From inspiration to presentation

After months of preparation the first showing of our Spring/Summer 2017 collection kicked off during Scoop & the City, held at The Old Billingsgate Market mid-July.

Having drawn our inspiration from London, from nature and from living a life of handbags & jewellery, with a clear vision and complete conviction we finalised our range, instructed and waited for the samples to arrive.

It was a painful wait, because the bulk of the samples just didn’t turn up and as the deadline drew closer… a week closer, 5 days closer, 3 days closer we were beginning to doubt our chances.

With 2 days to go, the samples arrived, last minute is far from ideal but it’s a whole lot better than a ‘no show’.

I often wonder, once the stand is all set and the show opens its doors to buyers and press if anyone really knows the true trials from inspiration to presentation.

 

It was a great show, the new collection was much admired, new orders, new contacts, old contacts renewed. Circle closed, now we go from presentation to new inspiration.

Move on Summer 2016, you’re so over…

Hate to harp about the British weather but this summer (can I call it summer? ), well ok, this summer 2016 has so far been cold, wet , grey and in general miserable.

I don’t mix my personal political views with my fashion and as such be it Remain or Leave, whatever you voted for it seems like the heavens have opened up in the UK and London in particular finds itself right in the eye of the storm.

Thankfully at NM HQ we’ve managed to ‘ease’ ourselves out of Summer 2016, secured Winter 2017 some months back and here we are, getting ready to ‘sign-off’ summer 2017. With less than a month to go before we show our new Summer 2017 collections to buyers and press at Scoop International, we are entering ‘final countdown’ stage.

The four key trends we identified for Summer 2017 were based around the 4 key elements:

AIR– all calm and mindful inspired by a new global love of Yoga, Pilates and looking after our core

EARTH– A patchwork of what we are currently as a society, a vibrant mix of cultures- a mash-up of tribal with modern and upcycling with abstract

WATER– is all about clean and luxurious, it’s about reflections and  crisp vibrant colours

Last but not least, FIRE– which for summer 2017 evokes all that is glamorous, think Flamenco: the sound, the movement, the colour. All engaging and all consuming.

My colleagues at work will be the first to tell you that for all my love of colour and my passion for brilliant, vibrant hues I am in fact the one who reigns it all and my ‘process of elimination’ during our final selection means we end up losing that Flamenco Va Va Voom and we end up with a pretty safe canvas of cream, tan ,grey, black, the occasional navy but not much more than that.  When times are tough- safe sells and as the captain of this ship I try and avoid uncharted waters.

Well, all I can say is that for Summer 2017, given just how gloomy 2016 feels we will be creating our very own sunshine in the brightest of yellow, the most opalescent of whites and the earthiest of greens.

Not long to wait now before we can actually show you our new creations but for now, enjoy your summer wherever you are, sun or rain.

See you at Wolf & Badger

It may sound like a pub, but it’s not.

Those of you with a passion for fashion may well be familiar with Wolf & Badger but those of you who love fashion and aren’t familiar, definitely need to check them out.

Founded in Notting Hill in 2009, Wolf & Badger promotes and supports only the most exciting independent fashion, jewellery, accessories and interior design brands from the UK and beyond.

Currently stocking some 130+ luxury fashion and accessory brands they are a melting pot of emerging and better known independent designers.

At NM HQ we are thrilled at being part of this fashion hub, showcasing both our bags and new range of bespoke UK made Jewellery, make sure you check us out too!

Dana’s Blog: Day 12

Hi everyone!

I emailed the second press release today, so thanks for all the feedback on it! Hopefully this one will bear some fruit, though everyone in the UK seems to be out of the office for some reason.

 

I also reached out to a blogger today, who seemed really enthusiastic about the brand and would really love to feature the products on her blog, as well as on her various social media platforms.

 

We’re still trying to get the website designers to come in this week so I can meet with them as well, as this is my last few days here, so hopefully that’ll happen.

 

Have a great afternoon!

Dana’s Blog: Day 7

Hey guys!

Thanks for keeping up with my blog thus far!

Today I sent out the press release! Two of the people I emailed evidently changed jobs or have a very good spam filter, but other than that all was good. I’m going to try and reach out to fashion bloggers and newspaper supplements and resend it to them, if any of you have any ideas about fashion blogs or places I should reach out to, let me know!

I also am writing the descriptions of the bags for the website. This is where high school English classes will come in useful, because apparently “black clutch bag” isn’t sufficient (who knew?)

Tomorrow I’ll be writing the descriptions, and working on new press releases as well as sitting down with Nadia and deciding who else we should reach out to. I’m really excited!

Have a great day and I hope you’re having better weather than we are in London!

Fashion is…

I know there’s a big trend now of quotes and sayings, I often look but don’t really follow. However this one really caught my attention, it sums up what I feel about fashion and how I see and run my brand. I’ve often been asked by journalists, PR agents and even buyers about how ‘fashionable’ my brand is. Fashionable but not fashion led I say, smart but subtle, on trend but hopefully timeless. So for all of you out there who sometimes worry that maybe you’re just not fashionable enough, this one’s for you, have your own style, it’s what makes you- you!

Have a great week, x Nadia