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Poppy Barley Co-founder on "Designing Your Creative Business"

2-minute read

As you may remember, we spent a full day at the PARK Edmonton Artist + Designer forum on August 16th, 2014, talking business, fashion and creativity with six other presenters and 60+ attendees. And ICYMI, we asked Daelan, our tech lead, to sneak in and record our co-founder Justine Barber's presentation on Designing Your Creative Business so that we could share it with all of you (still to come: my presentation on pitching to media). We write about startup culture on our Community Page often, because we regularly receive e-mails with business-related questions from both men and women looking to start their own companies. It's exciting for us to be able to share our experiences so far and feel that we might be offering you some golden nuggets of information that might help you in reaching your business goals. We're still learning, but using Poppy Barley as a case study, here's what we know so far, and what you can take away from this video:
  • The realities of a creative business (it's not all fashion + glamour!)
  • Enthusiasm versus commitment
  • Steps to launching your business (determining market opportunity, early strategic considerations, and launching with your MVP)
  • When to quit your day job
  • Establishing work-life balance
  • How to grow quickly
  • Fighting the dragon and riding a lion - metaphors you'll soon understand
  • Being an entrepreneur
And one last thing before you begin, here's your "course" summary:
Designing Your Creative Business There’s a clear distinction between creating fashion, art, and creative content, and running a business. This session will introduce you to the necessary ingredients to design a business, including building a team, establishing a distribution strategy, finding manufacturers/partnerships and funding options. Justine Barber is the co-founder of Poppy Barley. Combining the art of traditional shoemaking with advanced pattern technology and e-commerce, Poppy Barley is creating a new standard in the footwear industry, offering limited edition, custom-fit boots and shoes manufactured ethically and transparently. In less than 2-years, Justine and her co-founder and sister, Kendall, built Poppy Barley from scratch. Their direct-to-consumer sales model sells to customers worldwide. The company designs its own product, works directly with all suppliers, and has a manufacturing partnership with a factory in Mexico. In Canada, the company has a team of talented employees; and has successfully financed the company.

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The Harley Heeled Sandal Ankle Size Guide

How To Measure:
The Harley Heeled Sandal: Take a tape measure and wrap it around your foot, right below your ankle bone as that is where the strap will sit (see product imagery and fit video for a visual demonstration). This measurement is based on the last adjustment point on the strap.

Size Strap length will accommodate an ankle measurement up to the size below
5 26 cm
5.5 26.5 cm
6 27 cm
6.5 27 cm
7 27.5 cm
7.5 27.5 cm
8 28 cm
8.5 28 cm
9 28 cm
9.5 28.5 cm
10 28.5 cm
10.5 29 cm
11 29 cm
11.5 30 cm
12 30 cm

The Esther Heeled Sandal Ankle Size Guide

How to Measure:
The Esther Heeled Sandal: take a tape measure and wrap it around your ankle, above the ankle bone, as that is where the strap will sit (see product imagery and fit video for a visual demonstration). This measurement is based on the last adjustment point on the strap.

Size Strap length will accommodate an ankle measurement up to the size below
5 23 cm
5.5 23 cm
6 23 cm
6.5 23 cm
7 24 cm
7.5 24 cm
8 24.5 cm
8.5 24.5 cm
9 24.5 cm
9.5 25 cm
10 25 cm
10.5 25.5 cm
11 26 cm
11.5 26 cm
12 26 cm

Belt Sizes

Natural Waist Measurement Typical Jean Size Belt Size for High‑rise Pant Belt Size for Mid‑rise Pant Infinite Belt Size
23-25" 23/24 26" 28" 1
25-26" 25 28" 30" 1
26-27" 26 30" 32" 1
27-28" 27 30" 32" 1
28-29" 28 32" 34" 2
29-30" 29 32" 34" 2
30-31" 30 34" 36" 2
31-32" 31 34" 36" 2
32-33" 32 36" 38" 3
33-34" 33 36" 38" 3
34-35" 34 38” 40" 3
36-37" 36 38" 40" 3
38-39" 38 40" 42" 4
40-41" 40 40" 42" 4
42-43" 42 44" 46" 4
43-44" 43 44" 46" 5
44-45" 44 46" - 5

Sizing Note: For the most accurate fit, measure around your body where you plan to wear the belt. Choose the closest belt size to that measurement.

Belt Diagram Accent Belt and Complement BeltThe Accent Belt, The Polished Belt and The Complement Belt size measurements start from the beginning of the leather to the middle hole.

Belt Diagram Infinite BeltThe Infinite Belt size measurements cover the entire length of the leather.



Belt Measuring Guide

Belt Measuring Guide

A - High-rise style:

If you plan to wear your belt around your natural waistline, wrap a measuring tape around the narrowest part of your midsection. Then, add 3” to determine your high-rise belt size.

B - Mid-rise style:

If you plan to wear your belt lower than your natural waistline, you will require a dierent size. If you have a particular pair of bottoms you intend to wear your belt with, wrap a measuring tape through the belt loops while in a relaxed position.

When wearing your belt in your preferred style, it should fasten in the middle hole. The belt will relax with wear allowing you to cinch it tighter, as needed.

If you plan to wear the belt in both the high and mid-rise styles, you have two options:

  1. Select your high-rise style and fasten it more loosely when worn in the mid-rise style.
  2. Select your mid-rise style and fasten it more tightly when worn in the high-rise style.