Hi everyone!
We’ve been thinking about our plan for 2010. Here is what we are thinking,
First, this is art to us. It’s girlhood. It’s childhood fantasy and imagination. It’s the ability to create, design, and dream. To play make believe with your favorite keepsake in her favorite outfit.
We don’t consider this just a doll clothes business where we are trying to ‘move product’. We’ll leave that to others. I’m not sure people who try to copy us understand the degree to which we are mesmerized by these topics, (the ones in the first paragraph), and how they animate our work. It seems the more popular we get, the more people try to copy our style, but I’m not sure they can copy this aspect of who we are and how we work.
So in 2010 we want to focus on our driving convictions…
Originality…
We believe that in life, as in business, the joy of making something original provides something intangible to your soul. It animates you in ways money cannot. AG’s phrase, follow YOUR inner star, is actually a pretty good slogan on this topic. In 2010 we will strive to design and create with renewed originality. Our contests will strive to foster creativity, design, and original thinking. We want to teach girls how to design and create.
Moving forward we are going to be more careful than ever to clarify and differentiate between inspiration (good), replication (bad), and translation (good). We don’t like it when people copy our designs, or our business model. So we want to make sure we don’t copy other people’s work either.
For our Celebrity Inspired outfits, we are striving to translate today’s hits into the 18 inch doll medium. We are inspired by Hannah Montana’s wardrobe, Hayley William’s Hair, and other teen celebrities looks. We think that’s okay because what we are making doesn’t exist in the 18 inch marketplace.
For our unique Spring and Fall Lines, we are frequently inspired by Abercrombie, Justice, or Delia’s. But we don’t ever want to just replicate mindlessly.
We would hate for any of those celebrity artists (or designers) to say we simply replicated their work. We don’t want to cut and paste our way through life. We believe what you create, (both in clothing design and in the growth and style of our business model), says something about who we are as people. We would LOVE for Hayley Williams, or Hannah Montana’s wardrobe person to see our work and say, “OMG – that’s cool”. We’d HATE it if they said, “Wow, those guys totally copied us”.
Intensity Of Design…
In 2010 we aspire to design intensely. World Class Design. To create works of art. It might just be a tank top, but we will try to make it a masterpiece. We love how Apple as a company has an intense design culture. We want that same culture at Liberty Jane Clothing.
We will continue to focus on bringing new and interesting designs to the 18 inch markeplace. Things you can’t get anywhere else, (until someone copies us). We’ve rejected the idea of simply selling common (mass produced) doll clothes in competition with American Girl, or others. The American Girl ecosystem is amazing, and we are amazed by the passion and love people have for the dolls. We want to add to it.
Giving people the chance to own something rare and beautiful…
Some girls grow up and have just 1 item, or toy, or memory that defines their childhood. We are working to create something ‘rare’ and highly treasured. The kind of childhood keepsake that you still have when you’re 30, or 40, or 50. Maybe it’s just sitting in a box in your garage, but it’s a symbol of your childhood. This is what we aspire to have our brand become. A maker of treasured keepsakes.
In our minds, when we finish an outfit, we are sending artwork to the lucky buyer.
But we don’t believe we have to always charge a high price to achieve ‘keepsake’ status, which is why we’re so excited about our pattern business. And why just selling our outfits at auction for high prices felt incomplete to us. When we publish a pattern, we are publishing a guide for making art. A guide to making a keepsake that has taken us hundreds of hours to refine, and now looks amazing, and is simple for you to make. We are publishing a little lesson on creating beauty.
We are honored that you support our work and hope we get a chance to add meaning to your life in 2010.
Cinnamon and The Liberty Jane Team
