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The sample was composed by people with ages varying from 20-45. Some of them are identified as consumers. One is a possible investor and the other a possible future partner. Most of the participants were aware of refurbishing second-hand clothes into new ones. All of them agrees that it is a circular model or a route to it. As positive impact, they mentioned the project being a step towards changing the mindset of the Houston's community in regards of becoming aware of waste in the fashion industry. As negative they mentioned the overarching responsibility within reusing a complete piece of clothing without leaving any waste-trace. Another concern was regarding giving a destiny to the clothes after the consumer doesn't want to wear it anymore. After reflecting on the feedbacks, it was decided to give the customer the possibility of returning the garment they purchased but doesn't want to wear anymore. We'll encourage them by giving a discount for the return. In the future, the plan is also to extend the project to a clothes library as well.

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Intended transactions.

Goals:

10 garments sold per month;

Participate in 1 craft market per month;

Reach 10 kids/1 school that will acquire the 6 months program;

Estimated costs (first 6 months of project):

$10 is the amount spent to produce each garment;

$50 is how much it is paid to guarantee a spot at craft markets;

$100 per month is the investment to create an Instagram ad for the shop(intention is to apply ads for the first 3 months);

$100 (one-time investment in a tent, tables, table cloth, clothes rack, hangers, etc);

$50 (gas, per month);

$50 (studio energy consumption, per month);

$600 will be spent in second-hand clothes as our resource fabric in the first 6 months;

$300 in thread, needles and a sewing machine;

$10 per kid, per month in materials purchased;

$2500 is the project's cost in the first 6 months.

Estimated revenue (first 6 months of project):

$80 is the price of the first clothing pieces;

$800 in sales at the shop and craft markets, per month;

$150 is how much each kid pays for the class per month;

$1500 is how much we'll earn per class taught, per month;

$13.800 is the project's revenue in the first 6 months.

The estimated per month salary of each of the employees will be $940.

Employees (first 6 months):

A visual artist, designer and art teacher

A communicator and art teacher

The goal is to hire 1 professional after 6 months of project.

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What is the ultimate goal of your project, the outcome you dream of if you think big?

The project started as a dream to connect 2 passions: fashion and art. But, we soon realized that it needed also to contemplate our standpoint towards fast fashion and the linear system of production. We understand that many people see second hand as a cheap and outdated alternative for clothing. We want to utilize these second-hand pieces to create clothes that are stylish and timeless, for women and men. We're also art teachers, so it is important to us to include education and social value to the project.

Our dream today:

Be a studio that promotes a different way to relate to fashion, one that is more conscious of the environment and of the potential of self-expression in clothes;

Have a physical space where the project can be fully organized and run (today an unused room in my house is being adapted for that);

Build a local value-web with artists and fashion professionals, such as seamstresses, artisans, dyers, photographers, etc, to help the local economy and improve the quality of our items;

Create a school program (for kids) that is apprehensible, creative and, somehow, mind-opening;

Start a collaborative fashion/art collective that explores the interlacement of fashion, art, culture, identity and self-expression;

Our dream in three years:
To become a "center for fashion" in Houston by promoting multiple ways to relate with clothing. In this center we will:

Offer a more economic way to access clothing by building up a 'clothes library' with items created by us and, also, curated pieces from thrift shops;

Offer the option of purchasing a make-on-demand fashion item (e.g. with customers providing the fabric they want the item to be produced with);

Receive donations of clothes (e.g. piece of clothing will need to fill certain criteria, such as, type of material, size, etc), which will accumulate in points for the customer to exchange in the shop or to rent at the clothes library, for example;

Develop workshops (on themes like fashion, art, culture and identity) for people of all ages and backgrounds as a way to promote self-expression and knowledge by practice;

Have a subscription program (e.g. Patreon) where customers pay a regular fee, on a monthly or an annual basis, in order to gain access to a service or product related to our business;

Our dream in 5 years:

Grow the relationship with a chemist and mushroom producer, in Brazil, to collaborate in the development of a mycelium textile. The intention is to learn through experimentation and the action will be part of our collaborative fashion/art collective actions.

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What strategy do you choose to realize your value proposition?

Different strategies will be used for the shop and for the school program.

Shop:

Acquire and build a small textile inventory for the creation of clothes from Houston's thrift stores (e.g. Goodwill);

Make artisanal clothes, focusing in quality over quantity;

Encourage consumers to return garments purchased in the shop that are no longer being used by offering discounts;

Use of social media tools (instagram) to connect with consumers and spread the studio's ideas;

Visit artists' studios in search for artistic collaborations;

discover professionals (seamstresses, dyers, photographers, etc) and build a reliable contact's list;

Social media collaborations (e.g. contests and give aways) with local businesses like recyclers, farmers market, sustainable shops, etc, in order to promote information about circular fashion and self-expression;

Create Instagram ad for 3 consecutive months;

Partner up with local craft markets and make those our temporary 'physical space';

Build a website for online sales;

Participate in 1 craft market/per month.

School program:

Search for fiber arts museums, centers and institutions to learn, experience and get inspired through what's been done already;

Create an inventory of creative classes for kids (ages 5-11 - elementary school) that will explore fashion as self-expression and information on how the fashion industry works;

Purchase necessary materials for classes, possibly only locally;

Contact schools, museums and institutions that would be willing to support the project;

Offer punctual workshops as a way to test out classes;

Come up with fashion related 'social activities' and artistic performances throughout the city of Houston

Create program’s own instagram page;

Shoot a “trailer” explaining what we do, our motive, sneak peek of “test out” workshops and testimonies of participants;

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Determine indicator to measure positive/negative impacts.

SPECIFICS:

The project has 2 sources of income:

1. Shop: through online (website) and physical sales (craft markets);

2. School program: that can be adapted to schools, museums, institutions, etc, from one week camps for up to 6 months classes.

MEASURABLE:

Considering the goal of selling 60 garments in the first 6 months, and that approximately 3 garments are necessary to build each new item, the project will extend the life cycle of 180 clothes in the first 6 months.

With the school program, the project will reach 10 kids in 6 months, and will double that in the next 6 months.

The negative impact is that we're extending the life of clothes, but eventually it will still be thrown away. That is the reason why we plan to slowly (in the first 3 years) build a front of clothes library, giving the customer the possibility to rent instead of buy.

ACHIEVABLE

Our plan is to 'start small' in order to build our own skills (sewing, marketing, etc) and understand the niche. With that in mind, it is an achievable project, even though initially the income of both professionals (that are also the project creators) is going to be low. We are aware of that and we consider it to be worth it, since it’s a business that will implement features of a route to a circular economy in the city of Houston, TX, and that have a tendency to grow after 6 months.

RELEVANT

It is a relevant project, because it is the first one that utilizes second-hand garments to create new clothes in the city of Houston, TX. It is also the first project to create a school program focused on fashion, art and self-expression in the city.

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Which business model will you develop to craft value?Choose between the defined business model archetypes: Platform model, Circular model, Community-based model

The business model features a route to a circular model for 2 reasons:
- we're repurposing textiles and extending their life-cycle;
- we're generating impact/value to the fashion industry when we create classes that promotes awareness in the subject.

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What is the problem, opportunity or challenge that you want to address with your project? What are strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats for your idea?

The challenge the project aims to address is the relationship we created with fashion, in many times over-consuming, which unleashes a throw-away culture and generates environmental and social problems.
Clothes are seen as worthless and disposable, but on the other hand, our identity is very much connected to what we wear. The intention with this project is to add value to second-hand clothes and promote the idea that fashion can be a medium to self expression.

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What are the core activities you will undertake? Which of the R strategies are at the core of your project?

To reuse second-hand clothes and refurbish them into new clothes;

To repair second-hand clothes, adding value and aesthetics to it. Doing that, the project helps to reduce the amount of textiles that end up in landfills.

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How will you craft multiple values and for whom?

The value proposition of the project is to support a route to a new circular economy. Woking in two fronts, we hope to achieve two types of consumers: Adults (Generation X and millennials - women and men) and children (5-11 years old - elementary school). The types of value we are creating are:

Environmental value:

extending the life cycle of garments when making clothes out of clothes;

following the concept of slow fashion, making clothes artisanally, in few quantities, and prioritizing the use of less materials, water, energy and machinery;

Receiving back garments purchased in the shop that are no longer being used by consumer. Once again 'recycling' it into a new piece of clothing.

Social value:

Creating opportunities to artists and professionals in the fashion industry;

providing empowerment through knowledge/practice with children classes that will:

present in a creative way the processes of making clothes;

get in contact with different fiber art techniques;

build skill on clothes repairing;

bring awareness to a new circular economy through concepts and examples in art and fashion.

Dolores Design Studio Video link: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/594337240