I remember drooling over the 1999 SEGD award winning 45,000 sq. ft. Sony Playstation booth design by Mauk Design for the E3 event. The design I believe is still one of the best even 10 years later. It was groundbreaking, impactful, surprising, and delivered the message that Sony was its industry’s most innovative company.

Now, what about E3 today? To those that are unaware of E3, it used to be the ultimate video game conference. Think of it like the Saloni Milano for furniture industry or the Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week for the fashion industry. Gaming companies used to spend a ton, to debut titles, creating the most exciting buzz while gamers walk the floor with gleeful eyes, fighting to test out the latest games. Well for those who have attended the past few E3’s, most will say that they are highly disappointed and that the show is dying; with nothing innovative, nothing surprising, nothing new.

Don’t get me wrong. I love attending trade shows and have nothing against trade shows. We’ve made wonderful partnerships with clients, fans and peers through trade shows. In the last few years, my company has been fortunate to do as many as 8 shows per year; some local and some international. I’ve enjoyed them all. Some were worth the investment and time, and some were just disappointing misses. Certain shows still have the pizzazz, attracting record-breaking visitors and exhibitors alike. But most shows are your same old “trade show”. Of course, show management will always try to convince or sell you that they are “THE” show to do. After all it’s a business. But despite economic down turn and low turn outs, booth fees keep increasing and now range from $40.00- $70.00 per sq.ft!!

Now with the recent Apple stunt, I have to pause for a moment and try to understand why. Maybe trade shows are NOT dying, but the way in which business is done today has changed. And the conventional ways of doing business no longer apply. With Web 2.0, most new product announcements are now done on the Internet/ blogs. With consumers increasing their demands on transparencies, buyers are now forced to do their research in advance way before attending a show and may not even attend because of that.

Either way, the most important thing is to accept the fact that time has changed. The conventional trade show formula may have worked for many businesses 10 or 20 years ago but main street has evolved. There is no one right method, but without exploring new ideas we may fall behind times in tackling the ever changing demanding consumers.

Design for Social Change

On a personal note, I would rather be contributing my design services to social causes that I believe in, than to haggle pennies with for-profit businesses and clients.

The Brand Bubble

It all started with a leisurely afternoon reading of my favorite magazines; FORTUNE. Flipping through the pages, reading about businesses, ventures, fashion moguls, hedge fund gurus, and then suddenly, this September 1st 2008 issue on page 75 got me, how do I put it… “disturbed”.

It was an article on Prada. It talked about how Prada unlike many fashion labels, is still very much family owned, and that it desperately needed to go publicly listed in order to compete, expand and pay down debt. Here I go reading how this company’s net profit had risen 66% to $187 million in 2007, sales had grown 17% to $2.5 billion, and how it is worth billions. Then suddenly, on the last page of this long 5-page article, it stated that the Prada family is responsible for the $956 million debt – mostly accrued through numerous failed acquisition sprees…

Now, as a consumer and an entrepreneur, I started asking myself, how does this work? How can a company be in this much debt, still have increasing net profits, but need to go publicly listed to get money from investors to pay off debt and expand? Am I missing something?

Then off I go, embarking on this mission, picking the brains of every MBA person I meet, colleagues, engineers, entrepreneurs, and still no one really knows how to explain this to me. Most answers I got were that “Prada is a BRAND”, or “It’s called goodwill Mel.”

But with the whole Wall Street melt-down alongside failed CMBS (commercial mortgage-backed securities), it made me question if the same “model” or “rule” had been applied there as well? Making us believe that something is worth MORE than it actually is? Where stock prices are driven high based on intangible values and future earnings based on these “fake” securities and “assets”.

Then, one smart creative VP, told me about this book called “The Brand Bubble”, by John Gerzema and Ed Lebar. (I knew somehow, someone out there would be able to point me to the right direction!!)

Within the first chapter, it had answered most of my questions, about branding, intangible values, future earnings. I do not wish to give away the content of the book, and I highly recommend this to anyone building a business or helping others in branding & marketing.
This book basically explains how brands that are built on trust, reassurance and simplification of choice are no longer positioned for long-term success.

The Brand Bubble is a must read. Also check out their wonderful blog.

My first experience of a recession was when I was 6 years old in the early 80’s. All I remember was my family going bankrupt and having to shut down their retail business. I barely remember my dad selling my sister’s piano and both my father and mother working hard all the time.

But when the Asian Economic Crisis (IMF Crisis) hit in 1997, I was much older. And I remember clearly. I was a freshman, and had just moved to the U.S. The crisis started with the financial collapse of the Thai Baht (Thai currency). Thailand went bankrupt within weeks. Then neighboring countries were chipping in, trying to fend the ASEAN economy. The next thing you know, the entire economy of Asia was in deep recession.

My frustration then was not so much about being broke and stranded in a foreign country, but that NONE of my American friends or professors were even aware about this crisis let alone about the social repercussion of this crisis – violent civil wars in Indonesia. (Which I will not get into as it was too depressing.) On a personal level, I just didn‘t know how to tell my “friends” why I couldn’t hang out, that I could not attend school trips, or eat out. I was busy working 4 jobs and attending school fulltime; data entry, 2 teaching assistant gigs and full time as a designer in an architecture firm. My money went straight to tuition and rent. I barely ate. Ramen was my savior. I slept 4 hours per day for 4 years straight. My college administration showed the same ignorance as “my friends” did. When they threatened to take away my scholarships, I almost died. Administration argued I was taking too long to graduate!! I begged, cried and petitioned to have them continue my scholarships.

Of course, when a crisis hits a person or business, most would recommend asking friends or family for support, or better yet, get a loan! Even Donny Deutch from the BIG IDEA gave similar advice to entrepreneurs facing bankruptcy during his recent show. Ask for family or friends for money OR establish a good relationship with your banker, or go to your community bank.

But what if none of these ideas were an option? Back then, student loans for international students were non-existent. How was it possible for me to ask friends for money when I barely knew anyone here? How can I ask for family or friends support when all of Southeast Asia market crashed? With their currency worth so little, the exchange rate to the U.S. would be horrendous. They would have to pay 4 times more to let me stay in the U.S., to attend a private school. My problems seemed miniscule when back home families were losing homes and jumping off buildings due to the loss of 30 years of hard earned savings.

To me, getting my degree at some fancy private art school almost didn’t matter anymore compared to the survivals of these families. I had 2 easy choices; to return home, or to stay in the U.S. and fend myself. I chose to stay, as I truly believed in the American Dream then…and NOW.

At times like this, egos should not come in the way of survival. “Survive today, live tomorrow”, a mantra I came up with during my early days in the U.S. My dreams may have been shaken, but don’t take me as a negative person. I have learned so much from my hardships. I am sure many fellow Americans are going through the same ordeal with this latest U.S. crisis. Many will have to rethink their lifestyles and tighten up their purse strings. Others will have to sell off their luxury. I have learnt that the route getting to my destination may NOT be the one I like best, but it will buy me another day for my come back. Working hard may not be the only method to success I realized, but I have also learnt to work smarter. I am sure some of us have grand parents who had survived the Great Depression or WWII. I remember my godmother used to share stories of her hiding out during the Japanese invasion in Malaysia and how her family learnt new tricks smuggling potatoes to feed themselves and the neighbors. Like the old saying goes, “When there’s a will, there’s always a way.”

As creatives, we are drawn to the field of design because we want to be part of something big, to make an impact; to contribute to the betterment of the human experience. But we also have to understand global politics, sciences and markets, human-interaction and social developments. How are we to achieve all that as designers when we cannot even admit that our neighbor’s problem is also OUR problem? And that our own greed can cause pain on others. How can we ignore the importance of world partnership?

BACE blog was started with ONE main goal, to aspire to a help forum and assist other designers and small business owners. We have had many criticisms from friends and peers alike for sharing too much information on “trade” knowledge to strangers. But understand this. My husband and I believe that knowledge is meant to be shared. There is no recession proofing a person’s dream. But there are ways to gain and share knowledge so that we are all better equipped with our decision-making.

Note: I have several recommendations. As an avid CNN watcher, Fareed Zakaria of CNN/GPS has the most interesting views on global politics and finance. Read the NY Times, Businessweek and Newsweek. The Dragon’s Den on BBC channel gives a great understanding on small business and truth on investing. By understanding how China changes it trade policies or how India expands it’s education systems or Japan importing luxury goods from Italy, you will begin to see how every bit of that, DO affect your daily life! We are all connected.

We also understand that the gift industry is very different from the fashion industry. At gift shows, most products are EVERYDAY products. Which means, retailers would generally want them in 2 weeks. If you sell seasonal products, ie, holiday items, some would say deliver 2 months before the holiday season starts. That allows you more time to accumulate your orders. Nonetheless, retailers would sometimes wait up to 6 weeks especially after a trade show knowing that most vendors will be extremely busy stocking and shipping orders. Anything longer than 6 weeks, we find that retailers may forget that they have even placed an order!

If your products are MTO, you will have more time to produce them since retailers know they are getting limited edition, unique items, customized for them. If your products are stocked, be prepared to ship immediately. Nonetheless, most retailers have their own ship dates and cancel dates. If you cannot meet their requirements most will reject your shipment even if it’s only a day late!

As for the fashion industry, we are not too familiar, since it’s not our field, but from trade shows we’ve attended and friends that we know, we believe they usually sell 2-3 seasons ahead. Vendors take orders based on scheduled deadlines set by their own factories. They will tell retailers that all orders have to be placed by a certain date if not they won’t be able to get the collection at all. This way the designer can give the factory a set number of pieces to produce. They also advise retailers of the approximate delivery dates. It all depends on how strict the vendors are with their own factories. In addition, since most clothing factories are based overseas, there are a lot of quality control issues, import and export regulations that usually result in longer lead time.

Firstly, there are 2 types of reps. One is an independent rep, that goes door-to-door to get your sales. They usually cover a smaller area/region because, after all, it’s only ONE person. They usually do NOT do trade shows or have a showroom for that matter. They may once in a while throw a trunk show or exhibit at a trade show, if they have enough lines to contribute and cover their trade show expenses. Independent reps if you find good ones, are a really hardworking bunch. They travel consistently, actively calling buyers, chasing down clients for money for you, and all they get is a puny little commission, which we will talk about some more in a bit.

The other is a rep group. A rep group usually has around 15-40 reps working for them to cover larger territories, hence bringing in more clients when they have shows at their showroom. Their showrooms are usually at the Gift Mart in corresponding cities, i.e. The Market Center in SF, The LA Gift Mart in LA, The Chicago Mart, etc. Your line is showcased all year round. They will usually have shows at their showroom during the gift shows and sometimes they also participate in the gift show itself by having a booth to maximize their presence. Sometimes the independent reps belong to these larger rep groups.

Most of these reps are commission only basis. Which is great for startups with no resource to hire a sales team. If you have done a trade show before, you will probably have been approached by reps. Questions you should ask before deciding; how many lines do they carry? What kind of accounts do they have? Who are they carrying? What kind of shows do they do? If they have a showroom, how big is the showroom? How often do they have shows there? Do they attend and exhibit at gift shows as well? How many reps do they have? And ask for references! Call up some of their lines and see if they like them. The first rule of thumb is to join a rep that carries lines that are at par with your price points and your clientele. You want to be in good company.

And of course, the bottom line is what is their commission rate and how much will they be charging you for their showroom fees. And if they do participate in trade shows, how much is your participation fee? The gift industry rep commissions range from 15% - 20%, with fashion industry 10%. Showroom fees range from $50 per month up to $200 per month. That is in addition to the sales commission. Most reps do not get paid their commissions until you get paid by the buyer. Hence, some will go all out to be your debt collector when needed.

Now, here is the dilemma. You then ask yourself, can I afford to lose up to 20% off my wholesale pricing, and pay for showroom fees? (Read our article on how to price items.) SALES are #1 to any product/manufacturing business. Having sales reps is just one of your MANY sales strategies. Be it you doing trade shows on your own, hiring your own sales team, or having your family/ friends help you, or doing e-commerce. It may sound costly but you also have to weigh in that sometimes reps can get you into accounts that you may have missed at trade shows. Reps may follow up with stores more consistently than you can. They can get you the exposure you can’t achieve through trade shows or press.

And of course the downside of having reps would be you also having to pay them commissions on sales you bring in yourself. Most rep agreements are territorial based. Which means, if you do a trade show in NY, your Midwest reps will get commissions on sales from stores in the Midwest, that you have landed yourself at the show, even though you have just spent $10k doing a show. On top of that, you may question, why am I paying for showroom fees just to be cramped in with all the other lines. How come my reps aren’t bringing in as much sales as I thought they would? How come this buyer whom would normally spend $2k with me at a show, now ordering through my rep only order $90.00? Why am I cutting my reps all these commissions for work I have done entirely myself?

On the rep side, you have to also understand the agent’s point of view. First, if they carry ONLY your line, they would make pennies. A 15% of a $500 order only gives them $75, but it takes them days or even weeks to set up the appointment, phone calls after phone calls, and then finally when the buyer agrees, your rep lugs all your samples to the store, deal with the buyer, who may or may NOT be a nice buyer, spend up to 4 hours literally trying to convince or “begging” them to buy your line, to have faith in your products. What about cab OR gas money to get to the store, parking. And all that for $75?
This is why reps must carry so many lines!

And when you pay for fees to participate at a show, your rep is doing the setup, the networking, the mail outs, the shipping costs to the show, the booth fees, electricity, everything for a small fee.

Over the years, we have seen frustrations from all parties involved. We have always appreciated our reps. When things have not worked out, we’ve parted ways acknowledging that we can no longer benefit each other. Both parties agreed that the bottom line is for all of us to make money. We have also come to understand that WE are our best sales reps. You cannot depend solely on your reps to bring in sales for you. In reverse, if you do depend on them too much, you may find it hard to break free when you finally need to. You have to have many other sales strategies lined up as each yields different results. Your strategies have to be in line with your brand and goals. Do you want to be in thousands of stores? Or do you want to be in a selected few that represents your brand the way you envision? Is your target mass-market or high end?

I once read that it’s not about the quantity of stores that you get into. It’s about the quality of orders and the type of stores. It’s about your short and long term goals. If your end goal is to be in Le Bon Marché in Paris, or Liberty in UK or Bergdorf in NY, you don’t need your reps to get you there. You need YOU.

For small businesses or startups, budget for a publicist or a pr firm is almost non-existent. Over the years, many have approached us, pitching they can get us into magazines, TV shows, celebrity clientele and of course the big O. Sounds all so exciting until we hear the retainer fees and discover the no-guarantee contracts. Nonetheless, we believe there are excellent publicists and pr firms out there. We are not implying that their services have no value. Actually, as your business grows, having a publicist/ pr firm may help grow your brand image as they usually have abundance of new ideas and established contacts. These people are gurus in trends, constantly searching for the next hottest gigs and certainly can offer you fresh ideas that can launch you to the next level.

But let’s just say, we have ZERO budget but still want to get some press, what do we do?

To start with, we think there are 2 types of press coverage. One is a product feature and one is an editorial/special feature on the designer, so determine what type of press you’d like. Product features are what you normally see in fashion magazines, with the product shot, pricing info, a simple description and a website or store location as to where to buy that product.

An editorial piece is more elaborate. It may or may not contain your products, but it features you, the designer or small business owner, your background, how you’ve launched your line, what made you “special,” what you are doing now, what you are planning to do in the future etc. The feature may be from one page up to four pages, with images of your products, or things that inspire you, and have course YOU! This applies to both print and TV.

What should my press kit contain?
Your press kit should represent you, your brand and your products. It could contain:
1) A cover letter or a hand written note
2) A short bio of you & company history
3) Photos/samples of your products along with description/information
4) If you have press releases, include a few
5) List some of the stores carrying your products
6) List some of the celebrities who have BOUGHT your products (taboo topic!)
7) And of course list WHY your product is so unique!

All these MUST be packaged up nicely with your company logo. PRESENTATION IS IMPORTANT.

You can also include a self-return postage label if you want samples to be returned. Of course don’t forget your business card with email and contact information and WEBSITE. A web address is essential. If your products are selected, most editors would list your websites especially if you have e-commerce. If not, they will ask for a couple of COOL stores to list.

So what happens after you send your press kits? Wait patiently! Understand that editors receive TONS of press kits everyday. It may take them 2 weeks up to 6 months before you get that special phone call or email. So don’t be to quick to give up. Allow them time to go through your line. Call them if you truly can’t wait. Maybe 2 weeks after your delivery date.

Do I need to include photos of myself?
Not necessary unless you are targeting an editorial coverage. And if an editor requests a photo of you, don’t panic and go out and hire a professional photographer. Send the best picture your significant other or friend can take – it must be what you think is YOU. You don’t have to send sexy, poser photos. And DO NOT use photos from high school, or when you looked your best years ago! Just be you and disclose all. Editors will easily drop you last minute from their publication if you try to pull a fast one. A good story of mine is that I once sent a photo of myself in front of a plate of a huge burger and chilidog with fries. I was nervous at first, but it was the most recent photo Joe took of me on our Bahamas cruise. And since my line is inspired by FOOD, it made sense to me! So off I went emailing that photo to the editor and voila. I got in! Most publications will then send their own photographer, stylist and makeup artist to make you look spectacular!

What if the publication does not have the budget to send their entourage of beauty pros but still want an amazing photo of you? When that happens, you then weigh in on hiring a professional photographer.

When to send press kits?
Deadlines for publications range from 2-6 months in advance. For instance, if you want to be in their HOLIDAY features, send your press kits by May.

How to get the names and listings of editors?
Simply pick up the magazine. You don’t even have to buy them. Go to your local bookstore, sit down and write down all the names! Most magazines have a page listing all the different editors. Look closely at the magazine; for instance, if they have a page featuring the hottest products, there is usually a listed editor that handled that feature. That is the editor you want to send your stuff to. Also note that magazines change editors ALL the time. So you may want to call up to confirm.

If you have a small budget to spare, another place to look for the list is http://www.mastheads.org.

What other press can I approach?
Blogs and design publications.

Taboo topics
A few taboo matters that relate to press I’d like to point out.
Firstly, a LOT of the FASHION magazines out there will ONLY feature you or your products if you have celebrity clientele. Don’t ask me why that is, but I am guessing, celebrity product placement is a huge industry out there. I am always torn with that angle, because we have celebrity clientele that actually BOUGHT our products, and we also have celebrity clientele that demanded free products from us. Of course we usually say NO to the latter, unless it’s for charity or a good cause. We believe celebrities do not deserve handouts as they can surely afford a $6.00 greeting card! On the other hand, some magazines really do not care about all that celebrity mumbo jumbo, but focus purely on GOOD design and innovation.

The other taboo subject, should press be given free samples?
Some of us may send free samples to press because we WANT to, on our own discretion. It’s part of our press kits. Once an editor calls you back to request for more samples, most of them will provide you with their FEDEX/UPS account # and return our samples when they are done with their photo shoots. Once in a while we get bloggers or journalists asking for samples to do reviews. WE usually stay away from them. Many of the bloggers we have dealt with, would normally ask for photos only. Some will meet you at trade shows if they want to “review” your products. But rarely do they request FREE samples. You send them samples because you want to. Feel free to ask who is paying for the shipping costs and if you are getting your samples back. The professional ones will always agree to cover shipping and return samples.

Another taboo subject is about age and appearance. Depending on the type of magazine and their demographics, some editors are looking to feature designers who are under a certain age group with a certain “look.” I think it’s safe to say we all live in a superficial world where we know of many “celebrity designer” who are NOT even that fabulous (not naming names here!) but they are featured everywhere, simply because they look HOT and they appeal to the right audience.

My time is spent mostly on my business and family. I refuse to believe that my weight, my ethnicity and where I was born would be deterring factors from getting featured! So a BIG THANKS to those magazines and bloggers who have featured my products and me in the past. If they can feature a 5’7”, 150lbs, Malaysian born Chinese woman, FOB (FRESH OF THE BOAT) designer, who speaks with thick Chinese accent, they have no problem featuring everyone else!
So, GO GET THEM PEOPLE!! Get your press kits together and good luck to you all! – Mel Lim ☺

Down the road, maybe for your 3rd or 4th collection, you can start mixing in some other styles, to show versatility and variety, but still keep to the core concept of brand. A friend sought for the same advice in the past, when she came up with an entirely new look for her 2nd collection. My question to her was, do you think people will recognize this product is from you? From your company? If not, then how do you make it recognizable? What element did you use in the past that was successful? Was it your color scheme? Was it your theme? Was it your materials? What was it that made it “you”?

With those questions in mind, she carefully edited her design palette and launched her 2nd collection successfully. The market understood what she was about, and recognized certain elements of her design that were from her first collection. With that move, she claimed those elements hers. They were her BRAND.

The other option is, if you really want to have 2 completely different styles when you debut and money is NOT an issue, DO IT! Why not. One collection maybe more successful than the other and you can always ditch the less successful one.

Tiny Ginger Showroom

Recently, our NY agent Tiny Ginger held a trunk show for us along with some of our friends. WE HAD A BLAST! We invited some of our wonderful friends from Patisserie Co., Origami Bijou and Fablelore to join us for our 2nd trunk show in NY.

Held at Tiny Ginger’s brand new showroom, we managed to pull many fans, press and buyers to celebrate Ginger’s new space. Holding a trunk show is a great way to sell off-season inventory and mingle with fans. My highlight was of course, just hanging out with other ethical, respected, women-designer entrepreneurs and pick each other’s brain on sales strategies, manufacturing problems and trade shows!

Origami Bijou on display

Fans were so awed by Cindy Ng’s Origami Bijou collection. They all loved her CRANE silver necklace.

Patisserie Co. assorted cards on display

Everyone loved the cards from Heejo Chen, owner/designer of Patisserie Co. They were perfect for the summer cocktails and party events!