Pricing Your Baby Dresses

Pricing your baby dresses.

I sell at a local mom and pop store.
She buys everything I make.
We both have input
I sell cheap for two reasons.  My shop sells cheap.  And, having never done this before, I accepted the prices she set.  We are beginning to do a little negotiating but I think the owner is wonderful and I will stay within her budget!

If she buys the fabric, she pays me $6 per dress -- dresses that have less than 20 steps (less than an hour to make).  This is way too low and I will not let her buy fabric again unless she also buys the ribbon and the thread and it is a special project.  We are making Christmas dresses for the Junior League Christmas Shop.  I did not want to get caught with 10 yards of Christmas fabric so I made an exception to my new rule.  For her store, $7.50 is probably the best I can get per dress with her shop buying all the supplies.  Time to renegotiate.

To make $7.50 work, make matching "purses" or "gift bags" and sell to shop for $3, she sells for $6.  These bags take less than 30 minutes to make--about 7 seams.

Or make a hair bow or headband to match--another quick project.

When I make the dresses from my supplies, I get $10.50 per dress--any size.  My cost is about $2.50 if I shop sales.

We just renegotiated dresses made from LSU  fabric.  This is more expensive.  So I am getting $12.50 per dress and she had to raise her prices from $20 to $25 or thereabouts.

When I take this show on the road--market to new shops, I will raise my prices.  High end baby boutiques sell their simple play clothes for $30 to $70.  For my simple dresses, I hope to get $15.  For a two piece set, $20.

I use all Hobby Lobby fabrics--high end for our area.  I live in the south, no celebrities, mostly middle class.  You have to price for your market, the community you are selling in, and this is what will work for me.

My ultimate goal is to earn about $2000 a month.

You have to know your goal!

If I get a little more ambitious, I may try to find some more "home sewers" to make my dresses.  My goal will be to add $5 to the price I pay them as my profit.

Why this works!

I do not make a large line--sinking money into supplies, labor, etc., on speculation that I will be able to sell them.  In researching how to start a baby design business, people invested thousands of dollars in setting up an LLC, creating a business plan, ordering bolts of fabric and supplies, hiring manufacturers to make dresses, etc.  This is risky business.  Unless you have an established business with established clients--you could lose big.

Steps to starting a baby fashion business on a dime

This post will list my steps in starting my business on a dime--well less than a $100.

1.  Know how to sew.  For a home based start-up business, outsourcing is not an option.
2.  Know how to use a computer and printer!  ($25-$30 for ink.) Or make friends with someone who does.
3.  Name your business.
4.  Create a design.  I chose standard pillowcase dress first.  I changed placement of ribbon ties.  I changed length.  I added different sizes of ruffles and bands.  I multiply ribbon.  I change widths of ribbon.
5.  Buy some fabric, record information from end of bolt (fabric content and care instructions) and sew--make a few samples.  I bought a yard of one print and a half yard of another from Hobby Lobby and made two to three dresses from this fabric.  For $9.20 in fabric and ribbons, I can make three dresses.  Don't buy anything that is not on sale!!!
6.  Register with CPSC.
7.  Create tags for clothing.  I use card stock ($11) from Office Depot, my laptop, and my Kodak printer.  I purchased a hole punch (tiny hole), embroidery floss, and little gold safety pins from Hobby Lobby.  Include on your tags--MADE IN THE USA!
8.  Create a portfolio.  This should include dresses, photos, fabric swatches, order forms with photos, and business cards.
9.  Compute your costs.  Do not try to get paid for your time --not going to happen in the beginning.
10.  Price your clothes knowing the shop will probably double whatever you charge.  My goal in the beginning is to "clear" $7.50-$10.00 per dress after paying for sewing supplies.
11.  Visit Mom and Pop stores, sell your products. 
12.  Consignment?  Personal choice!  I want cash or a check--and I receive it when I personally deliver my dresses.
13.  Accounting:  I will go into greater depth later.  But, keep all receipts!  I use Excel to record all expenses and sales.  Keep track of mileage in your car.  Set up one room in your home if possible to use just for your business.  Don't know if it will be necessary, but I keep my gas and car maintenance receipts.  I am taking tax classes this fall so that I will not have to pay an accountant.  I will share what I learn as I learn it on this blog.


This is very basic beginnings.  I will expand on each item as necessary in future posts.

Tags on baby fashions

Somewhere, and I will find out where for the readers, I was told that a permanent tag has to be affixed to clothing that I make.

The tag must have the following information:
name of business
address of business
date of manufacture
place of manufacture
fabric content
care instructions

This is my tag:

Brenda Lauw’s Handcrafted Children’s Designs

Sulphur, Louisiana, USA

brenda.lauw@gmail.com

Learning from the Masters ebooks on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

For children sensitive to touch, minimum fasteners, French seams wherever possible!

Created Exclusively with Hobby Lobby Fabrics, Ribbons, and Notions

Size _______

Fabric Content 100 %  cotton

Care Instructions

Machine wash cold, tumble dry

MADE IN THE USA

I am not  attaching a  permanent tag to my clothes-- at this time--until I find something official.  One in six children are being diagnosed with Autism.  Autistic children are very sensitive to touch and a tag can be scratchy, irritating sensitive skin.  I am printing the above information on cardstock, adding a loop of embroidery floss, and pinning with a little gold pin to an inside seam.

DOM __________

Tax ID

I do not need a state tax ID according to my accountant friend because as a wholesaler, I am not charging sales tax. If a reader knows something different, I would appreciate the information.

CPSC 2

This is the fastest red tape I have ever met.

It took less than a week to get listed and get approval for Brenda Lauw's Handcrafted Baby Fashions.

We can sell wholesale legally as long as we sell less than 7000 units per year and make less than a million dollars per year.  This is not a problem!

I listed my daughter also because she makes tutus and wants to learn to make baby clothes too!

My only concern is that I don't have anything in writing--a certificate--something that I can copy and give my potential clients.  I do have an email pending--I sent Friday--asking if I will receive anything to give my clients.

If I do not receive anything from the CPSC, I will write a letter on my letterhead and I will include information and account number from the CPSC for my clients.

2ND RESPONSE FROM CONSUMER PROTECTION

Just two days after completing on line information, I received the following information for completing my application


Brooklyn L. Lupari
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Directorate for Epidemiology - Data Systems Division

*****!!!Unless otherwise stated, any views or opinions expressed in this-mail (and any attachments) are solely those of the author and donot necessarily represent those of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.Copies of product recall and product safety information can be sent to you automatically via Internet e-mail, as they are released byCPSC. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this service go to the following web page: https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx*****!!!  ­­ 


 

Your request for a Business Portal account with the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database.  To ensure the the CPSC notifies the appropriate manufacturer (including importer) or private labeler regarding reports of harm that identify them, the Primary Contact for each manufacturer or private labeler must have an email address at the company’s domain name or provide the additional documents listed below.

Your request for a Business Portal account cannot be completed because the email address that you provided does not appear to be affiliated with the company you represent.  The CPSC will complete your request if you send the following information on company letterhead:

Your name, job title, address, telephone number, email address

A signed statement certifying that the company is a manufacturer, importer, or private labeler of a consumer product or other substance over which the CPSC has jurisdiction and you are authorized to receive and comment on Reports on behalf of this company.

Direct responses to the CPSC, National Inquiry Information Clearinghouse, Business Account Verification:

By email: clearninghouse@cpsc.gov

By Fax: 301 504-0025

By Mail:  4330 East West Hwy. Room 820, Attn: Business Account Verification, Bethesda, MD 20814

I had no idea what all this means because I am a home based business!  So I sent another email.

My Portfolio

 Email me if you want to purchase some of my dresses.

Simple, cute, easy.  All Hobby Lobby fabrics.  Three patterns I reuse over and over again with lots and lots of variations--ruffles and bans of varying lengths, no ruffles or bans, embellishments, strips of fabric, contrast, no contrast--the possibilities are endless.

For my sales, I will show three basic pattern styles with variations.I will have a portfolio of photos.  I will have fabric samples to match the photos.   I will have an order blank in color with photos and sizes.  And I will include my certificate from the Consumer Safety people.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

I am signing up with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
It is my understanding that as long as I make less than $1 million dollars and less than 7000 units per year, I will be exempt from testing each outfit I create.

I am doing this because I spoke to a children's store that would not buy from local designers/seamstresses because she thinks she needs certificates on file.  I do not know the truth of this--she may of just not been interested.  Whatever, I am covering my bases.

After going to their site I found the following:

Small Batch Manufacturer

You must register as a Small Batch Manufacturer every year to qualify for this testing relief.

Here are the steps:

1.    First, you must register your business on the Business Portal of SaferProducts.gov. If you are already registered and have set your Business Portal password, skip to step 3.

2.    Once you register with the Business Portal, you will receive two e-mails, one that acknowledges your request and a second that tells you how to activate your account. After you successfully activate your account, you will be prompted to set your Business Portal password. You will then receive a final e-mail confirming your registration.

3.    Sign in to the Business Portal of SaferProducts.gov.

4.    To complete the registration process and identify yourself as a Small Batch Manufacturer, click on “Small Batch Manufacturers” in the top navigation bar.

5.    You will be asked to affirm all three statements on the Small Batch Manufacturer’s registration page to complete your registration online.

6.    Click Submit. You will receive an e-mail with your Small Batch Manufacturer registration number.

7. Request a Business Account User ID

8.    Thank you for your request for a Business Account User ID.

9.    Your account is not yet active. CPSC will review the information you supplied and send an e-mail to both the Business Account User ID and the Primary Contact User ID when the account is created. You must set a password to activate each account.

10.  Activate the Business Account User ID first by clicking on the link contained in the e-mail sent to the Business Account User ID. Follow the instructions given to create a password for the Business Account.

11.  You will be able to create and manage privileges for additional users for this business through the Business Account User ID once the account is activated. After the Business Account User ID is active, you can activate the link sent to the Primary Contact.

12.  If you have questions, call CPSC at (301) 504-7921 or e-mail us at rmscs@cpsc.gov.

I am following the directions above.  After completing the on-line application, I received the following email:

We have received your request to register for a new Business Portal User Account on SaferProducts.gov. Please note: Your registration is NOT yet complete. Registration is a two-step process. You MUST watch for and act on additional e-mails to complete your registration.
CPSC will create your Business Portal User Account as soon as possible. We will send you an Account Activation e-mail from donotreply@cpsc.gov with activation instructions. This typically takes 1 to 2 business days.
Within 5 business days of receiving the Business Portal User Account Activation e-mail, you MUST confirm and activate your account using the link provided in the e-mail.
(The subject line of the e-mail is titled, "CPSC Business Portal - Confirm Business Account Activation." Please add donotreply@cpsc.gov to your address book so our e-mails do not get caught in your spam filter.)
If you have questions about the Business Portal or registering your account, please read our FAQs.

If you are registering as a small batch manufacturer, you will need to activate your Business Portal User Account, as described above. Once you have successfully activated your Business Portal User Account, you will need to follow the additional steps listed on this page to complete your registration as a small batch manufacturer.
If you have additional questions, please e-mail: clearinghouse@cpsc.gov, or call (301) 504-7921.
Thank you,
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

I am waiting now for their next email.

Patterns and Fabrics --Copyrighted or not

Don't have an answer and couldn't find anything substantial, black and white, for this on the internet.

I am using Hobby Lobby fabrics exclusively.  I will send an email asking for permission.  Really don't care what the answer is because I am too small a business to sue.

I am using some commercial patterns that I purchase at Hobby Lobby for 99 cents.  McCall's and Simplicity.  I sometimes alter.  Sometimes I don't.  I will send them an email.  Really don't care what the answer is because I am too small a business to sue.

This is a home based business although I do have aspirations of growing large enough that I can hire others to do some of my sewing.  I am not reinventing the wheel.  I am adding my spin which usually means different sizes of ruffles, adding contrasting fabrics, enlarging and reducing as needed, adding embellishments, etc. 

I do not use patterns by pattern designers found on the internet.  They are too expensive and have too many restrictions concerning copyright laws that may or may not be real.  I applaud their efforts.  I support their attempts at being entrepreneurs.  I just can not afford their patterns.

I do not buy fabric from the internet.  I need to touch and see the fabric I use.  I want to know the actual size of the pattern. 

On Project Runway, they go into a fabric store to buy fabrics--so as a home businesses on a shoestring--why can't I?  I would love to create my own fabric and maybe some day I will but at this time, it is definitely not in the budget!

As a wholesaler of children's clothes there are consumer protection laws.  I will discuss this later.  However, this is another reason I use exclusively Hobby Lobby fabrics.  Surely they have to follow the same safety guidelines as the rest of us!

Starting a New Children's Fashion Design Business

Introduction

I want to start a children's fashion design business.  I have read for hours and hours on the internet--ideas, advice, etc.  I have found there just are not enough specifics and it is not all in one place.  I spend more hours searching than reading.

So, I am starting this blog.  Step by step how I am doing it.  I am not a lawyer.  I am not an expert.  This blog will just tell how I am doing it.  Please feel free to post your ideas and advice.  I promise to read but not always listen.  Sorry! 

Why I chose babies and toddlers--

My daughter bought a pattern for a baby outfit, and spent hours copying the different sizes, buying the fabrics, pinning and cutting multiple outfits.

Then she opened a store front in February of 2011.  She had a full time job, so she asked me to come and run the shop until her teaching assistant job ended in May. 

I was there from the beginning.  She built her closets.  She rented a space.  She painted the space.  She ordered and purchased trendy clothes from the Internet. She opened.

She needed more stock but had a very limited budget.  She brought in consigners.  And she asked me to sew--a craft I have been doing for a lifetime plus I had taken sewing classes in college when a home ec degree required that a home ec teacher know how to sew.

She asked me to finish her baby projects.  She handed me the box of cut out baby clothes ready to be sewn.  I looked at the pattern.  She had bought a pattern for knits but had purchased woven fabrics--a rookie or beginner mistake.  The clothes could not be made.  So I bought a pattern and $1 fabric from Walmart and began sewing for her shop.

One day a lady with a little girl came in.  She saw what I was doing and suggested I make pillowcase dresses.  I did and they sold.

A year and a half has passed.  For various reasons, the shop has closed.  I am almost 60.  For even more reasons, I want a home based business.  I must work.  I must earn money.  But, I do not want an 8-5 job. 

I went into a baby shop to purchase my grandson a Valentine's gift.  (February, 2012)  I was having a conversation with the owner and mentioned that I sewed pillowcase dresses.  She offered to buy some from me.  Thus my home business has begun.