BG originals...re-visited

okay - i spoke about BG originals briefly this fall, but then stayed so crazy busy with BG Get Your Fall On that i didn't have much time or energy to put towards it. so....now that i have no spring/summer line and my creative manic-mind has been working in over-drive i have decided to re-visit them again.

what, might you ask IS a BG original? well, here we go.

BG original: o·rig·i·nal, (uh-rij-uh-nl) - noun, proper - a BG original is an article of clothing that is created start to finish by the hands of amy norris and her team of sewing machines. a BG original stems from an idea that has come to mind, and may or may not be the only one in existence. BG originals take time and effort in construction as they are very detail-oriented and therefore cost more than the usual article of BG clothing and also will not be found on most lines due to the amount of time consumption.

how 'bout that fancy pants? :)

with that said - as i create BG originals, i will price them accordingly and place them for sale in my etsy store. here is that link. http://www.etsy.com/shop/browniegoose. these articles are in limited quantity and are made in sizes that just pop out to me at the moment. i try hard not to make them louisa's size so that i can actually give them away...but that is not always the case.

how about one i just finished up this afternoon? well, sure...let's indulge. :)

introducing....the

Lily Ruffler in Chambray Denim & the Adeline top with lace

i personally didn't think the Adeline could get any more feminine, but methinks it did. also, this ruffler pant has been haunting my brain for about a year now, and i am SO happy to finally see it on fabric and i think i lovey! it is just a fun spin off the old-famous BG denim ruffler. likey?

want this? watch my etsy store. it is a 2T and was NOT supposed to fit my child the way it did. i must list today, or else i won't get rid of. hehe.

lucky me, lucky me - look at what i am dripping with....

LITTLE GIRLS!

okay, had such an amazing response to the clementines when i put them up for auction that it knocked my socks off! awesomeness girls.

so - i figured while i had a little more time before the arrival of baby boy BG, i would try and crank a few more out. now - way easier said than done. i have said before these things are time-consuming, and goodness...when you have an assembly line of 8 of them you turn all "carol burnett" and find yourself surrounded by little cheeks, little socks, little shoes, etc. everything is little. :)

with that said - i think what the future of clementine will hold is that when i am feeling up to it, i may whip a few out. she will be a spur of the moment thing to keep my sweet little BG girls with BFFs.

so - on to what to do for the 8 that are done. 4 of these little girls will be put on etsy (browniegoose.etsy.com) for out-right purchase. now, i am brand-spanking-new to the whole seller side of etsy. never done it before...so everyone bare with me. i wish i could say i was not a proficient etsy buyer - but my paypal account shows other-wise. that place is just so awesome. but, i know that i do have some customers that are not on facebook and so this would allow them to have access to them as well. so, the etsy clementines will be listed TONIGHT, meaning saturday night january the 15th. maybe around 7'ish???

for the other 4, i will be putting them on facebook at a set price and will leave comments open until tomorrow night at 7 pm. so - comment on the doll that you would want, i will then at 7 pm go to my old-buddy random.org and pick 4 different numbers. so, if your comment coincides with the number that is picked - you get a clementine. wahoo!

now for pricing. i have been 1-800-scrugglin' on how to price these things. i mean, it has been difficult. so much of my time is put into each and every one that i cannot just let them go. i have a very hard time finding other cloth dolls that are comparable to get an idea of where to set price since they vary from $16 all the way to over $100 on etsy. so, at first i decided to pull out my elementary school math and add up all the bids from the auctions and find the means and medians and see where that landed me. well - it landed me at a price range between $48 and $56 and debated on this for quite some time. then, i sat down and figured out how long it took me to finish a doll from start to finish and added in my regular 'seamstress hourly' of $20 per hour to see where that got me without materials. but, then the old realtor in me came back (she was not all that great to start with, hence why i no longer sell real estate) and really wanted to be able to have comparisons. so - with that said...for now i have come to price her at $38. for the dolls out there on the market - this is where i found the most similar to my dear clementines.

enough talk - now for getting those things up on the web for all to see, comment and hopefully win the lottery!!!!

pretty maids all in a row

and i am back my dearies. as i said...idle time is not my friend. but, with that said...this is not the beginning of a huge new production line. i decided from now on that brownie-goose will be supply when i can, not supply from demand. i think i might can balance things out a bit more that way.

when i came up with BG Get Your Fall On, i touched bases with the vintage side and have been in love ever since. retro and nostalgia have really peaked for me in my styling, sewing and thinking and when i was at a birthday party and a friend brought a little hand-sewn dolly to give to the birthday girl, i almost wet my pants. i had, and i mean HAD to have one. but then, i decided that i needed to make one. i wanted one with my own spin on it. and with that, clementine was born. meet her.

doesn't she give you warm fuzzies? she does to me. i love her.

clementines will not be mass produced.

i repeat, clementines will not be mass produced. in fact, each and every clementine is hand-sewn completely by me. i use the machine to attach her hair and her dress hem, but other than that...she is created by my own two hands. she is very detail-oriented and even has her own number of authenticity sewn onto her back. i have a record of who has what number, and i intend on keeping it this way. this makes her more special to me and to BG.

i am still not sure where to price her be completely honest. i have not been able to find comparables to set pricing. she is time-consuming, and much of that is due to each detail, from her hand-embroidered freckles down to her hand-sewn felt shoes.

i currently have 3 that i am finishing up that will be on the market soon (like in next day or 2). as soon as i am finished, i will put up their photos so you can see each one. i have thought about doing them auction-style on either facebook or ebay. i really, really, really want your feedback here. what do you, as a clementine-wanter, prefer that i do? i currently have more photos of clementines that have been sent off to homes to little girls on facebook if you want an idea of what the differences may be from one to the other...

what a ride

for those new to BG - i tend to be a number girl. at the end of every season i like to tally it all up to see what all i have done in the last few months that would explain why my house is a disaster and covered in thread and serger tails, i cannot hold normal adult conversations without slipping in an inseam measurement or two, why i am overly tired, why my electrical bill is a smidgen higher and why my poor mail-lady and UPS man curse me.

first and foremost....HOLY SHIZZLES!! what a season. BG Get Your Fall On was by far one of the most successful lines thus far. granted, i limited the amount of orders that i did...but the feedback i got and the requests and comments have seriously rocked my house out. i was glad that i limited the amount of orders, but what i failed to take into consideration was that most of the new patterns i debuted this season took a lot more time with the construction and attention to details than previous. so, while my numbers aren't as large as previous seasons...i think i might have spent more time in the sewing room. but, with that being said - i am overly proud to admit that while i tried something new this season and tried my hand at the design side as well by designing over half of my own patterns, me-thinks i did okay. designing patterns for "mass" (what i consider mass while i sit in my sewing room all by self sewing away) production is much harder than i anticipated - but i really, really enjoyed the design aspect and the way that everyone reacted to the new designs.

i am proud to say that while i would be out and about i saw tons of little kiddos rocking out the vintage look with their lola bells. the number of BG adelines that i saw (and sewed) might just be off the chart. i think ole melanie herself would be proud when she saw all the kiddo cuteness going on that was inspired by her song, "brand new key." i am actually listening to it now as i write this and it almost brings chills to my arms. is that weird? i think i hit the nail on the head for what i was going for with this line and seeing all of the positive response to it just makes me giddy. rock on BG, rock on.

so....now for the numbers. the grand total number of items sewn comes in at

323

and for those of you doing math in your head and thinking, wait...she only opened the lottery to 50 people and limited their orders to 4 items - you are right. but, i did a small, select focus group in the beginning to see what patterns and fabrics would be the biggest hit so i could know how to order, and then family and close friends and gifts and such. so, as i said...that really holds no candle to my previous numbers that would creep around 400-700, but there was somewhat of a balance this season so that i could actually see my family sometimes. :)

and, for the breakdown - once again, the adeline rocked the house. my best-seller for the second season in a row. to the girls over at whole grain baby that designed this pattern, you girls are ballin. (katie...i thought you might like that). but here is the breakdown:

adeline - 45
appliqued shirt - 40
ruffle pant - 31
the maggie - 27
denim ruffler - 26
the jill frock - 25
lola bells - 23
boys pant - 19
BG blossom - 19
jane dress - 17
sam skirt - 13
amelia pant - 12
windy day scarf - 6
the chapman - 6
the johnny - 5
the charlie - 5
twirly skirt - 4

phew...right - wait until you see this. the amount of fabric i went through. OFF the charts. all together i sewed my way through 360 yards of fabric. a whopping 47 of those were the lodge podge alone which made it by far the biggest request. bolts, and bolts, and bolts later - goodness!

now for what most people are probably reading for....next season.

for those of you that don't know...baby #2 will be joining BG in february. i have NO clue what it is like to have 2 children in my care and i will honestly say i am a bit nervous. so, in order to welcome baby boy to the BG family - there will be no BG spring line. some of you may have already figured this one out, or some of you may have heard me say it. i made the decision back a few months ago but have kept it sort-of on the down-low. i know that my awesome customers totally understand and will support me in this and i am sorry to disappoint those that were eagerly anticipating more BG. i am going to take the time to be a mom and focus on my family and my new little bundle for a while.

with that said...we all know that i will not shut the sewing room doors completely. i would love to be able to incorporate a way for BG originals to kinda debut. it would be nice to have some extra spending money and an outlet for the small amount of time that i may have to dedicate to my creative side that doesn't like to stay dormant. BUT i am no way guaranteeing anything. as i said...2 kiddos is going to be a huge adjustment for me especially considering how the 3 year old i already have still doesn't sleep. eeks! i doubt i will see the outside of my house until at least may, haha. so - don't give up on BG just yet...i have a lot of fun, new things up my sleeve that i am dying to try out. keep up with me on facebook for updates, info and things of that sort.

so - as i am getting ready to spend some serious family time over the holidays and then some one-on-one time with my sweet little girl that only has 10 weeks left of being an only child i cannot even begin to express my gratitude to all of you for supporting me in this venture. BG has proven to be more than i ever imagined and it amazes me to no end. on that note....off to maternity leave. :)

thank you, thank you, thank you!