Hiring a Sales Rep: A Big Decision

So, Pixyworld is taking the plunge. In a certain way it feels like we're signing away our freedom. But, all things considered, I think signing on with Lace and Denim for the Southeast US region is the best next step for us in building our line.

When we first considered a different showroom in 2008, we were scared off big-time. In fact, it was that experience that inspired us to start selling to the retail customer through our own website! It was my husband Jon who spoke with the first showroom, and he came away feeling belittled, bullied, and thoroughly discouraged.

But now that we have our line manufactured, photographed, and selling, we are in much stronger position. We began selling wholesale ourselves in early 2009, and were contacted recently by Lace and Denim. We were leery at first: Would they complain about our online retail sales? Would they exercise too much price control? Would we be paying high sales commissions and showroom fees? Would we have to furnish expensive look books and brochures?

Well, to work with Lace and Denim, we do have to have our retail prices at a certain level in all of our online sales venues. Retail stores can't be put in the position of feeling undercut by an online outlet. But we found Terrie to be a very reasonable person, who understood the financial pressure we are under at this stage in growing our line. Or production volumes are barely high enough to break even on wholesale pricing, and we don't have much extra room for sales commissions.

But to increase production, we need to increase sales. And to increase sales, a good sales rep will certainly be a help. She gave us an introductory discount on her fees, so that we can have a little extra room the first year, to get our volumes up and our production prices down.

It will be an interesting year. We'd be glad to have it lead to showrooms or reps in other regions, but for now it's nice to be starting down this road gradually, with our own sales venue well established.

The Princess and the Pea

How could I have understood, before giving birth to a Princess, the humor of The Princess and the Pea?

It can get to you, if you lose your sense of humor about it. Some little girls are simply born with an acute sensitivity to anything -- ANYTHING -- that rubs them the wrong way.

I suppose I was this way myself as a girl; perhaps that is why I find myself designing little girls' clothing.

My little princess had issues with jeans. She simply would not wear them. Denim was just not soft enough to be in contact with Her Royal Person. Then I started meeting other moms with the exact same problem!

My Pixyworld jeans are one attempt at pleasing the exacting little mistress. They worked for mine. The baby-rib-covered elastic waist was what she needed. Now she wears them almost daily.

I think I will also buy her this book. Perhaps she will have a flash of self-recognition?? In living with a Princess, that can make all the difference.

Flattering Lines for Little Girls

My favorite fashion & style book has to be Does This Make Me Look Fat? by Leah Feldon. The title is perhaps somewhat misleading, in that it is not a strictly thinness-oriented book. It gives some very helpful tips on looking chic and having an artistically well-proportioned ensemble.

This, more than any other style handbook, has helped me in designing toddler girls' clothing. For a toddler, looking "fat" is not the issue. The shape and proportions of a toddler's body are so unlike an adult woman's, that many of the principles for adults simply cannot be applied here.

But principles of style and proportion are still important to understand. They must either be adapted for the very young girl, or deliberately ignored because the desired effect is something distinctly toddleresque!

My favorite example is the 1/3, 2/3 rule. An ensemble gains beauty and harmony by dividing the figure vertically into thirds, rather than chopping it in half. A shrug that ends mid-torso can accomplish this; so can as a dress/jeans combination.

Dressing primarily in dark neutrals is an example of a rule that I deliberately ignore for little girls. A healthy baby girl has a distinctive comeliness of form, whether she's rounded or slender. And, baby girl, you know you've got it, so flaunt it!!

Are We Tired of Pink?

Not too long ago, we were hearing from the fashion world that Pink Is the New Black. But the faddish popularity of the color seems to be fading. The best-selling collection in my toddler girls' boutique line this season has been Flower Power, my only collection without even a hint of pink.

Maybe we are sick of pink because, in this economy, Pink Slips are the New Black! Maybe moms shopping little girls' boutiques are looking for something very unique, and they feel that pink for little girls is too common.

Whatever the reason, we may have to find a new New Black. Nevertheless, I believe pink is more than just a trend -- it is a classic color for baby girls, and in moderation, it will always have its place in the market.

Page Rank: The Chicken or the Egg??

So, if I understand it right, you get page rank by having other highly ranked sites link to your site. OK. So your options are: solicit link exchanges with highly ranked sites, or create your own highly ranked site (like, hmmm... a blog!!!) which links to your site.

The problem is, highly ranked sites don't want to swap with lowly 1's and 2's. So we have to settle for linkbacks from other 1's and 2's. Hopefully, some of them will someday succeed in becoming 3's and 4's, and their links will become valuable to us.

But as much as we are rooting for them, our links to their sites will not do them much good because... well, we are 1's and 2's ourelves.

Ah, the conundrum of page rank!!

Perhaps, like an exponential function, Boutique Baby, Toddler, & Little Girls' Clothes by Pixyworld will one day hit that great big growth curve which soars ever higher from glory to glory! Until then, I'm taking almost all comers in my link directory.

"I Want to Do it Myself!!"

Have you ever heard this from your toddler or preschool-aged girl? Especially in the area of apparel, it seems they have an independent streak.

This has several interesting results. Firstly, in dressing themselves they reach new and interesting heights of clash. Secondly, it seems that more than 50% of their clothing is on backwards at any given time. Finally, they gravitate towards wearing certain items as often as possible, while leaving others (the ones we like best) lying forlornly in the drawer.

Well, I'm not offering Pixyworld as a panacaea for all of these fashion ills. But, as a mother of toddlers, I have tried to lend a helping hand. The clothes I design can all be donned without adult help from an early age. They also have toddler-friendly cues for matching (e.g. the monkey jeans go with the monkey dress!)

As for the backwards problem, sometimes it just has to be accepted. But if there's a picture she wants to look at, she's more likely to put it on the front!

Toddler Hair Accessories: What's Out There?

Gymboree (hairpiece pictured) is clearly a leader in mass-produced hair accessories for little girls. There are also many clever moms producing unique custom hair pieces, selling on etsy or eBay. So, is there room for more?

Gymboree seems to have two advantages, besides the obvious cost benefit of mass-production. One is one-stop shopping. Moms shopping online will choose a hairpiece from the same site as the clothing they are buying, if possible, to save on shipping.

Their other advantage is outfit coordination. This is where cheaper grocery-store hair baubles often fall short.

It does seem that an independent girls' line like Pixyworld could benefit from having its own collection or hair accessories. My idea, as a mom of toddlers? Include an extra piece in every set of two, for the inevitable day when she loses one!

Also posted at Pixyworld Blog.