Kristin Collins is the founder of Dahlia, an elegant and feminine clothing label designed for young girls. The label aims to provide age-appropriate clothing that caters for all occasions and is even reversible. Kristin works closely with her eldest daughter to ensure that young girls will like and wear her unique line of clothing.
Lighthouse talked to Kristin shortly after her successful launch of Dahlia at Mischief Makers during September 2010 in Canberra. Kristin used an ACT microcredit loan to help with brand development and consultancy services. One of the first loan participants in the Brilliant Idea Program, she had a lot to say about her successful new business.
Starting Up a New Business
As a mother of three young girls under eight years of age, I wanted to design clothing for them and the market that would be suitable for their age. They grow up so quickly and it’s good to be able to dress them in clothing that doesn’t make them look or feel older then they are. I wanted to do a collection and a label that catered for the things they do from going to school to church and weddings.
My eight year old daughter and I worked closely together from the start of the collection. We compromised on ideas. When I was a young girl, we wore dresses all the time but today that has changed. So we put t-shirts with denim shorts, skirts with a white singlet and the collection was born.
I sewed in the middle of the night for six months and now am able to have other people sew for me. I am good at designing and liaison with suppliers and stockists. However, I knew that there were some areas of business where I simply did not have the skills, networks or interest.
The Brilliant Idea Program
I changed the name of my business from Design Melo, to Dahlia. The name change was necessary because I was unable to trademark Design Melo, making trading overseas difficult. The name Dahlia was chosen for two reasons. Dahlia is a flower that symbolises elegance, which perfectly describes the clothing. The name also uses two letters of each of my daughters’ names.
Through the Brilliant Idea program, I was introduced to Kylie Petroni, founder of Cackleberry Kids, a successful clothing line for young boys. I needed Kylie as she brought the skills and experience that I did not have in the early days of my business. With the assistance of the microcredit loan, I was able to contract Kylie to work with me. I learned how to plan and structure my business. With her guidance, I was able to clarify my goals, make a plan and keep on track. It’s brilliant being able to have a clear idea of what you are doing. It’s also important to know when to say no, and to do this in an appropriate way. Kylie was an inspirational mentor and helped guide me through the obstacles that I encountered.
Top Tips
Make your business a part of your lifestyle! You will be spending most of your time on it and if you are not overly passionate about your business, it’s very easy to lose the passion when you are working so hard.
What Next?
I now know how to handle business a lot better. Although I still design at night, I am not up sewing until 2am.
Dahlia is currently stocked in three states and my winter line will be in stores from April 2011. A big goal for my business is to be featured in Shop4Kids. I also hope to visit Italy one day with my children.
Kristin Collins
dahliastyle [at] live [dot] com
Posted November 2010
