Timing is Everything, Slow and Steady (and TV Stuff)

Hello friends,

I hope all of you are enjoying your summer. It's been waffling back and forth between heat waves and monsoons here in New York for weeks! As many of you know, I also went on an incredible trip to the Upper Midwest this summer as well, which allowed me to meet the customers and store owners who make this whole adventure possible. Thank you again.

One question that came up a lot was "Are you doing a Fall/Winter Collection?" A very good question, indeed.

Originally my funding had come from Kickstarter, which supplied a very helpful push to get production for Cabiria, but wasn't enough to cover multiple seasons. I had assumed I would sell out of my dresses, and that money would fund subsequent line development. This is the reasoning that comes from a fine art school education, and very little business knowledge.

Sales have been incredible (thank you!), especially for a brand new line. Reception has been entirely positive, and press keeps building more awareness. I've accidentally found astounding allies who know what they are doing far more than I do, and have put me directly in the right places at the right times. What that means is that with only 1 season's micro collection under my belt, I've attracted *media placement, an investor, and the interest of several larger retailers who want to carry Cabiria. This is unprecedented, seriously, and I count my blessings, for sure.

*While they're not the clearest shots, here's the lovely Ashlie Atkinson in the Sofia in Oxblood Beetle in the pilot of "Us and Them" on FOX Television!

I also need, for the time being, to keep my day job in order to have cash flow to build the inventory lines and pay the rent. I am lucky in that regard as well to work with dear friends in an industry I love - in this case, I'll be wardrobe supervising a television series. I know some people may be able to do it, but I do not know how to efficiently perform at high levels on two jobs that are 90 - 100 hours per week each.

Quality and details mean everything to me with Cabiria. Professionalism and customer service, rapid follow through and production supervision for development are all very hands on. So rather than try to force through a Fall/Winter collection that's half-baked for time reasons, I am going to quietly develop both a Fall/Winter Collection and a Spring/Summer Collection for release early next year. I am going to concentrate on having product I believe in, and that my vendors would be proud to carry. I will have time to find the right fabrics, and develop the right silhouettes based on on my design sensibilities and your incredible feedback. I will develop more tops, as well as dresses with sleeves and more tailored pieces in a range of high end fabrics. I will do this right, or as right as I can get it.

Thank you everyone for understanding, and know that Cabiria is still going strong. Stronger than ever, thanks to you all!

All the best, Eden

Factory Delivery!!

Hello friends!

I want to thank you for your patience since the last update. In between, the fabric went to the factory, and two months later, they're emerging as dresses. We're picking them up today, just ahead of a big winter storm!

I've been back and forth to the factory many times since they started production, and was even interviewed on Japanese TV for an NHK show called "El Mundo" as the symbolic representative of all the indie plus size designers in the US. How cool is that? And yesterday, I was in the factory bagging up the dresses for transport to my studio, which is about to get very, very crowded. Hopefully, not for very long!

For your viewing pleasure, a few racks waiting for delivery:

I'll next be delivering dresses to those who pledged at the amounts to get them as part of their Kickstarter swag (thank you again!!), and to the several boutiques who pre-ordered them. I will also then release them for sale on the e-store website, http://www.store.cabiriastyle.com and hopefully sell out very quickly. The success of the line's sales will determine if Cabiria goes forward with a Fall Winter 13/14 line, but here's the secret: it's already been designed, patterned, and first prototyped. Prepared!

I'll be updating soon, and if you were a backer at the level to get dresses but did not pick what you wanted, PLEASE get in touch with me as soon as humanly possible! If they are sold and gone, I can't replace them for you.

Thank you again, and all the best,

Eden

The Best of Kickstarter 2012

Hello friends!

By now those that pledged should have received their incentives in the mail. I understand that one mug arrived in tiny pieces (so sad!), and I will be replacing it. If you had trouble with your package, please let me know so I can replace it for you - there's a (very) few mugs left here at HQ.

Those that pledged for dresses as well, news from the factory is that they should be ready to start shipping in about 2 weeks. First orders will be sent to the backers and the stores that have preordered. The rest will be placed in the online store, as well as re-offered to plus size boutiques who'd expressed interest. Please note: I have non-compete pricing on the website, so you will be paying the same AND supporting small businesses in your area if you get your Cabiria dresses at a boutique near you. I will be telling you who is stocking Cabiria once we ship.

Finally, I want to express my utmost gratitude to those who backed us on the Kickstarter campaign, no matter what level. The Best of Kickstarter 2012 numbers are out, and it turns out that Fashion, as a category, is the least funded, with projects only meeting their goals 26% of the time. The fact that you guys believed that we are a worthwhile project, so much so that you made us the Most Successful Plus Size Project EVER on Kickstarter, means even more given this new information.

Thanks again so very much, and have a glorious next few weeks. I'll be posting again probably when we go to ship to you. Hooray!

All the best, Eden

Following are two images from Cabiria being manufactured (notice the Cabiria label on the bottom far left of the Flaminia in Tropicalia dresses in the 1st image), and a third image with the astounding numbers from the Best of Kickstarter 2012. You guys made this happen.

Happy Holidays

Hello friends,

As the year winds down, I want to thank everyone for being part of such an extraordinary adventure with me. I am so pleased that on a professional and personal level I've gotten to become part of a larger group of communities as an entrepreneur, a successful crowdsource marketer, a plus size advocate, and as a creative designer seeing my dreams become fruitful. Thank you for being part of that.

I wish you all the most extraordinary luck, love, hope, wonder, and prosperity in the new year. Happy holidays of every stripe, and enjoy ringing in the New Year. Now go out there are open up some presents!

All the best, Eden

Factory updates!

Hello friends,

I've been very busy since the Kickstarter campaign ended, and been a little lax in my public blog posts. I am now going to correct that.

By the time you read this post, ALL of the incentive packages for Kickstarter backers will have been mailed out, minus the dresses from the line. As mentioned earlier, those folks will receive their swag now, then when the factory is done and everything is double checked, they'll receive their dresses in a separate shipment.

More good news: all the fabrics and stuff that goes into making garments are in the factory, and in the process of being cut. I dropped by yesterday, and it's really exciting to see all the bundles of fabrics and cut pattern pieces ready to go to the next step, sewing. I love these surreal moments!

In the next few days, I will be reissuing swatch cards to reflect the real fabrics per real styles being offered in the Spring/Summer 2013 line. It will be different than what you may be accustomed to seeing, as there will be limited quantities of each item per fabric. I will update that in the Cabiria Store as well as specifically letting my retailers know what they can order. It's coming together, folks!

In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and much peace, health and prosperity in the coming year.

All the best, Eden

this is the beginning of packing up all the incentive boxes with our dressform standing watch:

and this is another beautiful silk jersey fabric that will be in the line. Surprise!:

Swag Report and Money Spending

Hi everyone,

I have been busy receiving shipments of swag to my workroom, and it's very exciting! Today the DVDs and tote bags came in, and yesterday the chocolate arrived. I've hidden it from myself or there's a risk of a highly sugared and caffeinated designer running amok.

I've also been working on the cutting tickets, which are the numbers for the factory to Cut, Make, and Trim ("CMT"), and scrambling around buying more silk jersey to complete the orders. Such a great response means that for all my preparation, there's more success to meet expectations! I consider this a wonderful and honorable problem.

Tomorrow the fabrics are being taken to the factory in midtown (made in the USA!), and then we are off to the races making these beautiful things! Hooray!

Thank you all for making me step up my game. And for those who haven't completed the surveys I sent last week, please do! I need your info to ship the magic to you!

All the best, Eden

What's Landing on Our Doorsteps

Hello friends!

Just giving you a heads up since our Kickstarter campaign ended. I've been busily writing down all the requests from donors for swag and adding them to the Thank You page on Cabiria's website. If you have not already answered the survey questions from the Kickstarter website, please do as orders need to be placed all at once per vendor.

Some of the swag that's already been placed for delivery to Cabiria HQ are the bistro mugs, which are 16 oz. (not 14 oz. as previously stated), the tote bags, and the DVDs. I'm still waiting on some coffee orders, then that will be ready to place as well. Yum!

Today I went to see Pamela Bartual of Mark Da Grading services, and she should have my pattern pieces ready to go into production very soon. Tomorrow, I meet with her again, and then with the factory right here in New York City, in order to having everything through the workroom as soon as possible. It's really happening, people, thanks to you!

As a matter of fact, because of your largesse, I was out buying more fabric today to fill more orders. I can't even tell you how exciting that is to me - that my storeroom needs to be replenished to meet demand! How COOL is that??

And finally, I was sent the first shipment of business cards and hang tags by Triple Stamp Press. They were printed using a double pass white ink on heavy black stock, and I think they are some of the sexiest hangtags and cards I've ever seen. Hooray!

Thank you for making this happen!

All the best, Eden

The Last Day of the Campaign

Hello, friends!

I want to thank everyone who ran with the banner of the Kickstarter campaign while I was called away. Thank you for the kind words and letters of condolence that you sent, and thank you for not letting the Cabiria campaign fade away so I have great things to look forward to very soon.

My mom had great style in the 70's, and everyone said she looked like a Jewish Sofia Loren. More importantly, she was an incredibly smart woman who fully took up causes relating to women's rights and feminism, and taught me that with diligence, I could become anything I wanted to, regardless of gender. That tenacity and iconoclasm is her legacy to me, and I am a richer person for it.

This photo is me, my mom, and my brother just after my 7th birthday. This is how I remember her best: sitting with her kids, waiting for us to touch one of the animals at the petting zoo, and delighting at our peals of laughter.

The Cabiria campaign is the culmination of my mom teaching me strength and tenacity, and you have shown your support of my dream. Thank you for that, and if there's anyone who hasn't heard about Cabiria's campaign on Kickstarter, please let them know - it's the last 24 hours, and this last push will take us into new, untold heights.

All the best,
Eden

Final week of Kickstarter Campaign and a Call to Action!

Hello, friends!

We are four leaf clovers and unicorns! The incredible blog Envynde, which advocates for emerging designers across all size ranges (fantastic yeoman's work) has written an article about us stating that the rarity of a great, high quality, fashionable plus size line such as Cabiria is like finding four leaf clovers and unicorns. Pretty fantastic! They also wanted to write the article in advance of completion of our Kickstarter campaign so they could brag about the scoop. Well done!

Our Kickstarter campaign was also mentioned quite flatteringly in the "Links:Shopping" on the fantastic DIY design blog Not Martha. She really liked our coloring book incentive as well as the dresses! Her blog makes my home decorating, craft-making fingers itch.

We are now in the final stretch of the Kickstarter campaign. With a little over a week to go, we will be reminding you (again) to make those backing pledges which will bump up our popularity on the Kickstarter website. Kickstarter themselves need to be reminded that our numbers prove that we are a worthwhile project, and they should put their considerable marketing force behind us as well. So far, an astounding 81% of backing has come from word of mouth from friends and allies, known to me and new friends, and only 19% from Kickstarter generated links. Thank you for that, you guys! But the power of a strong platform like Kickstarter is that if they believe that the project is worth boosting in the feed, they can make people pay attention. So I ask you two things:

1. if you have not already backed the project, now is a great time to do it. We have 7 days left and every dollar creates a bump of interest across the platform and
2. write to Kickstarter on their webpage. You will need to scroll to the bottom of the page to the "Contact" link in the footer, but then let them know that you think this is a great project and you want to see it gain recognition in the Kickstarter public arena (their Staff picks, their blog posts, and their emailer to backers internationally. Feel free to point out that we are the MOST SUCCESSFUL plus size project EVER on Kickstarter, and why you think we're worth promoting.

Let's make this a record breaker together!

All the best, Eden

Keeping the ball rolling and finding new audiences

Hello friends,

On October 23rd, Cabiria launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $8,000 towards funding production of the Spring Summer 2013 Collection, and we reached that in just over a week.

Since then, we've become the MOST SUCCESSFUL PLUS SIZE CAMPAIGN EVER on Kickstarter. That is in terms of percentage raised over the initial goal and amount of dollars raised. This is stupendous!

Now, more than ever, I need your help. Any amount you give, from $1 on up, will bounce our analytics higher on Kickstarter. More interest in the campaign means more outside interest from outside our friend circles. More interest creates Staff Picks and Popular placement on the site, introducing the campaign to more people. More interest means more donations and more possibilities for getting more clothing into more hands.

We've gotten great mentions in Plus Fashion Blogs, we were interviewed for a radio podcast broadcasting from New Zealand, and interest from wholesalers from all over North America (I'm including Canada here) from the publicity about this campaign. My alma mater, Pratt, placed the campaign in their Curated Page. It's all great news, but we still have 13 days to go.

If you have not already, please contribute.

If you're involved in Social Justice, Equality, Costume, Fashion, Design, Plus Size, Straight Size, Feminism, Entrepreneurship, Startups, Bootstrappers, Classic Movie Buffs, Europhiles, or just delight in seeing things go viral, you have an audience for Cabiria. Please spread the word and really get this campaign out there, across platforms!

Thank you!

All the best,

Eden

following are: 1. a graph of how we're doing on here and where the funds are coming from (transparency)

2. a wonderful and overdue article on Plus Bloggers and Stylemakers from today's New York Times, and

3. a fascinating article written for Ms. Magazine titled "If the Clothes Fit: A Feminist Takes On Fashion?", which incorporates the social justice part of Cabiria's message.

Featured in Pratt's Curated Pages!

Hello friends,

I'm in a celebratory mood today - first of all, thanks to your continued support, we are now the most successful plus size project EVER on Kickstarter! That's both in terms of percentage raised over initial goal (133% so far) and amount of money raised. Stupendous! Let's smash that record even more, and show those 1000% funded tech projects what for.

Great news today, other than the election of course, is that as a Pratt Institute alumna, our project was chosen to be featured on the Pratt Curated Page here on Kickstarter. It's great to receive that acknowledgment from such an esteemed artistic authority. Check it out by clicking the big yellow "Pratt" button.

And finally, we've been getting a lot of press mentions in fashion and plus size blogs around the internet. I was interviewed for a radio show in New Zealand earlier this week (I'll let you know more details when it becomes available Thursday or Friday), and have been collecting those mentions on our press page on the Cabiria website.

Let's keep the ball rolling - we still have 14 days in the campaign, and there's so much I can do with stretch goal funds. Thank you again, and please spread the word!

All the best, Eden

following is a screen grab from the latest blog to review us, "My Therapist Told Me to Write a Fashion Blog". See more great reviews on our press page.

132% Funded! 16 More Days! And Where Your Money is Going

Hello friends,

First of all, thank you so much for this great momentum we have on Kickstarter. We're 132% funded and still have 16 days left in the campaign! I can't even tell you how exciting this is, and I'm so glad you believe in Cabiria and it's message of social justice through beautiful clothes.

I've been talking to some potential retailers for stocking the line, and potential business backers who want to expand the way we're currently structured (one woman running around like a chicken). I'm a designer. I like to think of myself as a pretty good designer. But in starting a project like this I've had to scale a pretty steep learning curve to become a proficient traditional marketer, social media marketer, public relations person, accountant, photoshoot producer, web developer, tech pack producer, factory production manager, sales rep, and fashion lawyer. Oh yeah, and autodidact MBA. I wouldn't say I'm great at any of these, although I'm not too shabby for an art school graduate (cough). All that said, I'd love to work with people who do these things well and with ease, all in concert to make the end result access to beautiful clothes. Big plans!

In the meantime, the knowledge that I will receive funding from Kickstarter backers at the end of the campaign has allowed me to order beautiful hand screened hang tags and business cards from an independently owned press in Richmond, VA. For a long time I'd been hunting for the perfect hang tag - those heavy cardboard tags that hang off garments to say what brand they are, and that hold the secondary information, price and RFID tags. I obsess about these small details because I really do think that the details are part of what differentiate Cabiria from others out there. All the details, on the clothes and off. I can't wait for them to arrive in the mail so I can show them off!

The funding has allowed me to look at planning a trunk show or three with Bombshell Boutique in St. Paul, MN, Vive la Femme in Chicago, and The Voluptuous Vixen in New Orleans.

The Voluptuous Vixen (and the Head Vixen herself),

Bombshell Boutique,

and Vive la Femme.

The funding allows me to consider making more pieces than the original factory quota that I'd need to meet, so I can have more to sell to more retailers. More access for customers. It also allows me to devote stock to online retailers that we can pair with so there's more ways to get the clothes.

Reaching past the funding goal has allowed me to start conversations with silk mills to make our own production runs of fabric, so we aren't limited to job lot fabrics sourced in the marketplace. Meaning if you want that dress in that print, it's yours. And reorderable.

Every dollar added allows all these possibilities to come together. Thank you for helping me reach these goals and create new opportunities together. As always, please spread the word!

All the best, Eden

please support independent retailers and help them thrive

Moving Forward and Reaching Further

Hi everyone,

Friday was a big day for me. I'm a cancer survivor, and yesterday was the one year anniversary of my very successful surgery. Yay! I'd been planning on launching the Kickstarter campaign almost 2 years ago when Cabiria was a dream and relatively half baked, but then life stuff happened and slowed me down. Well, here I am in 2012, halfway through the campaign and it's a lot more vital a project than it would have been when I first thought of getting it up online.

I've been quiet(er) this week because of Sandy's devastation, but I also have a short window in which to get out the word about Cabiria on Kickstarter. This project was on track waaaay before the storm, and has a set end date of November 21st. I am a fighter and survivor, and don't let things like force majeure take me off track. So there!

Please tell your friends that the campaign is still going and we want to meet those stretch goals. Please spread the word OUTSIDE THE PLUS SIZE COMMUNITY TOO. This is a product for plus size women, but the reasons for it have to do with EQUALITY, SELF LOVE, ART, SOCIAL JUSTICE, and FASHION. The mainstream media still want to have daily interest pieces that aren't all about Sandy's aftermath, and I've got that with a ticking timer.

I've spent this week contacting mainstream fashion bloggers and daily trend reporters like Racked (part of the Curbed Network), Refinery29, Daily Candy, Scoutmob, Yelp, and Marie Claire. If you have any contacts in PR or media, please let me know. I've even written to Beth Ditto. You never know what might stick, right?

Stay safe out there, and think big.

- Eden

following is Allison McGevna and I on the cyc from the collection shoot. Yes, I look silly in my socks, but that's how you keep the white floor clean. And yes, Allison is a gorgeous woman, even when being silly.

A matter of conscience, and how to help with Sandy relief efforts

On October 23rd, Cabiria launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $8,000 towards funding production of the Spring Summer 2013 Collection, and we have in just over a week gotten to over 110%. That covers our original intention, and starts towards our stretch goals. Thank you so very much.

During that week, an unprecedented Superstorm devastated my beloved adopted hometown, and many many people will be effected in the long term. It becomes somewhat of a conflict that I am conducting what could be seen as an unimportant, frivolous personal drive during a time of much greater priorities.

I encourage you to contribute to both.

Everyone pitching in with the existing government infrastructure and NGO relief efforts, as well as personally helping neighbors will bring New York City and it's environs back, like we have before. Contributing to Cabiria helps in small part by building a future that is better socially, reaching outside the scope of our here and now. Cabiria is also on a finite timeline with Kickstarter, and is forced because of the platform's rules to continue despite tasteful prudence, or lose everything we've gained in the week before the storm.

If you haven't become involved already, Red Hook Initiative, LES Recovers, Hoboken's community board, and a number of other community organizations are working hard to get our city back on it's feet. I also encourage you to donate to The American Red Cross today, and earmark it for Sandy recovery.

American Red Cross link
Red Hook [Brooklyn] Initiative link
Lower East Side Recovers link
Hoboken Volunteer board link
Thriive How you can Help link
Time Out NY's How You can Help link

And the Kickstarter Campaign for Cabiria: Get Cabiria funded through Kickstarter link

If you need immediate support due to the storm and it's aftermath, please contact one of the organizations above, or privately contact me and I'll do what I can.

Contribute to human kindness and extend love to everybody.

Thank you!

- Eden

WE ARE FUNDED ON DAY 8!!! now onto Stretch Goals!!

OH MY GOODNESS! Yes, I'm shouting! And shaking, although it might also be because I've been drinking a lot of coffee today. But WE ARE FUNDED at 100% now!!!!!

Day 8! 88 Backers! $8,000! I know my new favorite number!

Every single person who has donated or put out a good word has pushed this project into the stratosphere. The person who gave the pledge that knocked us into 100% was a woman who gave me my first job in television nearly 20 years ago. The first person who donated was my wonderful brother and his incredible family. But in between there have been strangers with indecipherable screennames, new friends I wouldn't have met other than through this channel, and old dear friends who have believed in me for a lifetime. I am so incredibly honored that you chose to back me.

Now I move forward with the stretch goals. As I mentioned in previous updates and the FAQ, each one is a mile marker, not an aggregate, so each amount pledged from now on goes towards making those stages a reality as well. We are still 22 days from the end of the campaign, and there are still many opportunities to get the word out.

In the meantime, Thank You So Incredibly Much! Once I stop shaking, I'll start working on the hang tags and stickers again.

xoxo, Eden

below is Eddra Gale from Fellini's "8 1/2" in about the same state I feel like right now

New Cabiria FAQ (and we've got power)

Hi friends,

Just a quick update tonight. It's quite late, and the eye of the hurricane has passed over us, but there will still be another wave hitting Long Island Sound within the hour, so we'll see if we keep our power.

While I've been up watching the storm and checking the light switches, I've had time to put together a new FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on Kickstarter. There's been quite a lot of hubbub where some things got misconstrued, and I hope this information clears up those misunderstandings. It will also allow me to concentrate on designing the stickers and thank you cards and everything else that goes with a Kickstarter campaign's successful funding, as well as new fabric pattern design and general doodling.

I totally intended to be lazy and watch Blonde Venus again. Didn't happen. Wrote a FAQ instead.

Please forward this around to whomever you like in the Plus Size Fashion community. I hope you are all safe, sound, dry, warm, cozy, happy, well loved and well fed tonight and every night.

In the meantime, here's a photo of me wearing Francesca in Feathers, posing with Gregory's coffee (our $100 swag) which will need sticker labels.

All the best,

Eden

We've topped $7000! We're over 87% Funded (and there's a hurricane coming)

Pretty much that's my whole message. We've broken the $7000 mark on Day 6 on Kickstarter, with a hurricane bearing down on us and riots over bottled water in the streets! A friend is telling me that in some areas the meteorological service is expecting waves of 14 to 22 feet, and the seawall in several areas of New York City is only 9 feet high.

If there are major power and internet outages because of this storm, please don't think we're slacking. I'll be back when the storm repercussions are over, and updating our results as we go. Wouldn't it be an amazing and surreal thing if the power goes off and we have $7000, and when it comes back on, we've topped the goal and I miss it? Only time will tell.

Thank you so much, everyone, and please stay safe and dry out there.

All my best,

Eden

following is an inexcusable "bathroom mirror shot", but I like showing that you can dress these pieces up or down. I didn't have Matthew Powell, our brilliant photographer, on hand to take a better picture, so mea culpa.

86% Funded, New Stores and Stretch Goals!

Hi everyone,

I hope all of you in the Northeast are battening down the hatches in prep for the crazy storm headed our way! I'm trying to think what I can do offline to work on Cabiria if the power goes out. I know it's a little geeky, but I love patternmaking and textile development, so if there's no internet, I might play with Illustrator and Photoshoot to work on new textile artwork for a future printing. If there's no power at all, I might work on some new patterns for Fall/Winter and keep moving forward. I don't sit still well.

We're on Day 5, and we're 86% funded! Thank you so much! There's been activity on the networking front; I went to a great event put on by The Big Girl Blog, and met some wonderfully positive, effusive plus size women, then got and email from Gussied Up, a new plus size boutique in Toronto, and another from Bombshell Boutique in St. Paul, MN interested in potentially carrying the line in their stores. So exciting to possibly have things in brick and mortar independently owned shops!

Several people have pointed out that with the campaign doing so well, I should put out some Stretch Goals. Things that can make Cabiria really fly. I've come up with quite a few, but keep in mind this is not an aggregate total - this is the cost of EACH THING, and they are pretty conservative estimates.:

With $900 I can buy the most amazing Bemberg lining that's in limited supply, but could become a signature look for the company, especially as a finishing trim or full lining.
With $1000 I can buy ad space in Plus Model Magazine, Skorch Magazine, DailyVenusDiva, Just As Beautiful, and a few other plus size fashion online magazines to promote pre-sales and encourage retailer and direct customer interest.
With $1250 I can work with The Apparel Agency or Indie Design Association to streamline production delivery and make sure it's all done according to industry expectations.
With $1750 per location, I can do a trunk show with models and refreshments at a plus size boutique interested in doing pre-sales, for instance in New Orleans, St. Paul, Toronto, and Chicago. (this pays for flight, meals, hotel, car, models, refreshments, signage, gear, etc.)
With $4000 I can pay the models, photographer, locations, makeup artist, hair stylist, and additional crew to shoot a Fall/Winter photoshoot, and for digital photo cleanup.
With $6000 I can hire a part time assistant during the production and delivery cycle.
With $7000 I can expand the product development and include sizes 24 - 30. With $8000 I can rent booth space and show at Women's Wear in Nevada (WWIN)or Pool/Magic Expo trade shows which could potentially get us into large department stores and boost us to the next level.
With $9000 I can have 500 yards of custom printed silk jersey made so there would be no sold out fabric patterns (well, per design) ever again.
With $15,000 I can develop the Fall/Winter 2013/14, and purchase fabrics for production of the second season.

That's only $65,550. We can pull that off, easy! Right? Am I right?

the amazing Bemberg lining I've wanted for ages. I know what shelf it's on and how many yards are waiting for me, quivering with anticipation.:

Every step costs money, and every step is one closer towards making Cabiria something that thrives on it's own. Thank you for believing in this project and pushing it out of the nest.

-Eden

More great news (69% funded!) and an explanation for some critics

Hi friends,

Today was another great day for Cabiria's Kickstarter campaign moving ahead. We're 69% funded on Day 4! Thank you! First thing this morning I met with a lawyer from the Fashion Law Institute Clinic from Fordham University. Yes, there is something as specific as a Fashion Lawyer. Although the woman who runs the program is smartly dressed, it's regarding the specific laws around contracture for sales, licensing, labeling laws, indemnity, delivery, as well as intellectual property protection and trademarks, etc. for a business where garments are knocked off all the time, and designs are difficult to protect.

This may sound cutthroat and not in the spirit of starting a creative project, but as an artist it's also important to think like a businesswoman. Upshot is that I got some great pointers and referrals. Yay!

here I am heading out to a networking event last night in Flaminia in Black Cherries. Tiny Empire State Building in the hazy background.

Afterwards, I found out that we'd been mentioned by The Brickhouse of Style and Skorch Magazine on their social media platforms, and the store Wells & Verne in Portland, OR and Nina Blakemore in London, UK are interested in carrying Cabiria as well! We're international, baby. (hey - the new James Bond is coming out. I can't resist a little Austin Powers impression.)

Then off to the patternmaker, Michael Bevins at 4 Seasons Fashion, right down the street from swag provider Gregory's Coffee to do some final pattern tweaks before being ready for grading and production.

In the past few days, I've gotten a lot of compliments and kudos from people really seeing the value of this line. But, being in a public forum, I've gotten a few critics on one specific question, and I'd like to address that.

Why don't you make higher than a size 24?
The implication in this question - actually it's been outright stated - is that I am becoming part of the problem that excludes plus size consumers greater than a size 24. Since I stop at a size 24, I suppose it's a valid accusation. However, it's unfair to lay the ills of an entire industry at the feet of one small designer simply because I'm accessible with a face and an email address. Succinctly, it becomes a financial decision that I had to make to have any solvency ever.

It took me 2 years to get this project up on Kickstarter, after years of just mulling it over in my head. I worked several jobs, didn't go out and play too much, and saved my money in order to pay for the development and initial launch of the line. I called in a lot of favors, but some things are still costly and set as a fee, such as use of people's factories or services. They in turn have spent money to keep their doors open, much in the same way that many of the indie boutiques Cabiria wants to be in are self financed and run with a very narrow margin of error.

Pattern development and fittings cost money. Each size that you add to a line adds development and grading costs to the line, which is why numbered sizes tend to fit truer than 1x, 2x, 3x, etc. But it's money, which I'm on Kickstarter to help supply.

a long article on grading and pricing

a long article on what's involved in developing a line with a patternmaker and samplemaker

Also, most brick and mortar plus size boutiques carry up to a 24. Yes, it perpetrates a difficult cycle, but why should a tiny business absorb more risk on top of all the inherent risks already in place? Again, I have a face so I am on the block, but there are LOTS of people with more money than I have who can take the financial risks and change the system. For instance, Marc Jacobs talking about having a plus line, but where is it? And Oscar de la Renta making "plus size" up to a 16. And Ralph Lauren saying they're using the first "plus size model (she's a 12)", when I clearly remember Guess? using Anna Nicole Smith at a size 16 in the 1980s and my dad showing it to me. Just three off the top of my head with much deeper pockets and false promises to the plus community.

I am one woman doing what I can within parameters that will allow slow and steady growth and survival. I am also very proud of trying to forge a path with a very unique line in beautiful fabrics and fabrications, and that's why I'm on Kickstarter.

All the best, Eden

Below are first fitting muslins for a master pattern, taken in 2010, when I first started working on this project.

Another Crazy Day of Goodness! (64% funded!)

Today was day 3 of the campaign. We are 64% funded, and gaining traction in the world outside my friends and family. Don't get me wrong, my friends and family are STUPENDOUS, but you can't build groundswell in a closed environment. What this means is that word is getting out in the Kickstarter world, Plus Size blogging world, people who want more fashion options, and people who believe in loving yourself and the body you're in today, and dressing well within it. I like this world!

Today has also brought some amazing attention. Marie Denee of The Curvy Fashionista, Gwen DeVoe of Full Figured Fashion Week, CeCe Olisa of The Big Girl Blog, and Patrice Grell Yursik of AfroBella Blog all shared word on their various social media platforms. Diana Rajchel of FatChic did an additional article about the Kickstarter campaign and featured the pitch video on her blog this evening, and I have a meeting with Aimee Cheshire of Madison Plus to show her the samples next week.

In the most fulsome press report to date, the blog Manolo For the Big Girl wrote an astoundingly great piece on Cabiria and on the Kickstarter push and I'm really honored that it's so good and, well, out there. I really felt like this was a writer got the message, and that's a thrill.

What an amazing adventure this is - scary because it's a whole new world of information and a very real deadline with real consequences, but thrilling because we should all be so lucky to learn so much and be supported by so many.

More posts coming soon! In the meantime I leave you with a photo from Cabiria's studio/ Kickstarter HQ. I'm sure they do it exactly the same way at PBS...

-Eden