Keepin It Local

As the Made in the USA movement continues to grow, NY designers Lia Cinquegrano and Adrienne Alaimo are Keepin It Local!
On May 17th , New York-based designers Adrienne Alaimo of AEA Jewelry and Lia Cinquegrano of THOMAS IV handbags teamed up to host an awareness-raising accessory event at Lost Weekend on the Lower East Side.  All products were NYC Made.  The evening was filled with friends, music, drinks, and sales!  The highlight for us was the amazing Keepin It Local book showcasing the magic behind both brands’ manufacturing! The designers profiled the people who manufacture their lines and shed a little light on accessory manufacturing right here in the Garment Center.  Check out this tribute to some of the most skilled artisans in New York City!

NANETTE LEPORE & PROJECT RUNWAY ALL-STARS

On Episode 10 of Project Runway All-Stars, the final four designers learned about getting their businesses off the ground…using New York City’s Garment Center! Guest Judge and Garment Center advocate Nanette Lepore challenged the designers to create a design that factored in the costs of real-life domestic production: fabric, supplies, factory labor (cutting & sewing), and general overhead- using fabrics from Nanette’s studio.

For a hundred years, New York City’s Garment Center has been the place where emerging designers can start from scratch. Starting with a sketch, a designer can source fabrics, trims, buttons, and supplies at local retailers and then calculate the cost of producing their sketch. Local factories mark and grade patterns to create a range of sizes, cut the fabric to the different size patterns and then sew it all together. With limited funding, a designer can walk into a factory in New York City’s Garment Center and produce a small run of their design.

With a $5,000 loan from her dad, Nanette Lepore founded her namesake brand working with local factories that were willing to mentor her. Like Nanette before them, Austin, Kenley, Michael, and Mondo will have the opportunity to build their businesses thanks to New York City’s Garment Center.

And the challenge winner is…Mondo! His winning look was produced by four manufacturers in New York City’s Garment Center and is now available in Nanette Lepore’s stores nationwide and online.  100% of the profits will go to Save the Garment Center!

See the Episode on Lifetime.com!

 

 

Fleabags

Fleabags will donate 10% of all profits from the sale of these bags to the Save the Garment Center foundation. All Market Totes feature an exclusively designed silkscreen to promote Fleabags’ support of local garment workers.

Fleabags strives to create products that are as green as possible while maintaining high quality and covetable design. Fleabags are made with organic and vintage materials, vegetable-tanned and re-purposed leathers, and other parts all sourced in the USA. All silkscreens use water-based ink. Fleabags are made in the USA with good old-fashioned sewing.

Fleabags are locally made, in Limited Edition, by hand, in small production runs.

Support Small Businesses And Feel Good About It. Shop Fleabags online here.