Sunday, June 24, 2012

Sigma @ IMATS LA 2012





IMATS (International Makeup Artist Trade Show) is a yearly event comprised of thousands of makeup artists, vendors and beauty enthusiasts alike. IMATS was founded in 1997 and has come to be the largest gathering for all things makeup-related to date! This popular trade show is held six times each year in various cities around the world including London, New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Sydney and Toronto.







At IMATS you can expect to see several makeup exhibitors, YouTube’s top beauty gurus, classes and demonstrations from the most experienced makeup artists in the world, plus your favorite beauty brands… including Sigma

That’s right, Sigma will be at IMATS LA again this year, but this time around we have an extra-large booth! We will be selling a wide range of products, including our best-sellers such as the Mrs. Bunny Essential Kit, the limited edition Paris Makeup Palette, the Performance Eyes Kit, plus many more! Stop by, say hi and shop around! Not only will you receive a free gift and exclusive discounts on products, but a chance to get your makeup done by YouTube beauty gurus MakeupbyTiffanyD or Camila as well!

The details... 
When: June 23-24 
Time: Sat., 8:30am – 5pm & Sun., 10am – 5pm
Where: Pasadena Convention Center
300 E Green St.
Pasadena, CA 91011 
Booth: #207

To buy tickets, go HERE!
For more information about the event in general, check out theIMATS website.

Are you going to be at IMATS LA this year? RSVP on our Facebook page if you are! We look forward to seeing you! 

Saturday, June 23, 2012

A Job in Fashion Designing!!!

A job in fashion designing is one of the most promising entrevue in today’s world. It’s also probably the most rewarding professions as designs by well-known developers are worn by rich and famous and are thought of a standing symbol. Since this job is focused on imagination, the idea enhances one’s artistic wisdom. Furthermore, the rising need for trend apparel and also add-ons available in the market ensures a good amount of money.

fashion designer
fashion designer
fashion design career involves the understanding of the resourceful and technical aspect of the science associated with making clothing and therefore the connected components. The clothes developed have a specific concept, goal and market. The style creators’ work is not limited to creating clothes but also includes fashion accessories for example jewellery as well as baggage. So, the prospects in vogue style a wide range of. On a inventive and complex designer to a sketcher, pattern designer or textile famous brand, the options are lots of. Folks can also diversify and venture into textile manufacture, apparel fabrique or fashion consultancy. Fashion designers can work with the apparel wholesalers, textile mills and manufacturers of footwear and other fashion accessories.
The increasing demand with regard to trendy, low-priced outfits is expected to form new job opportunities for those involved with the style trade. They can start a business that belongs to them by styling clothes for the masses. They can also work for firms that are making clothes for low-income group people. You will find businesses that design clothes in order to be sold in departmental stores and the retail chain stores. Utilizing such organizations can also be an selection with the fashion designers.
These are merely a number of the possibilities to the people having an penchant to take off for the design industry. A person can always diversify from what is trained on the courses and start new things. No matter with the occupation chosen, the style trade will over suffice a person’s creative and monetary needs.



Thursday, February 9, 2012

Going Solo: A Guide to Working Freelance in Fashion PR



As a fashion PR professional, you typically have three options when it comes to working in the industry. You can work on multiple client accounts for a fashion PR agency (either your own or for someone else), in-house for a single brand, or work as a freelance fashion PR practitioner, also known as being an independent contractor. Lucky for you, I have done all three, and there are certainly pro’s and cons to each arrangement. However, this article is about what to do once you have made the decision to go out on your own.
Setting up your business
As an independent contractor, you forgo the security of a steady paycheck, health insurance, and paying taxes just once a year for freedom. The freedom to set your own hours, work with the clients you want to work with, execute the PR strategy you believe will be most effective and be paid your full bill rate. While it can appear quite lucrative at first to be paid a full $100 an hour, rather than an annual salary that is less than half what your agency actually charges for your services, remember that those pesky estimated taxes you must now pay quarterly require about 30% of every dollar you make be tucked away. When you add in additional costs like health insurance, cell phone bill and renting a conference room or workspace, well, it adds up quickly! However, nothing beats taking a nap when you are feeling uninspired and staying up until 3 am when you are, and you are of course now able to subtract things like the square footage of your home office and your internet bill from your taxes. It may be worth setting up a few appointments with a financial planner, accountant and your local small business association in order to make sure you are prepared for the proactive organization required for freelance work.
Figuring out your services
What are your strengths? Do you have incredible media contacts at all the monthlies or are you every fashion blogger’s BFF? Are you handy with html or great at event production? At the start of your freelance career, don’t make the mistake of trying to be or do too many things at once. Put your own gifts through a brand exercise and clearly identify your brand promise, differentiators and yes, even your 30 second elevator speech. Immerse yourself in the wealth of knowledge that exists for entrepreneurs online like IttyBiz, Design Sponge’sBiz Ladies series and Freelance Switch and learn as much as you can about the business side of things.
Build your brand
Don’t skimp on your web site, business cards or blog. If you are going to be asking people to give you money to represent their brand, show them you understand the value of a strong company image. In this day and age, a WordPress blog can be optimized to function as an affordable CMS tool for all your needs and make it so you can handle all those pesky updates without having to pay out of pocket. Your internet presence, done correctly, can give off the impression that you, madame or miseur, are quite a bit larger that life. After all, no one needs to know just how late you stay in your cupcake pajamas, nor do they care, when you are bringing home the results for the bacon flavored lip gloss.
Creating Referrals/Affiliates
Consider joining a local networking or business referral group like a BNI, your local Ladies Who Launch chapter create your own. I am really not one to enjoy the early AM schmoozing with bad coffee in hand, but took a friend up on an offer and joined a local group when I first started freelancing. Just coming in as a guest led to my first lifestyle client, a high-end personal training gym, than I worked with closely through the next year.
Also, find strategic partners. In PR, this probably means finding a print and web graphic designer or small design shop, a videographer, editor, photographer etc. Expanding your service offerings is great for business and knowing you have several other people out there pimping your services to potential clients in need can only help. Perhaps you can even split costs on a few things or host an event together.
Getting clients
Without clients, the world stops spinning, flowers wilt and fairies die.
I decided to go freelance when the agency I was working for divided into two new agencies. I was offered a job at one and an offer to work as a contractor for the other, trouble was my favorite clients were split up, going to different agencies! Negotiating with my bosses allowed me to keep working on the accounts I was most invested in as a contractor for both. Incidentally,  the former director of PR decided to open up her shop focusing on lifestyle fashion clients, and so I did work for her as well.
Even if you aren’t transitioning from an agency, send emails out to all the PR shops in town and explain who you are, your background, and what accounts you think you could help out on. You could do the same for event planners. Certainly send out an email to your network letting them know of your new plans and don’t neglect Facebook- you never know when your best friend from seventh grade’s mom just happens to to know someone who knows someone. To pick up some quick work, consider signing up for an account on Elance. Offer your press release skills, your bio writing abilities as well as consulting services.
Work your ass off
Seriously. There is no one that will ever care about the success of your business more than you. This often means working late, going out to events to meet new people when you would rather stay in bed and eat pie, and having to be responsible not only for keeping your clients happy but keeping your business happy, which means time out for invoicing, taxes, and on occasion, running out for printer ink at 2 am. The biggest indicator of success is word of mouth and when it comes to clients, you really are only as good as your last hurrah – so push yourself creatively, stylistically, and keep focusing on client goals and satisfaction and you might find the freelance life a pretty fine place to be.

Fashion 101: So, What Do Fashion Publicists Do?



This article was written by Brooke Moreland and originally appeared on The GlossView the original post.

I am obsessed with Kell on Earth. This week marks the season finale of what I consider to be one of the best shows on Bravo, and I’m a little bummed. The draw I feel to the show is a strange one. Most of the characters are total bitches. The sunken-eyed underlings work long hours under crazy of pressure and endure endless verbal abuse. Yet I continue to be impressed and fascinated with Kelly Cutrone and respect what she had done with her business.
My fascination with this show really has opened my eyes to the reality of a business I never knew much about: Fashion PR. It’s an industry I really did not know a lot about. What exactly do people in Fashion PR do? Could it really be as crazy as the ladies and gents at People’s Revolution make it seem? Is it fun? So I decided to interview Lindsey Green, Director of Communications for Jill Stuart, to help me clear some of this stuff up.
What exactly does a fashion publicist do all day?
I’m the Director of Communications which is PR but also covers more. Basically all operations regarding name, the brand, press, image, magazine credits, you name it- all goes through me. It’s my job to make sure our company’s image is presented in the best way possible. Fashion is a big world and it can be hard to control. You do spend time putting out fires, but mostly I spend my days focusing on gaining exposure for our line, whether is communicating with editors and seeing what styles they need for upcoming shoots, talking to celeb stylists and coordinating which looks would be great for their clients, setting up photo shoots and interviews and generally handling all business Jill Stuart related.
How did you get into this line of work? Is there any way to train for it, or is it mostly on-the-job learning stuff?
I got into fashion pretty randomly. I didn’t go to fashion school or have aspirations to be in the fashion world. I have a very business-oriented mind and I came here after working in restaurants and hotels and doing a little film. I was always very interested in style and fashion personally and decided to take the leap and I took an internship at Jill Stuart during fashion week a few years ago. It was one of the toughest weeks of my life coming in three days before a show knowing zero about the industry, but it was the best thing I’ve ever done. It was like getting a four year degree in four and a half days. I was brought on as an assistant where I assisted the former Director of Communications for a while and then took over the position when she moved on. It was all on the job training. Jill was there every step of the way to guide me as well, which has made all the difference. We’re a great team. I think the only way to train for this kind of position or to find out if it’s for you is to just jump in and fearlessly do it. I think on the job training and internships are the best tools for learning the fashion business. You can’t be taught any of this in a classroom.
Is your job a glamorous one? Do you have to go out to parties and mingle for work? Is that fun, or is work always work?
There are certainly glamorous aspects to any fashion job but it’s not the kind of glamour people perceive when they see movies or watch reality TV. It’s tough, hard work with long hours, lots of details and responsibilities. Going out to events is often a part of my job. Sometimes it’s really exciting as there’s so many great things going on in the fashion world, but obviously some nights you’ve been working all day and it can be tough to then go out. I find the experience really fun and I feel really fortunate to be able to be a part of it. Who’s going to complain about free cocktails and mingling with interesting people? I’m not.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in a career change to PR?
I would recommend that they try to get a little bit of on the job experience if possible. Maybe an internship during fashion week. Fashion week is the best time to test your ability to handle the pressure, the hours and all the many details that come with the job. It’s fast paced and you have to keep up. If you can cut it during fashion week, you can survive in the industry.
Can you explain the different types of fashion PR?
There are a few different types. What I do is called “In House PR” meaning I just work in house for one brand. I love this because it gives me the ability to really connect with our line and have a relationship with editors, stylists, our design team etc as the face of the brand. They can all come to me and they know me. I’ve been with Jill for over two years and we’re like a family. I absolutely love it. Working in house also means you take care of many day to day things and also have a lot more business thrown your way than just PR. Fashion is, after all, a business and being inside a house you gain that exposure in huge levels. Then there’s Agency PR. We work with a fantastic Agency, Alison Brod PR. They rep lots of different brands, yet somehow manage to make us feel like we’re their only client, which is the trick to running a good agency operation. Alison is never out of reach to me, we talk almost daily, I also have constant communication with her VP of fashion. Agency PR gives you the very face paced experience of working with LOTS of difference brands. There’s more pitching stories, more events to work and set up and plan for, lots of clients to juggle and different personalities to navigate. ABPR helps me handle almost all the details of our show such as our invites, seating chart (that’s a big one, and I love them for it!) making sure the celebrities coming have everything they need, they set up backstage interviews and requests for me to approve. We still over see everything, but they are there to make sure it goes exactly to our liking. I think to be great in Fashion PR it’s vital to have some experience working at both an Agency and In house. For someone just starting out an agency job can be ideal. You get so much exposure and you learn quickly, because you have to.
Do you feel pressure to dress well to for your job?
For important meetings and events, of course I want to look great. I was a fan of Jill Stuart clothing before I came here, so I wear our line constantly. However day to day in the office, I’m a pretty casual gal. You’ll find me most days in a plaid button down and jeans and during the college football season, you’ll see in my Florida Gators T-shirt every Friday. Go Gators!
What are some of the perks of working in your business?
It’s a lot of fun working in fashion. It’s one of the few businesses that’s 100 percent business and also 100 percent creative, which makes it very special. Obviously I love being able to get clothes, I wear our brand literally all the time, and being that I love the designs, that’s my favorite perk! Also, being able to go to events, meet people, make connections. It’s just an all around great industry to be a part of.
Is there money to be made in this line of work?
There can be, but like any job not at first. For those of us on the PR and business side, if you’re good at what you do, the possibility to be paid well is pretty high. It definitely takes time. Starting salaries in fashion, like most creative industries are low and you have to pay your dues, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel if you work hard and put yourself in a position to succeed.
If someone wants to be a fashion designer, is it helpful at all for them to her their start working in PR?
I personally don’t think so. I think if you want to be a designer, be a designer. Take a design internship or wait for the right opportunity. For designers it’s vital they know how PR works so if you can be a part of a company where you can closely observe PR, small companies such as Jill are perfect for this, that’s ideal. PR is great to make connections if you’re a designer, but I find those who really want to design and have that creative mind aren’t happy for long before they are longing to be a part of the design team. So if you’re a designer, stick with it and really fight to get into the design department.
Have you seen the Bravo show Kell on Earth? Do you think it accurately portrays the industry? Do you like it? Is everyone really as stressed out as the employees of People’s Revolution? Is it really that miserable? (I’m obsessed with this show and really curious about other people’s take on it.)
Um yes and I LOVE IT! First off, Kelly Cutrone is one of the best in industry and with good reason. She trusts her employees with immense responsibilities because she’s kept her firm small and intimate, which for clients is ideal, this is why people flock to that firm for representation. Is it that miserable during fashion week…it can be, but at the same time you still enjoy it, if you can’t enjoy it even in the stressful times, then it’s not the right industry for you. I love watching the show because even though my situation at Jill is very different, I can still relate to it. Obviously on reality TV the drama is going to be played up and the stress is going to be played up, but fashion is a high stress industry and if you can’t handle that pressure then you’re not going to succeed. This, as I like to say, is a world for the tough.