How to create a label in the fashion industry - when you’re not married to a rock star.

https://vimeo.com/118439241 

March 18, 2015

Vancouver Fashion Week

Vancouver designer, Sara Armstrong, is holding an Indiegogo campaign to fund her FW 2015 collection show at Vancouver Fashion Week on Wednesday, March 18th, 2015, as well as a trunk show/pop-up shop at Vancouver’s premiere pop-up production venue @thisopenspace to follow on Thursday, March 19th, 2015.

Now at 43% of her goal, please consider contributing and being part of bringing a Canadian label to life. Contributions of all sizes are welcome.

Being seen on the runway is an important part of the making of a label.  It is the place to be seen by international media as well as buyers.  For emerging designers like Armstrong, the hope is to attract both media and buyers.  The runway collection must be an experience that tells the story of the designer’s vision.  Building an experience requires funding and fundraising.

On Wednesday March 18, 2015, it will all come together in what is to be a resounding and impactful Fall/Winter 2015 season for the Sara Armstrong design team, but they need your help as an investor.  

For the first time, Sara Armstrong is offering her signature designs as perks for contributions. Sara is calling upon her community to help spread the word, support, and propel her brand forward for the FW 2015 season, and beyond.

Contributions may be made, and shareable link may be found at http://igg.me/at/sararmstrong

The Business of Fashion and Label Making 

Sara Armstrong is a Saskatchewan born designer who comes from a middle class home where entrepreneurship was a way of life.  Yes, she is my daughter, and she has the support of our family.  But creating a label in the fashion industry is not about family. It is about manifesting from within, and building a sustainable business model that attracts media, buyers and investors. 

What I learned from my daughter about how to create a label in the fashion industry - when you're not married to a rock star. 

Phase 1: Being Irrepressible.  

• At three years of age, she refuses to attend play school unless she has a pair of purple suede desert boots.  
• At four years of age, she convinces me to buy the dress I cannot afford because it’s the prettiest in the store.
• At five years of age she insists on specific ballet attire of soft pinks and matching leg warmers.  
• At six years of age, she makes her first artistic statement, refusing to read in school, and instead insists on drawing her assignments.
• At 16, her paintings appear in a public gallery where she sells her first paintings.

Phase 2: Educate Oneself.  

• At 21 she graduates from University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Intermedia. She leaves the prairies to become a fashion designer in Vancouver.
• At 22, she graduates from Blanche Macdonald in Vancouver, where she was honoured with an award for innovation. Her design was chosen to represent the Blanche Macdonald year-end runway show. 

Phase 3:  Risk a Vision. 

• Her first label, “Head the Free” make its debut in her home city of Regina, on the runway of Saskatchewan Fashion Week.
• “A specialist in outward thinking, Sara Armstrong, Vancouver based installation artist and designer works within a sustainable focus. Supporting a holistic approach in design, medium, and reason.”  
• At 24, she returns to Saskatchewan Fashion Week with her self titled minimalist collection.  She decides after the show to challenge her vision and ability in order to grow her label.
• Sara Armstrong, sets her sights on taking her vision to the runway of Vancouver Fashion Week, to be seen with designers from all over the world. 
• At 25, Sara Armstrong creates presents her self-labelled Fall Winter 2014  on the runway of Vancouver Fashion Week, a show that integrates a minimalist approach to design, video, and music.
• At 26, her Spring Summer 2015 collection appears on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week, where she becomes known as an internationally-acclaimed, interdisciplinary artist who practices in both fashion and industrial design.  Her catwalk is featured online at  Vogue UK, Glamour UK and Elle Italia.

Phase 4: Grow, when Shrinking is not Possible.

Crowd funding models are being used to help raise money for entrepreneurs in the fashion industry.  Creating a runway-ready collection requires financial resources.  But like most talented entrepreneurs working to build a name and a brand that will capture the attention of buyers, the media and the public,  financial resources are required. 

Contributions may be made, and shareable link may be found at http://igg.me/at/sararmstrong

Fashion. I hope you grow up.

I don’t think it’s a secret. I love fashion.  My love for fashion goes beyond what might be considered ordinary.  I am a collector of all things beautiful, even if they are not practical.  My 12 x 12 foot closet is filled with pieces that each have a purpose, from sequins and 6 inch Louboutins to my black studded denim jacket, ripped Levis and Steve Madden Navajo thigh high boots.  And still, I am not satisfied.  I am not a collector of clothes. I am a collector of soul inspiring fashion that expresses “who I am” on a given day.  

It’s fashion week season and I follow them dutifully and vicariously.  I may not love everything I see, but I can appreciate the artist’s imagination. I love fashion that speaks to my soul. That says  - hey, this is who I am. Deal with it.  I love fashion that speaks to me, and says, “I am yours, take me.”

Sadly, that doesn’t happen as often as I would like.  I can appreciate how difficult it must be to tap in to the psyche of women and men all over the world and create something that is soulful, artistic and beautiful.  

Here’s the thing. As a woman who is not 20, I love seeing women of experience on the runway. Women who are  . . . like me.  Women who are fierce and confident.   And let’s face it. That’s just smart, because women of a certain age are the market place.  

I am a woman of a certain age. I am a grandmother.  I do not wear elastic pants, kitten sweaters and sensible shoes.  In fact, quite the opposite, and I practice yoga and exercise 8 hours a week for the privilege of wearing high heels every day and clothes that fit.  

I would love to see a runway show that actually knows who I am, because I am your customer. 

Rush - New World Man ( Grace Under Pressure )

A One Woman Publishing Show: The Entrepreneur’s Experience

Lynn Armstrong is an entrepreneur running a niche magazine about entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs.  She produces SKY Magazine under her company SKY Publishers Ltd.

A professional writer with 20 years of experience in the corporate realm as a corporate planner and strategist, Lynn ventured into the entrepreneurial world first with the creation of Lynear Thinking Strategy and Communications Ltd., a practice that helps private sector companies, cooperatives and non-profits with planning, strategy and communications.

"In 2012, I was looking for a way to tell the stories of entrepreneurs in a way that would help them achieve their business goals.  I was researching various magazine models and SKY happen to literally fall from the sky. One of my clients called me one day and said he had seen SKY Magazine for sale on Kijiji. I called the number and the rest is history. I bought SKY Magazine in October 2012 and put out my first issue December 2012.”

"I am a one woman show.  I am the publisher, editor, writer, advertising executive, book keeper, distribution manager, digital editor and online manager."

"Each quarter, I produce the magazine with the help of two other entrepreneurs, Greg Huszar, photographer, and Amber Moon, designer.  I am very proud of what we have accomplished.  My competitors, by comparison, have multiple sales staff, writers, at least one editor and a quite likely financial backers.  Did I mention I am my own financial backer? The revenue from each issue is used to pay for the production, printing and distribution of the magazine."

"Being an entrepreneur is really about running a right sized business and knowing what you are willing to put at risk.  An entrepreneur needs to know how to use his or her resources in the best way possible. When I bring business owners into SKY, I am working with them to ensure their budget is best utilized on the page."

This labour of love, of visions of skies, flamingos and ducks.

This labour of love, of visions of sky, flamingos and ducks. 

I’ve got to take a little time / A little time to think things over. / Better read between the linesIn case I need it when I am older. / This mountain I must climbeels like a world upon my shoulder / Through the clouds I see light shine / It keeps me warm as life grows colder . . . 

From “I want to know what love is”, Foreigner 

Photo by Scott Goodwill / Location: Bodhi Tree Yoga, Regina, Sask.

January 2015.  The new year. A second chance.  A time of vision and intention, of clarifying the path ahead, of culling those things that no longer work, and making space for new things. 

I set out on this path three years ago with the intention to do what I love, and to love what I do, to live and work with and for purpose, and to live in freedom.  Change is in the air for SKY, as it must be for all things. Today I am thinking about the journey so far, what I have learned and what the future looks like from this vantage point of experience. 

My Intentions 

I would publish stories that are read world-wide about interesting and inspiring people who live and work in their passion. I would be an instigator of personal freedom.  I would inspire people to accept and live in their own vision, and be inspirational to others to do the same.  I would publish the book that changes the way we look at work. I would inspire a revolution of living in colour. I would paint the sky all the colours of possibility.  - Lynn Larson Armstrong

I would publish stories that are read world-wide about interesting and inspiring people who live and work in their passion.

I purchased SKY Magazine from the founding editor October 2012 to fulfill this intention. Since then I have created 10 quarterly issues from December 2012 to December 2014.  I have evolved the model from a 100% paid advertising model to an 80-20 mix of advertising and editorial.  I have expanded the magazine from print to the digital world and it is available  on line world wide through www.issuu.com/myskymag and www.myskymag.com. I created a social media system comprised of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and LinkedIn. SKY is alive and well, and its voice is growing.  We have an affiliation with Metro Living Zine in Vancouver, through a shared love of fashion, business, intelligent content and intelligent women working together as entrepreneurs.   

I would be an instigator of personal freedom.

SKY Magazine is about entrepreneurs living and working in their own vision.  Since becoming the publisher, each issue has been fully comprised of content about entrepreneurs and their businesses.  

I also became a yoga teacher in 2013. I teach with the intention of helping my students find freedom in their practice, through their body and mind.

I would inspire people to accept and live in their own vision, and be inspirational to others to do the same. 

In each issue, I have sponsored community based initiatives by providing space, photography, writing, print and distribution at 50% to 100% of the rate card.  Over the past issues, I have supported Heroe’s Makeover (Mother of all Makeovers), Saskatchewan Fashion Week, Vancouver Fashion Week, Moustache Bash, Swervin Mini Indy Laps for life, Water Can, Children’s Wish Foundation, George Reed Foundation and Just Walk It Off, a cancer fundraiser.

Read it here.

In July 2013, I published the Karma Issue, which told the story of the cancer survivors who participated in Just Walk It Off, including Dionne Warner, eight time cancer survivor, Leah Barnard, Jodean Howie and Nicki Bayfield-Ash.  I dedicated eight out 16 pages to the story.  National Crane Services Ltd. provided a $1000 sponsorship to help tell the story of these women. SKY Publishers Ltd. and Lynear Thinking, both my own companies, absorbed the cost of the story.  This changed the way I look at the SKY Magazine, its philosophy and purpose.  From this point on, I would no longer be satisfied with producing a 100% advertorial product.  

Read it here

In the fall of 2014, SKY’s cover took on an editorial purpose.  The cover story, “The Traveller’s Spirit" featured Fallon Huffman, an entrepreneur who owns Queen V Fashion House, which includes an online store and real time retail boutique in Regina, offering unique brands that inspire those who seek refuge from mundanity.  Fallon has been nominated for a Women of Distinction Award and Chamber of Commerce Young Entrepreneur award, and she is an inspiration and a strong voice for young women interested in entrepreneurship.

Read it. 

The winter 2014 issue focused on the giving, and those who give of themselves. Through sponsorship I shared the stories of The Moustache Bash, a fundraiser for the Regina Prostate Assessment Centre, Dr. Roberta McKay and Mr. Elmer Brenner whose giving goes beyond the measure of money but to giving of themselves during the process, Heroe’s Makeover, featuring Becky Panter, founder of Saskatchewan Angel Dresses, and Desiiree Rattray, 2013 recipient of the Makeover, who went to raise funds for the Children’s Hospital in memory of her baby, “Iron Will” who passed away shortly after we published her story in the 2013 Summer SKY.  

I would publish the book that changes 

the way we look at work. 

After two years of writing, I published “How to be a Pink Flamingo in a Brown Duck Pond: Painting the SKY”, which outlines my entrepreneurial journey.  On December 16, 2014, the book was launched on the online bookstore at Friesen Press

Told through a metaphorical language of ducks and flamingos, poetry, business and yoga, How to be a Pink Flamingo in a Brown Duck Pond is a journey that begins with the wind to Nirvana, into the Belly of the Great Whale, through the Rain of Nails, and to the other side of entrepreneurial freedom. This is a flamingo's guide to flying with valuable insight for business leaders and those looking to change the colour of the sky in their world.

---

Lynn Larson Armstrong offers a unique perspective as a corporate planner and communicator in the boardrooms of large corporations over 20 years in the telling of this tale of two feathers. Lynn is an entrepreneur, living well in Regina in her own vision, and helping others live in theirs as Publisher of SKY Magazine, and owner of Lynear Thinking Strategy & Communications Ltd. Lynn is a certified yoga teacher, fitness instructor, and a board member for non profits in her community. Her mantra is do good things, and good things happen.

Buy it here.  

I would inspire a revolution of living in colour. 

I  would paint the sky all the colours of possibility. 

It’s time to fly.

2015’s editorial direction for SKY Magazine will continue to cast a light on the entrepreneur’s experience.  As a niche magazine serving a niche market of entrepreneurs in various industries, SKY will continue to stand out as the magazine in which to be seen and read.  
Each issue will be themed to reflect the changing seasons, and our standard will be nothing short of intelligent, honest and beautiful content, from cover to cover. 

Our intention is to grow the size of the magazine and refine the rate sheet in order to provide a bigger bang for those who participate in the creation of the magazine each quarter. 

The Editorial Calendar is being created right now. If you have an idea for a story or if you would like to book your space for 2015, contact the Publisher.

The marketing program for the book, How to be a Pink Flamingo in a Brown Duck Pond,  will be implemented in 2015 with details to follow.  Book two is already under way, with a launch date of 2016. 

See you in the air.

Lynn

Why sky works: the launch process

This week I launched my third 'White Issue' since becoming the publisher in 2012.  I call it the ‘White Issue’ but it really just means Winter. It’s not ‘holiday’ because it spans December - March.

SKY does not have issues that espouse to contain the ‘best of the best’, or the ‘top this or that’; SKY is about good things from issue to issue, and the people who make them happen.  Every single issue is special, and every single square inch of content is like a jewel to me, whether it is an advertisement, a sponsored feature, or an editorial story.

The White Issue has special significance for me personally as it is an anniversary of sorts because this is where I began this journey into the magazine and marketing industry after leaving a 20 year career as a corporate planner and strategic communicator.

In order to provide good and inspiring editorial content, there has to be a strong value proposition for businesses to want to advertise in SKY.  In my research over the past three years, I have looked at what the big magazines are saying about this industry and their competitive response.  

In the magazine business, as in all business, it’s really an elephant and mouse situation.  There are advantages to being large (elephants), including more resources to invest in the business. By contrast, small businesses (mice) tend not to have resources at hand readily to invest in growth.  Elephants have a large infrastructure to move and may not be too nimble. Mice can be more nimble - if they see the opportunity and can organize efficiently and effectively in order to change the business on the run.

In the magazine business, it is generally felt that to be valuable to our clients - the advertiser - we need to provide good editorial content, high quality, beautiful pages, and be their marketing company, not just their advertiser.  

Over the years, I have been working to change SKY from a traditional print quarterly focused on advertising content only to a hybrid that combines print and digital mediums with a goal to increase my clients’ visibility.

Entering its third year in business under yours truly, SKY Magazine is now a quarterly publication that includes high quality, intelligent and targeted advertising content as well as editorial content with a marketing add-on.

Over the past three years,  SKY Magazine has grown to include a website and online magazine, Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Linkedin.  SKY is also posted on issue.com, which has great options including downloading to digital devices, or clipping and sharing. We have an affiliation with Metro Living Zine in Vancouver, which not only increases opportunity for everyone on the pages of SKY, it can attract larger advertisers and ultimately assist in the expansion of the magazine. 

To be nimble, the key is to be well organized and be able to leverage the tools of this trade to communicate effectively. And I love to communicate. It’s really like breathing to me.

We print 32,000 copies of SKY.  While it is on the press, SKY is launched digitally. Soon thereafter Canada Post begins distribution of some 30,000 copies to high income homes in Regina,Saskatoon, Lumsden, Craven, Moose Jaw, Estevan and Weyburn.  I distribute up to 2,000 magazines to businesses featured on the pages of SKY Magazine as well as to subscribers.  

Here’s what my day looks like on launch day. 

1.  All social media sites are updated with new favicons and new imagery in the following order: 

• Website 
• Issuu.com
• Tumblr 
• Twitter 
• Instagram
• Pintertest 
• Facebook 
• Email 
• Blog 

2.  Magazines are hand delivered (by me) to each of the businesses featured in the magazine.  After each delivery, I post their business and advertisement directly on Instagram, which is then uploaded to Facebook and Twitter.  To be honest, I love to see their reaction and it gives me a chance to chat further about their business and opportunities for marketing their business. 

3. Once all the issues are delivered to those featured or advertising on the pages of SKY, their content and other additional content is uploaded to myskymag.com, which is shared regularly through our social media sites. 

4. Throughout the quarter, I monitor social media and re-post my client’s posts. I also post additional content, including new products and services that my clients are offering, attend their events and post images and promote them at every chance. I do not charge for this service. 

SKY works for my clients because I work for them, personally.  I get to know their business, use their products and services, wear the clothes they sell, eat their food, wear their makeup, attend and sponsor their events, and rock their shoes and accessories.

I get to know their industries and their concerns, and I am always thinking about strategy as to how I can help elevate their awareness in the market place.  SKY is my passion and my love, but my clients are the reason I am here.  I believe in them or they wouldn’t be on my pages. 

So launching a new magazine is not the end of a process, it is the beginning and an opportunity to promote the people and businesses on my pages because I believe in them. 

Beauty Gives Back

Our beautiful Dionne Warner, eight time cancer survivor and warrior.  Such an amazing woman.