Final Year Project

I was approached by Kirsty Stober, informing that she was hosting an event on the 6th of April showcasing Afro-Caribbean businesses that reside in Birmingham. I took this as an opportunity to delve into the community and have my first appearance as an independent retailer. To prepare for this event, I made 5 baby hats in 3 colours. Although it sounds like I made a few items, these items took a long time to prepare. It allowed me to understand the speed of the business and understanding what I can make. I also made a pair of booties. The event itself required promoting, and I had to advertise it to friends and family. On the contrary, I did not invite them because I knew it was not my best work, and it was not something I wanted them to see. For this event, I also had to consider how I wanted the table to be set up, which is something I had never had thought about until a week before the event. I was under-prepared for the event, and it showed. Now I know what I need to do for future ...

I have now completed my website. I have been able to photograph my products. Right now there is not much of a range to work with; however, I have to remember that I am just starting out. As time progresses, I will be creating new things and uploading them to the website. This not only looks good to the customer because I am building and extending the range, but it helps develop my skills as a knitter. The website features images of my own, and images that are royalty free from Shopify's database. Over time I will get rid of the photos and put my own pictures in, however, for now, they are right where they are. Overall I am proud of the website I have created. The link to the website is here: https://www.petiteapparel.co.uk/

I did it, I went to the CHSI event at the NEC. Luckily there was free parking and that the exhibition itself was open. There were so many other retailers and businesses that took part in the event. According to the NEC website, there were over 60 businesses there. They ranged in all sorts of arts and craft, knitting, quilting, making candles, new fabric and printing. I enjoyed engaging with the businesses that were there. I was able to learn many things from talking to them. For example, I found that they were all approachable and were willing to engage with people. This is an excellent skill to have especially as a future businesswoman. I want customers to feel at ease when conversing with me as well as having conversations with them and building rapport. Going and partaking in this event was something I needed to do. I was able to learn so much from the people that were there. It was also an opportunity to boost my self-esteem, while I was there I conversed with many business owne...

Now that I have established to foundations to my website, it is time to start creating and learning the ways of Shopify. There is a range of free themes, I have decided to use the Narrative theme as it has many features that I want to incorporate on my website such as the opportunity to zoom on pictures. Learning a new hosting site is something that I am not entirely familiar with, as I usually code my websites. Netherless I am grateful to say I that I am enjoying the ease of using Shopify. I want to make sure I get everything for my website, to do this I am going to refer to my Gantt chart and make sure that I am top of all of my tasks. As of now, the website I am building is hidden and requires a password to enter. I like this feature as it gives me time to process and take my time making the website.

Here are the social media accounts I created and are still building upon. https://www.facebook.com/shoppetiteapparel/?view_public_for=378678092722711 https://www.instagram.com/shoppetiteapparel/

In order to have a great product I have to create a great product. For this I have been researching on the internet looking for patterns I could use for my business. I have enjoyed the process of finding designs that are quick and easy to make as well as learning new designs. For the launch of my website I will be featuring on of my classic and basic designs. I have chosen to showcase these products because they are easy and quick to make. If my business is successful I have to make sure that I am able to keep up with the demand that comes along with it. The basic bundle will include, booties, a hat and a pair of mittens. These are considered the necessities therefore I know that they will be in demand.

After a while of snooping around on the NEC website I found an event that is going to happen on the 17 th of February and end on the 19 th . It is called the CHSI Stitches event. It boasts of many retailers that work within the arts and craft community will be there. This is an opportunity for me to look around and network with existing business. I will be attending on the 19 th of February under the title of Petite Apparel. I am looking forward to the event because I will be able to learn from the experienced. It is an opportunity for me to widen my horizons and see bigger than before.

Before I create my website I have to create a wire frame and sitemap how I want my website to look like and the features I want it to have. For this I have created a selection of wire frames to chose what design template I want to create. Below are the wire frames I have created: Homepage (Draft 1) https://wireframe.cc/afBRaE Homepage (Draft 2) https://wireframe.cc/wb8dNH Homepage (Draft 3) https://wireframe.cc/N91X6j Out of all of the designs I created I think I like the idea of Idea 2. It combines the logo and gives me opportunity to be a little bit more creative with what I am going to produce. About Us  (Draft 1) https://wireframe.cc/Cofbvr About Us (Draft 2) https://wireframe.cc/EOg4If I have chosen to use the second draft as an idea for my final piece because it shows and details the importance of social media, and adds a personality behind the business. Products (Draft 1) https://wireframe.cc/CMcuRM Products (Draft 2) http...

In order to be successful on social media, I have to be able to keep my social media filled with content and be posting at prime times. Since I will be using Hootsuite to post to my social media accounts. I can post at prime times without having to think about it. I have created an Instagram and Facebook page for my business. I will be using the help of Instagram's hashtags and using them as a way to attract new and potential clients.

In order to promote my brand I have created an advertisement on Facebook spreading awareness about the launch of Petite Apparel. Creating an advertisement on Facebook was quite simple. Because I have already made marketing material such as the launching soon poster it was easy to set up. The process involved me adding text and choosing the demographic I wanted to aim he store ad advert at. By targeting the demographic and store correctly I have now acquired Page Likes and likes on the post. In total so far I have spent £40 on advertising, even though it is a lot of money at this point, I need to spread awareness in order to make a profit.

From completing my competitive analysis I was able to take away a few valuable lessons: 1. Social Media is important It is what attracts traffic to your website and you product 2. Presentation is everything If your website looks hideous no one is going to trust you or your products 3. Branding has to be consistent You can not have different logos or content unless stated for a reason. It is important to stay true to who you are and what you can deliver.

To give a sense of luxury but without the luxury, I decided to employ the values customers want into a product that I can provide. For product creation, I have researched the best sources of yarn. The yarn I will be using to create the booties, mittens and hats will be Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, I have chosen to use this yarn because it keeps babies warm in the winter but also keeps them fresh in the summer. The thread that is used is a combination of Merino Wool, cashmere and acrylic. The acrylic is excellent for washing the products in the washing machine. The components of the wool are the things that were highlighted in the results of my survey. The blankets, however, are made from Merino Wool but have a stronger edge of Acrylic, this is something that has been put into place for practicality.

After seeing my logo and applying it to my social media accounts, I have decided to change it yet again, although I will not be making a significant change I will be changing it. I decided to change the logo because of the inspiration I gathered from Baby Mori. Similar to their business their logo is all one colour, but it looks sleek and sophisticated. On my previous logo, I had a coloured circle, and I decided to have added richness to my logo to add personality to my business. After seeing it live, I decided that there are different ways to incorporate colours and character and it does not matter if there is no colour on or in the logo. The website can exude colours, and social media platforms can have colours inflicted also. Here is my final logo, I am happy and content with my final decision, but I am most thankful for not having launched the business to revoke and change this. The logo is similar to the one I created before, I decided to outline the logo with black for mo...

At this point in time I believe that is too early for me to set up stalls, especially when I do not have anything to sell on them. However, I will be on the look out for events that will be happening in and around Birmingham. It is great to socialise and network with other businesses, so I will be looking forward to this adventure.

Part of having a business is having a website to sell on. I have been researching for a couple of days through YouTube and it has been a general consensus that shopify is one of the best eCommerce website hosts. I have decided that this is what I will be using to sell my items. I have been following this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykOqvTHdMVw and have found how to set up an account and use themes and upload products. In order to use Shopify I will have to input my bank information and start the 14 day free trial off which they currently have standing. The downfalls I have found at this current moment and things I need to work upon are: - Drafting what I want the website to look like - Taking images of products, editing them and then uploading them - Content I want on each page  These are a few factors a things I will need to do in order to make sure this website is the best it can be. 

Social media is something that is commonly used as a marketing strategy to boost visibility and increases your audience. It has been argued that social media is one of the best ways to build a brand, and this has been shown throughout my research pack. To generate an audience and to keep an audience, it is crucial to update and post regularly. However, to do that then I will have to have images ready to upload, which currently I do not have. I think, in the meantime while I set up and create my products, I will be using royalty free images to create a following until the launch of Petite Apparel. The images I will use will be images that consist of Yarn, Wool and complete projects. To post these, I will need to create some social media platforms with this business name. According to my research the best place to build a following, and populated platforms are: Instagram Facebook  Twitter So I will be making social media accounts on these three platforms. Links can be fou...