This Week: Delivery, Monday: Photoshoot, Imminently: AW1415 Release!

Hello friends!

My apologies for not posting more frequently, but I've been very busy ushering in the new La Strada per CABIRIA and Cabiria collections, coming out imminently!

Delivery is always frenetic, but that's a very very happy thing.  Here's a few photos from the ironing and finishing area at the factory.

And here's one of our racks getting sorted out for pre-orders.  

Some of our great stockists are Bombshell Boutique in St. Paul, MN, Boutique Larrieux in Milwaukee, WI, HeyGorgeous, Madison Plus Select, and MS.SVG in London, UK.  I get so excited shipping these out!

We are also participating in a Pop-up Shop in Chicago on the weekend of September 5th and 6th run by Stephanie Sack (formerly of Vive la femme) and Lydia of Boutique Larrieux.  It will be held at Ganesha Yoga Chicago ONLY that weekend.  Lucky Chicago folks will get a first peek at much of the new line!

In a VERY few days, we'll be shooting our new lookbook and catalog.  As you know, the La Strada per CABIRIA line is our funkier, less expensive line, and we're including a lot of separates to add to our dresses. The collections are called Via Ostia, after the road to the ancient seaside town of Ostia Antica about 15km from Rome.  In the movie "Nights of Cabiria", this road is where Cabiria and Wanda and their friends live and work, and in real life it's a gorgeous archaeological site.  It's also a part of the Roman city perimeter, and thus has a lot of astounding street art along the way.

We'll be working with the stunning Maxey Greene, the face of our company for 3 seasons now, Chearice Vaughn, whom you may remember from the NYFW show last September, and Connie Andrade, whom I'm thrilled to finally work with after all this time.

Maxey Greene

Chearice Vaughn

Connie Andrade

I can't wait!!!

And then, after all the photos are shot and all the factory items are collected, and everything happens in a moment's time, we anticipate launching the new Via Ostia collection of Cabiria and the Inaugural collection of La Strada per CABIRIA around the first week of September.

Lots more information will be coming soon, so look out!

All the best, 

Eden

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

Store Tour and New Press (Happy Summer Everyone!)

Hello friends,

As summer heats up, we've really been cooking over here at Cabiria HQ! We shipped to the newly opened, newly revamped Re/Dress NYC, we're in the works for a big wholesale order to a vendor you already know and love, and we're working on how to get the Fall/Winter collection produced. So much good stuff!

But this is definitely the biggest news: We are hitting the road for a Store Tour! As a big thank you to all the lovely Upper Midwestern folks who have been selling out Cabiria's dresses at Bombshell Boutique in St. Paul, Vive La Femme in Chicago, and Boutique Larrieux in Milwaukee, I am going to be coming to do 3 in-store events and bringing lots of Cabiria pieces for you to try on and take home with you!

I'll be coming to
Milwaukee, WI to Boutique Laurreiux (315 N. Broadway, Milwaukee, WI 53202) on Thursday, June 20th from noon - 7pm

Chicago, IL to Vive La Femme (2048 N. Damen in Bucktown, Chicago, IL 60647) on Friday, June 21st from 6pm - 8pm

And St. Paul, MN to Bombshell Boutique (794 Grand Ave St. Paul, MN 55105) on Saturday, June 22nd from 4pm - 8pm

I know the shop owners all have fun stuff planned, from giveaways to manicures to cupcakes, so please come out and meet me! I can't wait to show you my dresses and meet you all.

We also have the glorious Michelle Landriault of Affairs Magazine proving to be the best kind of fan. Not only has she now featured us once in her magazine, but she bought another dress and featured us again! And this time, she got StrangeFate Photography on board and did an entire photo shoot to show off how she wears her new Cabiria Sofia in Giant Peony silk dress. Can I just say how much I love this lady? If you click on the "Affairs" link, you'll see her whole photo shoot!



Next we have the lovely Cynthia Schames of fantastic e-commerce site Abbey Post modeling the new Valentina in Blue Splatter that she bought at Curvaceous K on NYC's Lower East Side. She didn't want to take it off, and wore it out of the store! I love that.


And finally, from last month's Madison Plus Select Press Event, we have a photo from Tracey Iglesias's blog Ascending Butterfly, featuring the Flaminia in Tropicalia, the Francesca in Robin's Nest, and the Sofia in Black & Ivory Lace silk jersey. And me!


Please get in touch with the stores closest to you for more details regarding the in-store events, and if you want a store near you to carry Cabiria, let them know! Happy summer everyone, and see you soon!

All the best, Eden

Moving forward, one step at a time

Hello friends!

I'm going to be leaving for Thailand in about a week, so I'll be the errant blogger again. However, I am definitely having patterns and first samples made in Bangkok, and I'm extremely thrilled about that. Finally!

I've also been getting extraordinary tips and guidance from wonderful folks who've been in fashion longer than I have. The talented Michael Bevins has been kind enough to steer me towards his team of patternmakers and production facilities here in New York, and both Carl Goldberg of Cego Custom Shirts and Carelli Costumes have also chipped in brain power and resources. I'm a lucky designer indeed!

I'm still trying to figure out how to format a MailChimp newsletter, which they SAY is easy, but it's not my great skill. If anyone wants to help me with that, I'd be ever so grateful. Let me know!

One other great boon about doing all the samples and patterns now is that I'll be putting together both the Spring/Summer samples and Fall/Winter samples, so there's no lag time. Thinking ahead!

Plus, I get to wear pretty dresses this winter, too, like this one:

Everything is coming together, slowly, slowly, then BOOM! It all happens!

-Eden