The last several months have been a whirl wind for me as I set out to conquer several major projects for Modern Material. The first of which being a booth at the Gahanna Creekside Jazz & Blues Festival just outside Columbus, Ohio. The chance to spend 3 days displaying merchandise in front of thousands and thousands of people was sure to give a huge local boost in brand recognition. The second major task was creating an amazing music promotion to draw attention. Somehow I managed to pull everything together to launch the Free Music Download promotion at the festival.
After receiving news about being accepted into the 2009 Creekside Festival, it was time to start building inventory. I added several new apparel and accessory designs which will soon be available online. Much of the product production is still handled by myself, so I spent countless hours and days sewing embellishments and assembling jewelry. My husband, Steve, also contributed dozens of hours to building display walls and updating the website, while my best friend Tiffany found herself helping out with some challenging projects. Perhaps the most challenging of all was being able to locate just about everything I seemed to loose in all of the chaos.
3 DAY WEEKEND
Creekside turned out to be a very successful event. My close friend, Jamie Linscott, joined me to sell her fine silver jewelry and vintage creations. Overall the sales were great, and the responses to the line was amazing. It gives me a huge boost in confidence, and from a marketing standpoint, it was a great customer analysis by overhearing the conversations that people were having with each other as they looked around. The Alison Wonderland Couture Tee (originally designed as a gift for Gwen Stefani), was an instant attraction, followed by The Mad Hatter Couture Tee, which is now available. The Royal Highness necklace was the most popular Modern Material jewelry item, while the new Long Live The Rock & Roll Queen tanks also sold well. I also introduced a military style hat which was easily a best seller.
THE INDIE ROCK COLLECTION, V1
The music promotion was also very exciting to share with customers, although I don't believe it was really the right crowd who understands indie music. It did seem to open up some interesting opportunities that were presented to me, which I hope to be a part of. As you are now beginning to notice, Modern Material is becoming intertwined with indie rock & roll music. Music originally inspired the overall mood of the brand, and I am very honored to have found so many talented musicians wanting to support Modern Material and license a song for us to give away as collective gift with purchase. I intend to use this collaboration to not only generate more sales, but also shed light on dozens of lesser known indie musicians who deserve to find success in the music industry. I want to make the shopping experience with the brand a statement. I remember receiving music samplers at concerts or other events, which at first glace seemed like a waste of time because I had never heard of a single musician listed. However, I soon discovered some artists who would go on to be among my all time favorites musicians. A new tee shirt or piece of jewelry will probably stick around in your closet for a year or until the trend wears out. A great song will never go out of style....unless of course popular radio kills it for you...over...and over.
THANK YOU
I would like to give thanks and credit to the dozens of people who have contributed to this music promotion. First I owe the largest thanks to my husband Steve for his patience with me over the last few months. He has also made everything possible as I continue to want to add new features to the website almost every day, and we still have a major piece to tackle with the 30 artist profiles. I would next like to thank Vance McNabb from Charleston, SC, manager for Howie Day, Jay Clifford, Owen Beverly, Steven Fiore, and Nick Zuber for his support of Modern Material over the last year and for guiding me in the right direction as I set out to create this music compilation. Thanks to Jason Corron, Art Director of Promowest Productions in Columbus, OH, for opportunities that are hopefully yet to come. Thanks to The Thrifters (and basist Chris Henke) from Cleveland, Ohio, who found me online and expressed interest in collaboration and who took the promotion on tour around the US. I would especially like to thank those who I reached out to, simply because I heard a song that I really liked. Thanks to David Blutenthal of Brick Wall Management in New York City for his strong support, lending music from The Alternate Routes, K.S. Rhoads, The Spring Standards, The Clarks, Slow Runner, Ari Hest, and Sons of William. Thanks to Chris Hacker of Engine Room Recordings in New York City for sharing The Bloodsugars, Porterblock, Lowry, and Israel, Darling. Thanks to Andy Forts of Eenie Meanie Records in Hollywood, CA for the music of Great Northern, Scissors for Lefty, Blue Eyed Son, and Oranger. And more thanks to Fara D'Augiar with Derek James. Jody Gayle with Listen 2 Three. Cloud 13 Records for Soft Targets and The Ums in Tallahassee, FL. Brad Lyons of Oceanship in Ontario, Canada. Gandhar Savur with Miss TK & The Revenge in Ashbury, NJ. Andrew Lizon of Drew in Columbus, OH. Paul McGough and Hillary Abel with Vacuity in Kitchener, Ontario. Tiffany Schloesser and Stef Shapira of The Rebel Group in New York City for music from Wheat. Corinne, Cindel, Dustin, and One Union Project from Rock Factory Studios in Pickerington, OH. Music has been licensed for a period of 1 year, and over the next several months we will be working on building a marketing campaign to reach out to music and fashion media outlets, primarily in the U.S. The response to the Modern Material brand and music collection has been amazing, so we anticipate much more exposure once we have the chance to distribute press releases. Things are just getting started, so please check back for the latest and greatest.
MICHAEL JACKSON
On a final note, I would just like to pay tribute to the very first musician who truly inspired me when I was just 4 years old. I will never forget watching the videos for Thriller, Billie Jean, and Say Say Say over and over again on an old VHS tape. Michael's poster hung on my bedroom wall, perhaps my first crush or just someone I wanted to be. A piece of my childhood gone, just like everybody else's.
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