lepape

Bil Donovan