Just wanted to preface this saying that I've been following since 2022 and am really inspired by your designs! Really looking forward to what you guys will be making in the future- especially when it comes to hats! On that note, I have three questions: 1.) Will the pumpkin beret hats ever make a comeback? 2.) Besides baseball caps and berets, are there any other hat types that you've been interested in using for future collections? 3.) What does your design-to-product process typically look like?
aww wow!! youre truly a veteran, having seen me grow into a designer im pretty proud of :') tysm for sticking with me!!
1) as of right now i have no plans to have them come back, unfortunately! the demand just isn't there, but if I do, i'll scream it from the rooftops in hopes you hear ♡
2) i deffo wanna make beanies and those little knit/crochet bonnets that have been so popular lately. oh!! and earmuffs are up there.
3) this is gonna be a longer answer, so strap in bc im a YAPPER
whenever i go into designing a new collection, i *have* to have a strong concept, otherwise i really cant get into it, and i feel like yall can tell when ive made a line that i'm not super into. even with something like stars and space, it isnt just SPACE. starfall and stardust have such different energies to me, though the themes are the same. so, the first step is finding a theme that speaks to me, then getting real specific with the vibe.
moodboarding is next, and generally immersing myself in the concept. i go on a hunt for media and experiences that fit the vibe. music, movies, food, outings, i want it all. i do want to start showing more of the world building i do in my head around lines in the final marketing and reveal of launches, because to me, each line lives somewhere. urban legends, the lucky clover themed line, is a pair of friend, lovers, who-knows-who, having a wistful conversation on a dew-covered meadowed hill at sunrise. sugar and spice is being new to a city where no one knows you, and you dont know the language, but you share a universal language; coffee. i could go on, and i know this sounds pretentious, but this is genuinely what happens in my lil head.
then, i get designing. i draw out a sheet of all of the clothes i want included in the line. i go BIG. i design like i shop at thrift stores, throwing everything that makes me smile into the cart, and then finding a secret corner in the back of the store to sort and purge until only what truly makes me *f e e l* something remains. i have some Business Minded discretion, of course, like knowing jackets don't do as well as my knits, so i'm cautious to not make too many jackets. though, sometimes, a garment will slip through that ive made just for lil ol' me, and sometimes that ends up being a sleeper hit.
then it's time to make the assets. i hunker down and draw all of the necessary embroidery and print files. *everything* on every garment is done by me, and no one else. my wrists hate me for it, but i feel like i have to be the one to do it. even the cut-outs are shaped by my lil hands.
from there, i hit up my manufacturers, who know me quite well at this point. i send over my drawings with detailed descriptions of exactly what i want for each. reference photos if it could possibly be unclear, exact pantones, etc. from there, they start sampling! while they sample, i usually start from the beginning for the next line from here, keeping the cycle going while things leave my hands and go to the manufactureres.
then, it's a back and forth of samples from them and critiques from me. sometimes its perfect on the first go, and others its 9 months of begging them to make a bOXY HOODIE (im not bitter... maybe a little)
once i approve of samples, we start production if we're gonna do a ready-to-ship launch. and thats the process!!
blakekathryn
snowghoul
turnnoffyourmind
theartofmadeline
discoholicmusic