Where do you get your inspiration?"

Over the last few years, I have given a few speeches to high school classes. The inevitable question you hear is, "Where do you get your inspiration?" I wish I could nail down a specific thing that inspires me, but it is not as simple as one thing. Many designers have a specific thing that motivated or inspired them to start. The more difficult thing is maintaining that inspiration.

My first job, right out of college, was with a children's design company. I will never know why they hired me - I was so green to the business. I had assumed that I would work with this company for a few years and then move onto a category that I truly wanted to design. I knew nothing about children's clothing and really didn't like it. Little did I know how important that first job would be. None of the advisors in college advise you to look for a job in the category you want right from the start. My advisors were more concerned with making sure their graduates had ANY job in the fashion industry - a topic for another blog.

Over time, I grew to like children's clothing and then to be inspired. Now, I can say I love designing children's clothing. I can't even imagine working in any other category. (In fact, it would be difficult for me to move to another category based on my skill set and experience - again another blog entry). Inspiration came to me through exposure to the category and hard work.

I have been surrounded by children's clothing and products for years now. If a new idea comes to me, I can immediately apply it to various children's products. Part of the exposure to the category came simply because of my physical work environment. Past clothing lines hung on the walls, fabric swatches hung in the design library, and more. One of my job requirements was to shop the market. Meaning, I was literally paid to shop. I went to the mall and boutiques every two weeks. I got to learn how frequently stores changed their displays, what things were selling, what was discounted, when sales occurred. I not only shopped the children's departments, but others too. Sometimes, categories that were completely unrelated. I would come home with sketches in my notebook of things I had seen or ideas to try.

Another important job requirement was to walk trade shows. It is difficult as a designer to attend retail trade shows because salesmen know why you are there (your tag usually says designer). This is probably the best way to check out the competition before their products hit the retail floors. You can spot which booths are busy and which are not. You can identify trends that are hot. Fabric trade shows is another way to pick up on color and print trends.

Eventually, you get to the point as a designer where you can predict what is coming next. It is in your blood. I can remember when a co-worker/designer and I both showed up at work wearing the exact same shade of lilac top. We had both sensed that color would be important next season and had made personal purchases accordingly.

So, my original inspiration was the need for a job - and to succeed in it. Today, it is so much a part of me, that I can't imagine doing anything else.

Childrens clothing and small objects

It may seem obvious that children should not have small objects. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announces recalls about small toys and objects that are choking hazards for children every year. This only proves there are still many opportunities for children to find small objects and put them in their mouths. This even includes small objects found on clothing.

There are many small objects that can be found on children's clothing. Buttons, ribbon flowers, zipper pulls, snap parts and other attached trims can easily work themselves loose and become a choking hazard. If you are a designer of children's clothing, this is something you must pay attention to.

Any attached trims must be securely attached. There are various methods by which this can be done, so I won't detail them here. The important thing is to test your clothing by sending it to a testing lab or by performing the test yourself. In fact, you should test a pre-production sample, test during production, and test post-production. This may sound like overkill, but I have inspected product and found problems all three times. I have inspected imported (and domestic) goods where the contractors sewed ribbon flowers on with only three stitches or buttons by a couple of hand stitches. These problems were serious enough, I have sent entire production runs for repair.

I call this kind of test a pull test. A testing lab may call it something else. The test is performed by determining the amount of force required to pull a trim off. When I worked on some private label programs the amount force a trim was required to withstand was 10lbs of force for 10 seconds. If you are also involved in a private label program, this information should be included in a quality manual, as it may vary with each company. I don't know where this particular standard came from (probably ASTM), but it seems to be a good guide in my experience. BTW, you can purchase quality standard information from ASTM.

You can perform this test yourself if you purchase a push-pull gauge. The gauge will come with a hook that you can hook around a trim. Apply the force gradually by pulling until you get up to about 10lbs and hold. If the trim is going to come off, it will do it while you are pulling up to 10lbs. After you do this test, make sure to record it on a quality test/audit page for each style.

A retailer should give a quick inspection to clothing before putting them on a sales rack. If you find any loose trims, return it to the manufacturer.

I have never heard of a product recall for loose buttons or trims. That doesn't mean it couldn't happen. So test, test, test.... Better safe than sorry.

Children's Safety and bedding

I thought I would address a few questions I have received on baby blankets and bedding with regards to flammability issues. The CPSC has issued guidelines on crib safety and bedding. I have searched high and low for any more guidelines on bedding and flammability and did not find anything more specific.

I find this curious because the CPSC has such a strong emphasis on sleepwear and flammability. After all, bedding of any kind will be associated with a sleeping activity at some point with infants. In the soft bedding guidelines, it is recommended that all extra bedding materials (small pillows, decorations, toys, extra blankets, etc) be removed from a crib when a child is there. They go so far as to say a baby should wear a sleeper instead of using blankets or sheets.

Customized baby blankets are a hot item. I have seen them in various fabrics and trimmings. The safest approach is to be sure that the fabrics comply with basic flammability guidelines (links found in my previous post). Also, make sure any attached trims are very secure. Don't have any dangling cords, ribbons, or attachments. As an extra precaution, I include a copy of the soft bedding warning in all of my blanket orders. You may wish to add a sticker or slip of paper that states the blanket should be removed from a crib while a baby is sleeping.

I love making baby blankets. It is a fun and very useful item for new moms. Since I am not a lawyer, I can not advise on liability issues. So while the above ideas make good sense, they may not legally protect you in a burn suit. Just do the best you can in making a safe product and provide a caution statement.

Next time: Children and small objects

2019 note - CPSC links have all changed. The information is still there but you will have to search for it.

Recall : Flammability Issues with child's bathrobe

The consumer product safety commission recently issued a recall for children's bathrobes because they are considered highly flammable. The robes were made of 100% cotton terry cloth. Even though a bathrobe is not technically sleepwear, it is a piece of clothing that is connected to sleeping and thus must comply with the Children's Sleepwear standard.

More information can be found on the children's sleepwear standard (read this letter on loungewear too). It took me over an hour to finally find links to these two pieces of information and I read lots of interesting information on other products. If you go to the CPSC site, be sure to click on the Business link for guides and summaries.

Since you can read the government regulations at the links above, I won't repeat much of it here. Suffice it to say, the actual Flammable Fabric Act applies to just about all fabrics and articles of clothing (there are some exceptions). Some fabrics that consistently fail flammability testing include: sheer rayon or silk, rayon chenille, cotton fleeces, and cotton terry cloth. Synthetic fabrics (polyester, nylon, acrylics) or wool fabrics are generally exempt. This is because these fabrics either simply melt or do not hold a flame once the flame source is removed.

If you design childrenswear consisting of any suspect fabric, you should take the time to send either your fabric or clothing to a testing lab. A flammability test can run anywhere from $200-$500, depending on the lab. Small change compared to a burn lawsuit.

Next time I will tackle children's safety and bedding.

2019 note - The links to the recall and the CPSC are no longer good. If you do click through, you will have to search the database for the relevant information. 

Recall : Hooded sweatshirts with drawstrings

Two recent product recalls on children's clothing prompts me to issue a reminder. There are two major safety issues in relation to children's clothing. The first is drawstrings and the second is flammability.

Drawstrings

It never fails. I have seen drawstrings in one form or another on children's clothing each season. The consumer product safety commission (cpsc) recently issued a recall for hooded sweatshirts with drawstrings. The fact that these products made it into a major department store shows multiple failures along the vendor supplier chain. Nearly all products sold in a department store must pass some form of inspection. If this is a private label for Kohl's, then the failure is even greater. A major department store chain usually has a technical designer and quality auditor over every division. A private label garment must be approved by a technical designer, who is responsible that the garment not only fits, but is safe. A quality auditor is supposed to ensure quality standards and compliance during and after manufacturing. Both individuals should KNOW of the safety guidelines on drawstrings which have been in existence since 1996.

Another layer of failure is at the buyer level. A childrenswear buyer should also know the rule and should not even consider an item with a drawstring. I can guarantee Kohl's will either severely reprimand or fire the buyers and technical designers over that division. Not only is this a major financial issue for the company, but an accident waiting to happen.

Most major department stores are so concerned about the drawstring issue, that they have self-imposed their own safety guidelines. In other words, they have banned any type of item that dangles beyond a certain point. Waist ties on dresses can only be so long. Bibs no longer have bias ties. No knots (trims, pom-poms, flowers, etc) on the end of strings. Those large, pretty sashes found on girls special occassion dresses have to be shortened. Hoodies have elastic in the hood hem instead of drawstrings.

Boutique and specialty stores do not understand this safety issue sufficiently, and I still see drawstrings on childrens clothing. If you are a children's designer, be sure to pay attention to safety issues!

Next time: Product recall on children's bathrobes.