Last weekend I went to one of our local markets and I was devastated to discover that my designs were being sold without my knowledge or permission. Unfortunately, this was not the first time this has happened.
I must admit that I have experienced both sides of this problem, and I understand that it can sometimes happen unintentionally, especially when sourcing items from what appears to be a reputable supplier. However, it turns out that isn't always the case, and the issue can extend beyond the supplier.
Every savvy entrepreneur knows that a few best-selling products contribute significantly to building the brand and reputation of a business. However, when those products, particularly handmade ones like mine, require extensive time and costly production, it becomes challenging. This is manageable when your business is merely a hobby, but when you aim to establish a profitable venture (let's face it, we all need to make a living), you need products that can be produced and sold quickly. In an attempt to support my brand, I tried sourcing stock, only to realise that these products were readily available from numerous suppliers in the UK, making the market highly competitive.
The clothing industry honestly is one of the hardest market to be in. I dont know if its because we have created this throw away culture where everyone wants to buy cheap and only wear once but I can tell you that when you are buying from a small business particularly one that creates their own stock your paying for the individuality of the product the time and effort it has taken for that item to be crafted.
After accounting for production costs, shipping fees, and commissions, you are left with very little profit margins. It always astounds me when customers claim that £25 for a t-shirt is too expensive, forgetting that small businesses face high production expenses, particularly if you are buying and sourcing from the UK.
Another issue I encountered was that much of the available stock didn't align with my aesthetic, so I used to source and modify it. For instance, I would procure denim jackets and add peplum finishes, which sold well. I also bought jumper dresses and embellished them with lace and frills, which proved successful. However, the drawback remained the time-consuming nature of these modifications during the initial production stage.
To address the need for quickly creating products, I started exploring alternative options and began sourcing sequin patches to transfer onto t-shirts. Initially, this approach seemed promising, offering a quirky and quick product to make. Unfortunately, my quick production ideas came to a halt when I received an email from a well-known designer accusing me of copyright infringement. Naively, I had never heard of this brand before. But now its in my airspace I hear of it all the time its so strange how things like that work. Consequently, I had to halt sales of that particular product and decided to discontinue purchasing sequin motifs altogether, along with a significant portion of wholesale stock. It's challenging to know the story behind each purchase, and I didn't want to risk any more legal issues.The email was quite alarming as it had been sent from a legitimate law firm with threats of court action. For a young 22 year old this did take me back and it took me a while to get myself back on track in regards to continuing to run my business and what new products to produce. For a short time I felt very overwhelmed, as the effort I put into my business seemed to yield little value in return. At one point, I even contemplated quitting altogether.However, I chose to adopt a positive mindset and persevere. I abandoned the idea of sourcing sequin motifs and focused solely on creating original designs. Several months later, I ended up creating my best-selling product, which turned out to be both a significant achievement for my business but also a major learning curve. This journey was about to create more hardships, but it taught me valuable lessons.
This blog consists of two parts, and next week, I will introduce the second part, which discusses design intellectual property and the unfortunate reality of getting well and truly ripped off.
Quote of the week- A bend in the road is not the end of the road, its always too soon to quit!