Painting time-out

When the business planning is totally overwhelming me like it has the past couple of days I take some time out to paint. It always calms me down and make me forget about everything else for a little while. Take a look at my new 'Illustration' page in the side menu:-)

The metamorphosis of STABEL

So with all the talk about transparency and to be honest about your supply chain these days I wanted to share with you my way into it.

I am producing my first collection in India. Why India? Because there is a school here in Oslo that has collaboration with this Indian supplier and they are helping new designers to get their production up and running. That means that they produce as low quantities as you want and they have a professional video conference system that makes it very easy to communicate and to actually see the samples in detail (because of the high quality video that can zoom in and out on details) before they ship it. In this way we spare a lot of shipping costs (and CO2 emissions) because there is no shipping of samples back and forth. To find production as a new designer is a big challenge - as very few factories want to produce low quantities and if they do, it's super expensive. And to come in with a vision of changing the way the business of fashion work is not easy to say it lightly - there is certain rules you should follow. But I will continue to fight for slower fashion where seasons are faded, quality is put before quantity and innovative and sustainable solutions are the new rule.

I’m still in the process of figuring out how to make this all work and I’m going crazy because I want to do it all at once and I want to be as good as the people that has been in the business for many years. I want to use organic materials and I want to be 100% transparent – but all in it’s right time, when I have more resources.

I realized that I need to pave the path first and find my own way in the right time and it is all in the process of learning, trying, failing, discovering AND enjoying. The challenge lies in taking one step at the time and having patience to build something from nothing and to not lose yourself and your vision in the process. 

I will continue to put out posts about the daily life and challenges of STABELstudio. 

Hopefully you can use my experiences as an entrepreneur and designer for inspiration and learning or just for pure amusement. 

And to kick it off here is an article by one of my biggest inspirations and a sustainable fashion superhero, Bruno Pieters of 'Honest By' :

Does Transparency in the Clothing Supply Chain Matter?

by Bruno Pieters, Honest By, 03/11/13