Tech Pack Hell!

So, I have not written a new post for a couple of weeks now. I have been trying to put all my designs together in what the industry calls a Technical Pack. This is a collection of information, beautifully presented and very detailed to inform the manufacturer exactly how you want your garments to look.
You have to add sizing, fabric, trimmings, threads, your logos, colours, fabric weight, logo positioning, type of stitching, labels, neck tape, the list goes on and on. It is a very detailed document and I have had to use trial and error in order to find the information I needed! Hence why it has taken so long for me to grasp exactly what I need to do!
I firstly had to try and find the sizing for each of my age groups and then the Pantone colours I wanted to use. This was the hardest part of the Technical Pack, as I had never heard of Pantone and did not have a clue where to find it. I managed to get the information line from www.pantone.com such a useful website! It has been my saviour as not only was I able to find the Pantone colours I wanted but also the converter on the website helped me to find the TPX colours. As sometimes manufacturers use these different types of colouring software for the fabric and printing references.

Once I had thought of the colours, I then had to find out what sizing I wanted for the garments. This has been a nightmare to find out and was complete trial and error. Thank God that the manufacturers have been quite help and I have had to Google as many sizing charts as I could find and then just wing it really. And I am still not sure if the sizing is correct. I suppose I wont know until I see my samples! Oh dear, fingers crossed!

Trial and error is just like life in general. Sometimes you do things and it all works out! Other times you try things and it goes terribly wrong and you keep trying until you get it right.
I hope this is one of those times where I manage to get it right because getting it wrong would be extremely costly!

Now that I have managed to get the required information, I have submitted the document to the manufacturer and await costing for each garment and shipping costs. In the meantime, I am trying to put my business plan together which at the moment seems like I am trying to climb Mount Kilimanjaro!!
An steep uphill climb in order to get to the top!

I know what I want to write in the business plan but the words do not seem to want to come out! So i've decided to take my time with it and like my good friend C.J Knock (Founder of Arty Kids Club.com and Off the Rail.com) says, starting your business is like eating an elephant. You cant eat the whole thing in one go! You have to take small bites and eventually you will eat the whole thing!

Taking my time and perfecting my plan is crucial to making sure I have the right information and that my business becomes viable! I always find that I try and rush things but I am learning to be patient and perfect my craft and then unleash my wonderful designs to the world. As another good friend mine Walter Gbedze (CEO of Blue Colla Media www.bluecollamedia.com) says, it is all about timing! It is so crucial to what I am doing and I really hope I get it just right!!