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

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

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