Consumed Reader Q&A No. 3: Janet Kim

Continuing the effort to put Consumed readers in the spotlight, here’s the latest a series of mini-Q&As with some of the interesting people who have joined the Consumed Facebook page.

Today: Janet Kim, creator/designer of fashion line Graey.

1. What are you working on now, or making public soon, that you’re particularly excited about (and why)?

I recently presented my Fall 2009 collection, where I shifted gears from more casual tees to silk dresses. The presentation was great but in this economy, retailers are cutting buys and don’t want to take chances with a new designer. I just met with Henri Bendel and they are giving me a trunk show in August. This means that I will have to assume the risk in producing the dresses and deciding what gets to be manufactured, but it will be great exposure.

One of the first questions a buyer asks you is where else you’re selling, and as a new designer, it’s kind of a chicken or the egg, catch-22 situation. Buyers don’t want to take a chance on an unknown, but if no one ever takes a chance on you, you’ll never get into a store! The trunk show gets me into Henri Bendel, which is a store that smaller boutiques look to in deciding what new designers to pick up. In addition to the exposure, I’m hopeful that I will sell a good amount of merchandise in the week that they’re giving me, which could lead to other opportunities with the store.

In addition, I am planning a trunk show on May 9 in New York for my private clients. I will pre-sell the dresses at a discount, which will be delivered to the client in about 6 weeks. One of my friends is a jewelry designer (in addition to running an online showroom site) and so I’m going to sell her jewelry in addition to pre-selling my dresses and doing a sample sale of some inventory. It will be more like a party. Hopefully we’ll sell some pieces, but more importantly, it will help me gauge what to cut for the trunk show at Henri Bendel. I am also considering doing an online trunk show, since I have clients that are not based in New York.

2. Is there something you would have bought, or used to spend money on, a year ago, that you would not today?

I definitely have a harder time buying clothes than I used to now that I have my own clothing line. It’s hard for me to find something I like enough to want to buy it because I feel like I should be spending the time/money making my own stuff, unless it’s something that’s ridiculously expensive, in which case I can’t afford it.

3. What have you bought/spent money on/or otherwise consumed lately that you’re really pleased with?

One of my friends is a hairdresser and she gave me a great cut and dyed the underside of my hair. It’s great because it’s subtle but noticeable. She initially dyed it a nice salmon color but it washed out so I redyed it a bright fuchsia color with some Manic Panic dye. The color pops out underneath my black hair.

4. And on a related note: Name, if you can, one thing that a friend/coworker/acquaintance bought lately that you find surprising or puzzling.

When I saw an infomercial for the Snuggie, I kind of wanted one because it looked so comfortable. Then a few weeks later, one of my friends received one as a gift from his coworkers. I was totally enthralled. It’s actually not a great product — it’s made of this really cheap polyester that has bad static cling and picks up every piece of dirt and lint from the ground. But the marketing is so unintentionally comical. We also realized it is actually just a backwards robe! It is great for laughs. The photos on the box are amazing — like the family just hanging out, watching a game in their matching Snuggies.

Thanks for the answers! Next mini-Q&A in one week, with Rob Horning.

Join the Consumed Facebook page here, and if you’re interested in being Q&A’d, just let me know.