It’s been over a month since I’ve posted on petitcouture.com. I’m writing in the last three hours of 2009 to ensure I make the cut-off. With three munchkins needless to say, JKW and I are “in” for the night. That said, some reflection from the past year and updates….

2009 is the year Petit Couture came into formation. It is still a nascent business with a tremendous opportunity for growth and I’m personally THRILLED for the reception and continued momentum. Every aspect of the business I am finding personally and professionally challenging and fulfilling and it’s just starting. I feel personally grateful each and every day for the fateful conversations started last January that prompted the creation of Petit Couture. Since the company’s inception, we’ve held six successful trunkshows, we’re carried in four high-end boutique stores in the Seattle area and one in Portland (discussions with two others), have one national ad featured in ‘Hybrid Mom’ magazine, will be live online in Australia in January with ‘Triflenet’, and there are interested sales and showroom representatives in Japan and California! I even have a discussion scheduled with a major buying team for a national retailer in February! We also have a great following on Twitter and Facebook and I continue to personally make tremendous connections socially now. The momentum is so incredible! I still cannot believe how much has been accomplished in under a year given momentum didn’t truly take off until this past summer. And, even that said…..I’m just really grateful for the reception for the brand, garments and business plan. I love it!

You might be wondering what else has been happening ‘behind the scenes’. Well, PetitCouture.com launched last month – thank you to the INCREDIBLE web skillz of Mr. Diggles. Ecommerce launches in January (thank you James Paden and Jascha Kaykas-Wolff . I’ve also been very active in local to Portland business groups like Mamapreneurs, Inc. (newly named ‘The Power MOB’) as well as the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network. My main focus this last month has been ramping up all of the financials and business planning for Petit Couture. I’ve been working on the five-year financial roadmap and have submitted an application to present and pitch in Angel Oregon’s SEED competition scheduled for March 6 at The Nines in Portland. Fingers crossed. I’ve also been working with a truly wonderful branding and packaging firm here called Sandstrom Partners to coalesce all of the packaging elements associated with Petit Couture. I’m so glad they agree the brand is perfect ‘as is’ and that we’re looking to mature the packaging elements to create fun gift sets and collateral pieces. All fun stuff! Lastly, I’ve been working on NEW collection pieces and I’m SOOOOO EXCITED about them. All of the hard bits remain to be completed though (fully sourcing all bits and finalizing local manufacturing….but as with everything it’s ‘in process’).

I continue to be amazed at what a connected universe (and a very small one) Portland is and how fortunate I am to have landed here while Petit Couture matures. I feel like that has been the biggest kismet moment of them all. I am so fortunate to be working with some of the best NW business talent there is to help me shape the vision and business planning for Petit Couture as well as the nuts and bolts of creating true ‘cut and sew’ orginal creations. I mean, Portland is an apparel town. I never really thought about it before. But with Nike here so many other large and small apparel businesses are here which is OUTSTANDING for Petit Couture. Great talent and I feel truly humbled to be working with so many great people here.

With that…look for exciting updates in 2010 and THANK YOU for being truly, truly, truly great supporters of Petit Couture. I love what Simone told me yesterday as we drove past a FedEx truck (she is 7 and can read now). She said, “mommy…what is FedEx (I tell her)?”. “Hmm….I like your Petit Couture better (meaning the logo)”. Ahh…Love it.

And, lastly….thanks to Sofie (who will only wear Petit Couture on ‘owl shirt friday’), Jules (who has no choice but to always be in owls), and Simone (who gets her friends to want ‘owl shirts’) and JKW…who is tirelessly, as I type, working on final ecommerce updates. All of them the reason, and opportunity, for me to be moving Petit Couture forward each and every day….

xo and Happy New Year.
Rebecca