How I put together my product collections - Step 3

This could be the one design you have created and fallen in love with. It could be the most amazing illustration you have created, or an unbelievable piece of jewellery you have made. It could be that amazing image you have found that has sparked a tonne of ideas. It could have been the breath taking colour palette you spotted while flicking through a magazine, or on a butterfly you saw while visiting the zoo. This is the piece that is used as you "main attraction", you could call it. Regardless you just know you're selling this piece, and building a whole collection around it..

It's the focal point of your whole collection.  For me it's almost like the back bone of where a great collection starts.

The main focus of all my work are my illustrations, which always end up on a cushion. My business really started there. When I started selling my illustrations as prints and not much was happening sales wise, I then popped them onto a cushion and BAM,  I started receiving more orders than I ever dreamed of and it snow balled from there. This was when I knew I could start developing my own collection, of decor items.

Once I have decided what direction I am going as I have taken inspiration from my mood board, and I know what fabric I am using, I know what path I am on and my hero piece is established. An example of one of my hero pieces is the 'Summer Garden' design (above), that I created a couple of years ago. Which I just have to add still sells over and over :)

Once I have this established, it's time to create other pieces around that hero piece to compliment it. In my case, I have a cushion, coordinating print, doorstop, clock, bunting. You can see them in all of my items below. The are completely different products, all have the same design base (hero piece), but are developed a little differently with each product.

It is really important that you create products that compliment, and are not necessarily are repeated. To have the same design over and over again but in a different shapes, could potentially look over done. Each one of my pieces above are certainly all very similar, but each have been tweaked enough so they can be created on another item.

Obviously this will differ for everyone, especially if you're designing fashion or jewellery. But the principles are all the same, and I can not see how you can not go wrong.

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How I put together my product collections - Step 2

In the first step of creating a cohesive collection, I talked about looking for and going wild with finding inspiration. Now that you have you ideas all sorted, laid out on a big inspiration board, it's time to plan the next step.

What is the primary material you work with?

It could be a type of fabric like cotton, leather or felt, or it could be metals, clay, gem stones, taking photographs, or even creating digital products.

It's really important to know every inch and specific detail about the material you use.  The different versions of it, it's composition, and all of the amazing ways it can be used to create your incredible collection. Having a great understanding and a passion for your material will become part of "your story",  and also very prepared when customers ask questions.

In my Tiges and Weince collection, it's primarily all about cotton. But I also use matte card for printing & MDF wood for clocks. I LOVE cotton for it's natural hand feel, it's softness on the skin, it's breathability, it's sturdiness to create decor products from it, it's washability, which is brilliant from a care perspective, and also because it has a low fire danger. This is essential for my brand as my products are predominantly directed towards children's. It also is perfect for printing on, which is vital as my illustration are my entire business.

examples of cottons I use

It is really important that you choose products that you are passionate about, and a base you know you will continue to use as your business grows. It really is lovely if you can be known for the fabrics/materials you use. For example, my customers know I create children's decor & are aware I used 100% cotton. They could become quite confused if they came to my shop for a printed cushions or decor, to find that everything was now being knitted, or I was printing on leather. Consistency is essential.

However sticking with your chosen main materials doesn't mean you can not experiment with anything else, it would be crazy not to! I am also starting to introduce linen into my collection (soon), which is working well as it's another natural fibre.

Having a material that is a dominant factor in your collection is another step closer to it becoming far more cohesive from a visual perspective.

Have you chosen a primary material for your collection? I would love to know what it is :)

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How I put together my product collections - Step 1

I have created product lines for many years now, from children's & women's to wear, to my own art and decor line. Creating cohesive collections is a process that's is relatively simple and with some basic outlined steps, it's actually such an achievable process, you can't go wrong.

Following these steps makes it much easier to promote your product via social media, on your blog, and when pitching your products to blogs, magazines, or PR companies. It's even easier for customers shopping if products are grouped together in a category or design story. Keeping it visually simple is the key.

I have been asked how I put my collections together, which first allow me to just say, that my way not be the text book way so to speak. It has worked for me for years now, and I think keeping it fun and simple has helped.

I use 6 steps when building my collections, which I will break up over the next few posts. here is the first, & for me the most fun......ideas!!

#1 Whats your idea?
This is the fun question. Do you have a theme in mind? What are you inspired about? What makes your heart beat? Are you following a trend or will you create your own?
Grab your magazines and start tearing out all the images that are making your mind go crazy with ideas. Start surfing the net and check out to see what all of your favourites brands are doing, and that includes your competitors. Make sure to see whats on sale also, as that will be a good indicator of whats not working. After a few hours of losing time web surfing, you should start to see some trends emerging.
Another good idea is to hit the streets and see whats happening on the retail floor in your main shopping district, and high end boutiques. Not only does it get you away from the computer, and walking, it's brilliant for seeing products first hand and having the whole sensory experience of see, feel, hear and smell. So much better than a computer screen

It's important to take into consideration are you working a season ahead or further? I try to work 6 months ahead. I say try. The fact I manufacture my products locally (in Australia), I can have a faster turn around, so sometimes I will work a little closer, it depends on my current workload. But I do try to aim to work much further ahead, especially for celebration times like Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Here are a couple of mood boards examples I found online to show some different options.

fashion inspiration - image source

food inspiration - source

This was my ballet inspiration board from a while ago.

Colour inspiration - source

Once you have collected all of your images that are inspiring the pants off you, it's time to get them all on to a mood board. I personally like to print things out and pin them on a cork board, I believe this is the best way to get your ideas out. From images, sketches, yarn colours, fabric and paint swatches, words, photographs, literally anything that makes your heart sing. Or create them digitally on a computer, or via pinterest, it doesn't matter as long as you can see them all the time and you don't lose track of your vision.

The next step I use is sketching which I will discuss next time.

I hope that's has helped? Enjoy finding amazing images for inspiration.

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