fan mail #1

[fan mail #1]:

Hi! How is it going? When will your website be ready? I keep checking but it's always under construction.


[f&f replies]:

It's going well! Thanks for asking ! We have some fabulous news to announce very soon!!

haha… of course the website will *always* be under construction. Primarily because I have nothing to put on it (I cannot release the photos from my Spring/Summer 09 collection until just a before the styles arrive in stores for sale (End of February 2009). Also, I am the only person that works here (the cats, all they do is meow and snuggle). Right now, I am really focused on finalizing my Xmas 08 designs which will be available exclusively at the Portobello West Holiday Market on Dec 13&14, and starting on my Fall 09 designs. As well, I have taken on a side project, working with the YACN group in Vancouver to design a hat.

A lot of my “design” time is spent on trend and market research and materials sourcing as well (and let me tell you, materials sourcing is the hardest part, as there isn’t many eco-fabrics available to small designers – and when all the small designers use the same fabrics, it … is not very good – though always interesting to see what each other created with the fabric, but our buyers will not carry multiple lines with the same fabric.).

A good chunk of my time lately has been spent on preparing my sales kit, and cold calling potential buyers. Since I have only been in Vancouver for a little over a year, there are many stores and neighbourhoods I am not familiar with. I do store visits to see if the stores share the same target market and ambience as my brand, and also see if my label will fit in with their current collection. If it feels like a good match, I will contact the buyer to see if there is any interest. This brings us back to the topic of the website – yes, there more to the current website (www.floraandfauna.ca), but it is currently hidden, because it is for buyers’ viewing purposes only. (If you are a buyer, and would like to view our Spring-Summer 2009 Lookbook – please contact me at pauline@floraandfauna.ca with a little bit of information about your store.)

The reason why this portion of the website cannot yet be released to the public is: a) to ensure the styles look new when they arrive in stores, and b) to avoid blatant plagiarism (as a small designer, there isn’t much else you can do to keep your designs and even graphic designs from being copied exactly-exactly. Large fashion corporations will be able to do this for much cheaper than you, and have it in stores earlier as well! – If you know some of the employers I had previously, you will know exactly what I mean, and how I feel about that.). Also on the topic of website design, I am reluctant to disclose that I am the sole designer of my website, with minimal experience in this area – so yeah, there definitely is a bit of a learning curve, but I love the challenge, and the sense of achievement when it finally “works”. YAY!!

More on the other roles of a entrepreneur in a post to follow… maybe. If I have time. ;p

pajammy-whammy wednesday


i can't even begin to describe how much i love working in my polar bear pj's. i've decided to declare every wednesday pajamma day here at the flora&fauna office! now if only i had a husky to snuggle...

a sneak peek


we've updated our website to give you the tiniest glimpse into our Spring-Summer 2009 collection. The rest remains top secret for the time being (unless if you buy/make me alot of sour apple martinies, then anything goes ;p) check it out here: www.floraandfauna.ca

quick update! + more good news!

we've been really swamped with our photoshoot this past weekend. everything went perfectly!! and i can't wait to share the beautiful photographs to everyone (coming soon!!)! many many thanks to the very talented and patient photographer, michael clifford, our lovely model who braved the cold for hours for the perfect shot, kimiko yoshida, amazing hairstylist hayley arlidge, very lovely make up artist savannah larsen, and our set assistant kyle little.

also, i have some very very VERY good news! We will be showing our Spring/Summer 2009 line at the Eco-fashion show during the annual Sustainability Festival!! details to follow... soon.

we're moving to east vancouver this weekend! weee!

portobello xmas!!

good news good news! i know it's a bit early to think about xmas, but i'm too excited to keep this to myself! - we have been accepted into the xmas portobello west show!! we are happy to be launching our 1st collection there, and will have unique pieces not available anywhere else ^_^

Come check us out and support your local artists! December 13&14, 12-6 @ Rocky Mountaineer Station.