To Label or Not to Label

Does clothing make the woman? Do labels make the clothing? No doubt, labels are important. Some people purchase items ONLY because of the label. But, does a label identify a designer or the clothing? How important is it for me to even have a label? That is a question I asked myself for a long time since I began Sew Artsy Creations last year. Having woven labels made to sew into clothing is a big investment of capital for a small start-up business. In the beginning, I didn't know where my business would take me and I decided that defining my name, and creating an identity for my product and business, though very important, was an ever growing process which needed time and much thought. I also had to get to a point where I felt confident that my products were going to be well liked and accepted in the marketplace--something every artist wants, no matter what the product. I had already created a hang-tag of my own which identified my business name but a sewn-in label just seemed like the next step.

So, once I decided to create a label, decided on my business name, designed a business card and product hang tags for my products, I also decided I wanted to invest in woven labels to sew into my products. It seemed like a fairly simple thing -- to have my label attached to my products so that whoever buys my product will know that this little article of clothing was created by someone who cared enough to give it a name---so to speak. However, this turned out to be not such a simple and easy thing to do, at least it wasn't for me. To me it was like developing another whole side of my personality, or trying to determine my "identity", not for me - but for my products. Obviously I was making it much more difficult than it needed to be--of course that is an observation I can make now, in hindsight.

First, I had to decide on a design or logo based on my business name, and whether or not I wanted to design it or have someone else do it. My problem for months was not whether someone else should do it, but what did I want on the label? What was my logo to be? I had no clue. I even went through hours of remorse over my business name!! I spent countless hours going over websites looking at other peoples labels and coming up clueless as to what I wanted for me. Then, one day a friend suggested an idea of using a palette and a needle and thread....It seemed so obvious....Sew Artsy...right? Well I wasn't so sure of that, but then I asked my son, who is very creative, and he came up with almost exactly the same idea, so I decided that perhaps my friends and family were more perceptive than me. Maybe I was just too close to the idea to make it simple. I tended to over complicate things by thinking TOO much...

Anyway that is how I came to design my logo for my label with the help of my friend Terry Albert, who is a fabulous artist in her own right and could easily have designed my label, and my Son, who is also a fantastically creative soul with his own business, Pre-Fab-Pets, who also could have designed a label for me, (and he almost did by sketching down a few ideas). Well, it was enough to get me motivated, and I came home and spent some time with pencil and paper drawing up ideas and playing with fonts, and eventually came up with my label's design.

Here is the first sketch:

My next step was to find a label company I could trust to do a good job--since I was a total novice in this area, I went on line to search. I found my first label manufacturer and started to communicate with them and soon found out (or not so soon) that knowing what I wanted and communicating my ideas to them was a different story. They were mis-interpreting almost everything I wanted in my design and the colors were all wrong, and too many weeks went by of wasted effort. Luckily it did not cost me anything except time. Several weeks or a month to be exact. So I resumed my search. I had little to go on for information because I knew no one in the clothing business, but I trusted my instincts once more.

I decided to check for references and testimonials on websites. These were very important. That is how I came to discover a company in Orlando, Florida, called Clothing Labels 4U. Clothing Labels 4U is owned by Lisa Rosenberg and she has been in business for about ten years with a very impressive list of clients. Their website was extremely well done, organized and very easy to understand. I was impressed with the testimonials from satisfied customers and their gallery of fabulous labels which date back many years was very exciting and inspiring. This to me says a lot. If the customers are happy and the end products are beautiful, that indicates a deep desire on the part of the business to work with the people. Two things I expect in my own business is good service and a great product -- no, a fantastic product!

Lisa mailed me a package of samples right away and I talked to her on the phone. The first time we spoke I knew there was a definite connection. She was right on point with what I needed and definite that she could produce a product I would be happy with. Her personality is one of a person who has patience and experience in dealing with first time customers who don't know anything about the business -- like me. She had an easy way of explaining and helped to walk me through the process with ease. Within the first week I had my first sewn label to review. It was my decision at that point to change the colors around a bit and it meant waiting another week but as Lisa said "Perfection takes time"....that made total sense to me AND the final sew-out production sample was perfect. See here:

What you are seeing is my label front and back. When completed this label will be folded in half and only show the Sew Artsy creations on the front and by lifting the tag, you'll see the care instructions. We are in the "creation" phase as I write this, so this is a very exciting time for me. It feels like I'm giving birth to my business and its products for the first time! In about two weeks I'll be sewing them into my products with any luck. But the hard part for me is done. Now the rest is up
to "Clothing Labels 4U".

Thanks to Lisa and her great team of assistants, I was able to communicate my ideas and needs in a timely and professional manner. They always got back to me immediately and were always available by phone for help or questions. If anyone out there is considering labels for their products I highly recommend Clothing Labels 4U. The one other thing about Lisa's company that is great for the entrepreneur just getting started, there are no set-up fees, low minimums, pricing is very competitive and she now offers woven organic cotton labels and bamboo and hemp. Things that you don't see with everyone. Check out her website and contact them for more information. I will keep you posted when the new labels are in and on the clothes, and a huge THANK YOU to Lisa and the team at Clothing Labels 4U!