Dear blog readers, whoever may pay attention to this page,
I thought I should tell you about the progress of the brand. There has been a good deal of interest sparked in the product since David Jones adopted the brand. It is actually remarkable the power of perception with people. Even though sales are doing well in David Jones, there is not necessarily a huge spike in activity, however, the mere mention that you are in David Jones to someone immediately turns their mind from thinking that you are exploring a hobby, to thinking that you are developing a business. David Jones has the kind of pull which switches peoples perception and that is a wonderful result from their unrivalled marketing.
In May I picked up a new silk supplier in Como. The new supplier, along with my existing contacts, has given me a breadth of range in silks that previously was not available to me. Each of the suppliers has the ability to develop my own designs, which I see as incredibly important to the success of the brand - to create an individual identity and exclusivity which will set Le Noeud Papillon apart from stock silk brands. Furthermore,
although I always wanted to keep production in Australia, there are some things I just can't get made here, such as cravattes, 7 fold ties, corosive printing pochettes, cumerbands and scarves, which might have to be made through these contacts in Como. It is a shame that Australians don't make these things well enough to compete with the European brands and this is something I hope to develop over the medium term with the few remaining workrooms in Sydney.
I was highly impressed the other day when I heard that
MJ BALE was having their YASS WOOL milled in JAPAN. I was just sad that we couldn't even process it here.
It would be lovely to know that you could pick up a bale of wool at the farmgate and have it milled in Sydney. This government, if it ever forms, should foster that industry and make it competitive enough that we can export it to Asia. I would envisage that it's mostly machines that do the work, so I cannot see the reason why we could not be competitive in such an industry. It seems a shame to export the wool to Italy and then buy it back as finished product.
It has been an interesting journey to understand the variety of silks used, which silk works for a cravatte, which for a bow, what silks need an interlining, which shouldn't. How do you get a shape which works? How do you make it easier for the customer to tie his bow whilst developing a product which will still look unique in design. The butterfly shape was turned into a replica of a butterfly on one bow, the Papillon, whereas I then experimented with convex and concave shapes and came up with bows like the Vader and the Moustache. All of which don't necessarily lead to sales but which I hope, that when one wears it, it might just arrest the odd person who gives it a second thought. The question is, why does a bow have to be in the shape of a Batwing or a Butterfly? The answer is, it doesn't have to be. There are all sorts of things to you can do to a bow, from the choice of silk to the cutting of the shape, which can completely alter the look of the wearer or at least give him/her a complete uniqueness. There is something so Andy Warhol Campbells Soup about a tie. So rarely does a tie distract my eye and lead me to think 'Wow'. Whereas with bows I seem to always get excited.
The first range of pochettes will be out next month in David Jones. There are some already in stock at Robert Burton on Queen Street in Woollahra. Robert's store is a bit further up from MJ Bale and Herringbone. Robert is probably the most professional and meticulous of the independent stores I stock with. He was able to decipher exactly which bow worked with which look and when I dropped the first stock I was very happy to know they were in capable hands. I'd suggest anyone who's East of the city to try and pop in. Robert has an interesting range of products including a new range of Dutch bicycles coming soon.
Where to from here? I am hoping to develop a range of cravattes and kerchiefs which should be available in about two weeks. One look which I think would be ultra hot, is to create a look with my white cravatte with black polka dots, using it with a white dinner shirt and black velvet smoking jacket for the Spring Ball season. I think a cravatte at a ball, in lieu of a bow, would be a challenging casual look for black tie.
Regards,
N.
