Jamie's Blog

Just a piece of Pottery Barn

October 20, 2011

I wrote over almost a year ago about submitting my products to Pottery Barn Kids, and admited that my products did not get accepted.  I have to admit getting rejected sucked, it was one of the last feathers I wanted in my JPD cap.  I also blogged about a good friend that was much luckier than I was, she actually got contacted by them and they carry her products as we speak.  

Just when I was not totally focusing on not getting in (kidding), I received this nice email in my inbox:

Jamie,

I stumbled across your blog one day and found it entertaining and informative.  I have some business questions for you when you have time.  In one of your posts you talked about submitting your artwork to Pottery Barn, how did you do that?  How did you present to them?

Debbie

Even though I did not get in, I can honestly say this has worked for other catalogs, websites and physical stores.  Take it with a grain of salt, this may not be the correct way but 9 times out of ten it has worked for me.

So....without further ado I will give more details on my submission to Pottery Barn Kids or any other company with buyers, decision makers and leaders in the Chidlren's Industry.

Getting The Contact

Finding the right person at a company is key to getting your products into the correct

hands.  Make sure you are not just sending them to the secretary that gets the mail or worse the shipping clerk.  You need to do your homework either on the company website, Linked In, Industry contacts, Facebook or just Google.  Linked In is a great place to start and I am betting you can find almost anyone in a place of power on that site.*

You can send an email asking for permission to send products or you can just send them to the buyer.  It is also a good idea to find out when they are meeting to review new products and what they are specifically looking for.  Sending products during the Christmas Rush (August though December) if not requested is usually a waste of time.  

This is what I do/did/dione in the past:

1. Find the buyer and send an email asking if I can submit products. 

2. If I do not hear back with in a week or two, I call the main office and try to speak to the buyer in person.  I will leave one voice message and then if I do not hear back within 3 days I will continue to call but I don't leave another message.  You do not want to annoy them. Also do not get mad or angry or take it personally.  These people are very busy and probably get bombarded with submissions from vendors.  Be patient.

3. If I get permission, I put together a package with my best products....and with Pottery Barn I made exclusive designs.  I did my homework (even though it did no good) and I looked at what was best selling on their site.  Do note that they are already onto the next year's products and what you send is probably NOT going to end up anywhere - but it let's them see what you can do and possibly the items can be tweaked to work with upcoming designs.

4. The package contains a very nice well written letter to the buyer and list what I am sending, what I can do and my prices.  If you have any catalogs, postcards or publicity...include it.  Be careful to not overwhelm them with your entire line (45 pices of pottery) and only send what you want them to consider.  Again, do not waste their time with discontinued pieces or...um, crap.  

5. I try to be patient but I do follow up within about two weeks.  I mark it in my calendar every week or so to check in, again I don't send daily emails or bombard them with phone calls.....  Do your homework and if you do not get a response...be patient. Or better yet when you have initial conversation, ask how they would like to be contacted and when.

6. My biggest regret is when PBK said no I did not ask why, if I had it would have answered lots and lots of unanswered questions.**  If the answer is no....ask why. Take notes, be humble and learn from success and failure.  It is good to know what they liked and what they did not.  They may not tell you, but it is worth a shot.

                                                                                           There Are Always Other Options

If you get rejected, and you probably will....sorry but most companies that send their items to big companies get rejected. Don't be upset, do not give up!  Try again, maybe a new line, a new color combination or better yet a new product.  Keep up on industry news - anywhere you can find information about the company you are trying to get into.

You can also attend or exhibit at a trade show that the buyers are attending.  This a total long shot but you may meet their buyers.  I found that the bigger companies actually wore their badges backwards so that they were not inindated wtih requests.  Another regret when I was walking the San Francisco Gift Show back in 2003 I saw the Nordstrom Baby Representatives and did not have the guts to introduce myself.   Trade Shows are expensive and I DO NOT recommend them....but to each is own and you won't know till you try.  Just realize that there are a lot of large costs. 

If all else fails, maybe find a Representative that works with large companies.  Gift Centers all over the country work with large companies....go get one.  The best are of course New York and Los Angeles but Pottery Barn is based in San Francisco, so....they may have a rep in San Francisco...again do your homework!  You can find other businesses in your industry (or close to it) and see if someone represents them, or maybe if they work with PBK.  

One thing I would not suggest is to out right ask (been there) a stranger in your industry for their contact at a large company...big, big NO, NO.  Imagine you spent an entire year (London of My Little Dish) getting into a great catalog and then had someone actually wants you to give them all your information just like that.  It does not work that way.  And...they are probably under contract to NOT give out the information.

Be Prepared....Be Overly Prepared

If you really want to be a small fish in a big pond, or you want to be play with the big guys....be ready.  Be ready to take on huge orders at a moment's notice. Make sure you can make a profit and produce it in a timely manner.  If you fail with a big company, I am guessing you won't get a second chance.  

Also, know what you and your company can handle...again do your homework.  Even if your dream is to work with Pottery Barn Kids, Land of Nod or any other super large company make sure you can do it well.  It may sound all good and well but if you are a one man shop doing the work of 10 you probably can not handle 500 orders a month.  But then again if you are an entrepreneur at heart I am guessing no one can tell you that you can not do it....or maybe that is just me.

*A search I did today on Linked In for Pottery Barn Buyer listed many buyers, however they were listed with just first name and last initial (Susan B.).  It may be harder than it was for me a year ago, but I am sure you can still find the correct people who make decisisons at PBK.

**I found out almost a year later that the buyer did not dislike my work she hated that it was flat.  She wanted hand painted, she liked to touch things and feel the bumps and strokes and she liked the hand painted look.  I also recently found out she is no longer at PBK.  In large companies people move around a lot....so just because someone said no once, does not mean the answer will always be no.

Advice I Should Know Regarding Moving

October 10, 2011

Moving is not for the faint of heart, nor the easily emotional cry baby mess....not that I would know anything about the latter, but I have heard.  To be clear I am not talking about moving from one city to another, going away to college or moving out of your apartment to a new home....I am talking about moving with a capital M.  Moving one, two hours or 3 states away from your home - now that my friend is real moving.

Anywhere you can not get to within 15 minutes is not really moving.  Whether you agree or disagree with me, moving is a difficult pill to swallow and a big change for children, adults and pets....okay, not really pets, but adults for sure, and possibly children.  To quote a good friend when I told her we were moving she said, "I never meant I did not think you would not sell your house, I just never thought you would really move."  Her and me both.

When I agreed, or as my husband recalls it insisted we move this year instead of next,  I had the biggest rosiest glasses on you can ever imagine.  I just assumed it would be one big fat exciting adventure and I would be welcomed with big arms, a picnic, a parade and neighbors begging to have us for dinner....okay, maybe not the parade, but I thought it would be a big love fest.  

Also, I did think it would be the best, best, bestest thing to ever happen to the Lentzner clan.  Which reminds me of that quote that I now get, "If you want to make God laugh....tell him your plans".  I am guessing the big guy up in the sky has been laughing it up pretty good since I relocated my life, my family , my home and my business to El Dorado Hills.  Shame on me, I was the one who scoffed those with a birth plan, knowing that was just a crock.  I should have known better....really I should have.

Now moving the business has not been as hard as I originally thought it would be.  It has had a few hiccups (line NOT transferred to new area code for 30 days) and a few snafus (checks mailed to wrong address) but it has been easier than expected.  Taking on extra responsibilities until we hire employees has kept me busy and more involved in the day to day operations of Jamie's Painting & Design.  It has probably kept me more sane than I care to admit.

So, if you are in the mood or market to move, here are a few easy things to help anyone that is moving their life, children, pets....oh and their business:

Change is Not Easy....and Not for Wimps

Have you ever woken up day after day confused, disoriented and not sure where you were?  Have you ever repeatedly gotten lost just coming home from the grocery store?   The only thing I can compare it to is waking up into a dorm room 3 or 4 days after moving in and you can not stop signing that Talking Head song...."and you wake up with a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife and you ask yourself, how did I get here?"  No?...then you have not moved.  

I will be the first to acknowledge once again that this move was one of the most impulsive things I have ever done in my entire life.  As hard as it has been on me, it has been super easy on my kids.  Never, ever underestimate how easily your children will adopt to change....really, really trust me on this one.  I did not trust friends, family and strangers....children can adapt way easier than any adult.

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

Being an ex-girl scout, and ex-sorority girl and an ex-Foster City native this one is crucial to your sanity.  Don't lose site of who matters and who has been there for you.  Not to say that there are probably a few acquaintances and friends that you will not keep in touch with, for the most part make the effort.  These are the people that know you for who you are, knew you back when...they will always understand who you are before you moved.

On that note it will be shocking who keeps in touch and who does not.  It will also be shocking how you have affected friends and how the hole you left will be very hard to fill.  I would suggest you do your very best to keep these people in your fold, find every way you can to make sure that even though the friendship changes....it never ends.

Being a creature of, well I would say comfort, but that is not what I am.  I am more a creature of comfort with my friends.  I love, love my girlfriends close, far, Facebook, High school, Grammar School....I love me some friends.  So, keeping them once you move can be challenging - but I highly recommend you do everything you can to keep them.  Because, for me I would be nothing without them.

Don't Be Dissapointed, Be Patient

Face it, people will disappoint you and things will happen in your personal life and your work life that do not make sense.  If you are in the midst of a major life change....then I suggest you let it go.  This is not easy, trust me and I am not an expert, nor have I let certain things go.  However, I have learned to live within the moment and realize that it is just life.

Last weekend my sister and Aunt came to visit and we had a great time.  We laughed, we shopped and we wine tasted.  It is always fun with my relatives, and this time was no different.  However my Aunt did put life in perspective for me.  She bought me a bottle of perfume and left it in my bathroom with this message written on a post it for me:

Jamie

Remember you are learning patience

I love you

Sheshi  (then she added a little cat face that she loves to do & I can't do on the computer) 

I also like to have things done quickly, like an HGTV makeover show.  Or better yet an episode of Extreme Home Make Over or any of those shows that works fast.   Nothing goes that quickly in real life....nothing.  So when I am down or sad I just think of this little simple post it my Aunt left me and I smile and I try to stay patient.