i make things

Fashion and trends have been important to me.
For as long as I can remember actually...

Like in 2nd grade when I wore a head-to-toe orange fruit outfit. (Be nice, it was the 90's.)

Or here in third grade when I wore a sequin floral dress. (Open your eyes Savanna! you look gorgeous!)

And just a typical Sunday at grandmas, playing dress up with my brother and cousins! (Do I look too old to be playing dress-up?)

Back to fashion and trends, this is related to what I do and have done now for almost 5 years. (A job that I drive 100 miles everyday to do!)

What I do is never an easy explanation for some reason.

My answer usually is, "well I make things" (ok, maybe not that. well maybe once. i'm so awkward).

I think I usually say, "I'm a merchandiser. I make hats and accessories. Well I don't make them, but we work with designers to create them, and we source them for well known brands."

Then I receive a nod (of confusion) and a look like this...


(hi kelly!)

(pssst. kelly is will be featured in my first trend alert post, coming soon)

My mom didn't "get it" either until after two years on the job, I finally took her into a Dick's Sporting Goods (my last company) and handed her a hat and said... 

Me: "I did this."

Mom: "You did this?"

Me: "Yes, mom... and this one, and this one and this one.

I am a merchandiser (aka product developer/account manager) of hats and coldweather accessories. 

I am a behind the scenes in the retail industry, a dynamic industry that is very fast paced, very analytical, (exhausting at times), creative, and yes, we are mind readers. Here is a quick lesson for you:

Retail Merchandising 101:
1: Products don't magically appear in the store. We work almost a year or more in advance, using past related sales information, and the mind reading skills of designers trend and color projections to create products.
2: Then once products are created, they need to be sourced. Pricing is negotiated with suppliers and suppliers are chosen.
3: At the same time, before the total quantities are ordered, buyers and planners come up with the budget based on (that's right!) more analysis. They also decide what the initial price will be, tentatively plan what/when the sale or marked down price will be (this is flexible depending on sales trends once the goods hit the store).
4: Next, there is lots of work and coordination to get the product produced right, and within compliance guidelines. Once complete, goods are shipped and transported to a distribution center.
5: Once at the distribution center, analysts send products to each stores in specific quantities based on.... analysis. (i know, sorry)
6: Before the goods even get to the store, a whole different team of people already decided where the goods are placed in the store and the signage next to it. (also, based on analysis & some creative minds)
7: Once product is at the store, inventory and sales are analyzed very frequently and decisions are made around on whether to make the price lower,  move it somewhere else in the store, update signage, ect.

That's a lot isn't it!? I've been on the buying side in apparel, but my first job role and my current job fits into points 1, 2 and 4.

I haven't really put much thought into how I ended up in retail merchandising as a career until my aunt Heidi reminded me that I used to coordinate outfits for my cousins and I during family vacations. . .

And maybe I'm so good at retail math because when I was younger, if I wanted my mom to buy me something in a store, I had to correctly calculate (without a calculator) the final price with the discount. (ok, it's really not that hard, but at tween age it was just a tad bit annoying!)

I may not appear 100% put-together-trendy all the time, because in the balance of life, how i look isn't always the priority. And if I could wear the brands I really wanted to wear all the time, I would need a very large pay increase. So, when there's room for me in the budget, I spend quite a significant amount of that money at TJ Maxx hunting for great deals for our home, discounted brand-name shoes/bags, and cheap, but trendy "no-brand" apparel (that will last as long as the trend will last.)

My goal in future posts related to is to share trends, and where to get them for a steal! Stay tuned!