This Saturday, one of the Dayton Emerging Fashion Incubator (DE-FI) LLC’s partners Industry Events will be hosting a Fabric Fest at De’Lish Café located at 139 N. Main St. Dayton, OH 45402 from 10am to 4pm. Ed Dixon the CEO of Industry Events who also sits on the Advisory Board and Steering Committee for (DE-FI) sat down for a quick Q & A Session to share with us a few details regarding Saturday’s event and what Industry Events has in store for the future right here in Dayton!!
Q) What is Industry Events?
A) Industry Events was created simply to help foster the creative community in Dayton. Whether it’s Fashion, Music, Art, Film or TV. There’s always a potential for growth and new ideas when like-minded people get together. It doesn’t have to be a large event. Sometimes the best networking opportunities and collaborations have come from small meetings and gatherings. Industry Events just comes up with themes and a venue and says let’s get together and talk.
Q) Why have you taken an interest in the Fashion Industry?
A) I’ve watched fashion really take hold in the area over the last couple of years. I initially volunteered my time because I was excited to see something new come to the city. However, as I’ve seen the economic potential for fashion here grow, I’m hoping that the business of fashion can help improve the overall quality of life in the Dayton area.
Q) What is the significance of the Fabric Fest and who will benefit from it the most?
Anna Livermore of V. Mora and Jay Arbetman
A) Anna Livermore of V. Mora and Jay Arbetman of The Sourcing District are both from the Chicago area and have taken Fabric Fest around the country to help aspiring and even established independent designers with the process bringing their designs to life. I don’t think the Dayton area has seen an event quite like this and I believe any designer that works in fabrics will benefit greatly from Anna and Jay’s years of experience and advice. Anna will give a presentation on the Top 5 Mistakes Beginning Designers Make at 1pm and Jay will be available throughout the event with fabric choices that are rarely seen in this area.
Q) Is there a cost to attend?
A) The event is free of charge. Street meter parking downtown on Saturday is also free.
Q) Will people be able to purchase fabrics during the event?
A) No inventory will be on hand at the event, but all fabric will be available to purchase by credit card at wholesale prices with low minimum orders. The key thing is that a fabric a designer selects or purchases at Fabric Fest will still be available down the road when the designer needs to make sample designs of their clothing or has customer orders. These are fabrics that the vendors always stocks, so the designer can have confidence that future orders for their designs can still be manufactured.
Q) What are some of the barriers designers face in selecting and purchasing fabrics?
A) Many designers I’ve talked to travel to the East and West Coast and even overseas to find the fabric they need for their designs. However, most designers are on a more limited budget and typically have to go through a process of requesting sample swatches of fabrics from places in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and overseas to find the fabric that fits their needs. This can be time consuming and sometimes expensive. Fabric Fest is chance for designers in the Dayton area and surrounding cities to see and feel a huge variety of samples all in one place with just a short drive.
Q) What role would you like to see the Fabric Fest play in the future for the local fashion scene?
A) I’d like to see Fabric Fest being a semi-annual event where new and established designers learn about the “Ins and Outs” of the business of fashion from seasoned professionals, thereby, saving themselves time and money. I also want to see that translate into jobs and the growing of our local economy. I think the more successful this and future events are, the more likely Dayton can follow places like Columbus as being a city people in the world of fashion take serious.
Q) How can people find out about future events produced by Industry Events?
A) You can find out more about Industry Events at theindustryevents.com and on Twitter & Instagram @Industry937
According to a Press Release issue by Industry Events “The Dayton region has seen a lot of interest and growth in fashion in the last couple of years. Dayton had its first major fashion week in 2012 and in 2013 there were new groups that continued and furthered the goal of creating a vibrant fashion community here. The Dayton Emerging Fashion Incubator (DE-FI) will again hold their annual signature event over the weekend of May 9-10th. In addition, fashion magazines, blogs and clothing retailers such as Joli Boutique and Rumorless Threads have enjoyed and been at the forefront of this trend. Debbie Teeters, owner of Joli Boutique, says “I am a great believer in that our fashion is a barometer for measuring our mood and the mood of the economy. Optimism is in the air for 2014 and it shows with our fashion!” Local marketer and promoter, Ed Dixon was instrumental in bringing Fabric Fest to Dayton after making several trips to New York and Los Angeles to research the market. “I’ve seen this area finally register on the world’s fashion radar and I certainly will do what I can to help make the Dayton region a serious player.” #TakingItToTheNextLevel #FirstFlightNowFashion
