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The goal for this company is to be viable without external funding within 2 years. This is quite a task and is not without risk, see attachment for the necessary financial investments. However, if this business will earn its place within the middle/higher segment of the fashion industry in The Netherlands it can be a stable place of production with potential to expand the idea to other locations.

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The goal of the company to have impact in several ways.
1.            Reduction of waste and overproduction, see also below 'cleaner production'.
The ideal situation will be to have as close to 0,0% waste as possible. In order to make this possible I will reach out to companies to collaborate to up- or recycle the inevitable 'waste' that will be produced.
2.            Improvement of production of clothing, closer to the customers’ wishes and sizes, see also below 'long term'.
The average age of a piece of clothing is around 2 years
3.            More choice of creativity, because more designers can show their signature and vision.
Some goals will be easier to be reached than others.
Financial stability will be possible to reach in 2-4 years; Broader, social-cultural goals will probably take 5-8 years to make a mark.

Longterm
The business is supposed to be a better alternative for prêt-a-porter way of producing. The longterm plan is that more Dutch people will wear clothing, well-produced in the Netherlands.
1.With this Redisgn Studio it will be easier for Dutch designers to produce for their direct clients and indirect client (through shops).
2. More Dutch designers will motivated to keep in business and produce in the Netherlands.
3. It will become the better alternative to buy clothes from designers (and shops) that produce with a high ethical bar for the different aspects* of the production chain in mind.
* A high ethical bar for treatment of workers, nature, animals, energy and cultural respect.
(The environmental movement around "eat less meat" in order to reduce CO2 made eating less meat
4. If well- produced goods are easier accessible, more people will buy these goods.
> Result:  The long erm plan is that more Dutch people will wear clothing, well-produced in the Netherlands.

Cleaner production
This business will contribute to a cleaner production chain in several ways.
– Reduction of overproduction of clothing
– Reduction of mismatch in sizes
– Improvement of quality of production > Lengthening of time that clothes are worn
– Improvement of quality of textiles (in strength and sustainable way of producing)
> Reduction of bad produced materials
> Reduction of waste, water and chemicals
– Reduction of CO2
The reason being: there is less transportation between different links of the production chain.
It is hard to estimate what the footprint will be.* It will be easier to keep reducing CO2-
emissions if more links of the chain are close by, rather than all over the world.

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Talking to young designers, this is what the main feedback was:
They liked the idea, but were cautious about the realisation. They recommended to think critically about the funding, marketing and location of this project.

Location
2 main possibilities:
1. Choose a busy, probably more expensive place, but easy to reach for a lot of starting designers.
> Plus side: Quick and good contact possible with designers, which will can improve grow and brand recognition. When designers feel connected with the literal place from the start, it is easier to get good feedback and loyal customers. Further, there is a bigger chance for good 'spontaneous' response from people coming across the place.
> Down side: An A- location will cost more money to start with. Will the first investments be able to cover the start-up period? How many errors will be too much to be out of business before establishing a loyal base? These are some insecurities of an expensive A-location.

2. A place that is not on a A-location, but less expensive.
> Plus side: Probably more worth for your money in terms of m2. Since the plan includes some machines, enough room is necessary. Lower rent or/and more room could be an easier to start from, because the money can be put in improving the business, machines and service. Perhaps a great place to work can make up for the fact that designers can ‘just walk in’.
> Down side: It is harder to make yourself known, especially with a business that brings a new kind of service. It will take more active marketing to get designers to be interested to join and build a base.

Funding
2 main possibilities:
1. Looking for investors and put in saved money.
> Plus side: Investors are able to put in enough money to start the business.
> Down side: Investors own the business and can press to change things to plan. If the pressure is too much, the main principles of the business idea could be on the line. Further, losing too much agency, is bad for motivation, which could lead to the collapse of the business. So choosing partners well is key!

2. Crowd funding
> Plus side: It can create a buzz and already a conversation with a possible base of young designers. If these designers are already invested emotionally, it is easier to get them to give and more important: become clients of the business.
> Down side: Young designers do usually not have a lot of money. So it will take quite a campaign to organise enough funding to start.

Marketing
It was quite hard to discuss marketing, because it depends on what my other choices will be. It will probably take a lot of face-to-face contact to clearly explain what this business can add to their current ways of working. This should be backed-up with clear information on both social media and a website. Perhaps I will have to attract the attention of big media to expand the idea and 'establish' it.

External reflection was fun, but difficult, because I had to recognise the topics I had avoid to think about until now.

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• Ultimate goal: Reducing overproduction
Other goals:
• Use of more sustainable materials
• Promoting creativity (of small designers and studios)
• Reducing textile waste
• Rethink our current supply and production chain

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The strategy for the business is based on Design-for-Recyling and Service Better Design / Production.

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In this scheme I put me/ my business in the middle. First of all, I will need a physical space, so real estate is a stakeholder. Another important stakeholder in my model are the designers who will come to the business for advice and/or buying fabrics. Their demand will depend on how their business is doing, so their customers and selling to (online) shops. Further, the stake holders are suppliers in machines, such as laser cut machine,  and software, f.e. Optitex. These machines will make it easier to remake patters and cut it more precisely. It will be important to have close relations with them to provide sufficient services for the designers. Furthermore, it is important that the software is and stay compatible with the machines. Last, I hope to have a good contact with researchers to keep up with the latest developments.

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Community-based model
Designers come together and use the facilities, like machines, but also knowledge about sustainable fabrics, to produces their own goods.

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The following values are created:
> Aesthetic / Creative value
Designers will create aesthetic value for their customers.

> Environmental value
The goal is that designers will produce smarter and are left with less stock.

> Economic value
Both for the business as for the designers economic value will be created, when they produce and sell their clothing.

> Educational value
Working together in a new type collective space, both the business as the designers will learn by experience and from each other.

> Community value
The strength of designers can grow if they feel part of a bigger designers-community. Hopefully this initiative can be a part of that.

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The dream is to have a place where designers can get advise about sustainable materials, buy them and most importantly, produce made-to-measure in an easy way.

The result would be more than just a place of production, namely an agency for creative, innovative, designers who move between highend fashion and commercial.

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Challenges
It is a new idea and I have to research whether fashion designers would actually like an institute/ business like this.

Strengths
If designers like the idea, the strength is that it could serve many designers and with that grow as both a production place and as a platform or even a kind of agency.

Threads
Lack of funding, logistically expensive mistakes and a miscommunication between the business and designers are real threads for the continuation and legitimacy of this idea.

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Concept
This idea is born out of frustration on several levels. Firstly, when designers leave fashion schools, their creativity is hardly shown in the "normal" world, where sells and costs are an enormous part of production of clothes. Second, the production of clothes is incredibly wasteful. It is a waste of energy, waste of materials, waste of time and money. And last, I believe that The Netherlands, and maybe broader, Europe should be leading in design world wide and show that. We should seriously invest in the creative minds we have instead of approaching intensive creative projects as hobbies.