Quality and value have always been the two things I wanted most when creating an apparel line and the two things I would not sacrifice. I have purchased enough cheap and chic apparel in my day to know you get what you pay for. A $10 t-shirt is going to behave like a $10 t-shirt, however I recently purchased a $48 (*gasp*) t-shirt and it had a hole before it even had time to hit the wash more than twice.

Back in September I was at a trade show in the USA and the show was slightly painful. The once busy show was quiet and sombre. There were more vendors than buyers; aisles were empty and the mood was a bit negative. On the last day I met a factory owner from India. I liked what he had to say, his prices sounded great and he really got me wondering if "Made in Canada" really is that important. I had done some importing from India and the collection sold well.

After the depressing trade show, I came back to Canada with a new perspective. I was no longer going to deal with driving all over the GTA, I was going to India!

On January 1st my bags were packed and my patterns were ready to experience Indian manufacturing. For 17 days I would explore parts of India and familiarize myself with the culture that I was going to start stamping on my content labels.

The experience was an amazing one but did it change my life - No! It did provide me with a clearer vision and a great appreciation for our awesome country. I do have to say in all fairness, the craftsmanship of the factory that produced samples for me were very good but at the end of it all the only thing in my head was there is no place like home. I returned to Canada and instantly started organizing my collection to be manufactured in Canada and this was one of the best decisions I could have made.

By manufacturing in Canada I am helping employ at least 20 people; from the people at the knitting mill, to the print house that produces my hang-tags. From start to finish there are a lot of Canadians who are employed because people like me keep my business in Canada.

About a month ago I came across an article about President Obama's mission to bring manufacturing back to the USA. I think this is incredible. I know the unemployment rate in Canada isn't even close to the situation being experienced in the USA, but I can't but agree strongly with this mission and hope that one day our country will push for something similar. I must say that recently I have noticed a lot of apparel companies are bringing back their business. When I walk through the factories that produce my small clothing line there are some very big apparel companies sitting right next to mine and stamping their content label Made in Canada!!!


For the love of being Made in Canada,

xoxo ali

We are making our way to Chicago to be part of StyleMax and we can hardly way to experience the Mid-West.


Here is a link to our new Fall Winter 2012 Collection.

Hope to see you there.

xo

ali

At the beginning of May Baby On Board Apparel ran a contest with Today’s Parent Online asking mommies to be why they needed a maternity wardrobe update.
 
The responses were amazing. Each night I would read the new entries and loved what all the women had to say. Some were as simple as I love clothes and none of mine fit anymore to my best friend is pregnant and so sick that this would make her day. Out of the 143 entries I knew that picking 3 was going to be tough job for the Today’s Parent online editor. I really enjoyed reading all the stories; however there was one entry that brought tears to my eyes. When I read it I could sense her zest for life through her words as they were so honest.  Her name is Melissa and this is what she wrote:
 
“This is my second pregnancy, my first we were surprised at our 20 week ultrasound…with twins! My pregnancy clothes from that pregnancy therefore don’t fit, as I’m only carrying one baby this time AND after alot of hard work, started out this pregnancy 20lbs less than the last! My husband is currently on a 7 week deployment, bringing the NATO fleet to Halifax for the Naval Centennial and I would love to have something new to wear when I see him. He’s missing everything, including the ultrasound as he’s been gone from my 19th week and will be until my 26th. A big congratulations to all the other pregnant Mommy’s-to-be out there!” (more...)

Check out this clip... Women having babies at 40 I am a late bloomer. I have always been a late bloomer with my life too.
Aw. My life! Here I am a month away from being 31 and loving every moment of what I am doing. It isn't and hasn't been easy but every morning I wake up excited to tackle the world. Today was a particularly tough day in my entrepreneurial life...I crashed my email last night. Crashed my email briefly after I launched my online store. My online store uses the email I crashed for all the transactions! Brilliant! Lesson Learned - do not make decisions involving technology at midnight; simply because - Ali you don't know what you are doing! (more...)

Being an entrepreneur isn't an easy life but it's an amazing one! Everyday brings new challenges and adventures that you could never imagine.
 
Each day I feel like I am wearing so many different hats from accountant, to chief creative officer, to customer service to local courier and with each of these different roles comes a new learning experience. Thank heavens for Google. I am not sure how I would have managed to start my business without it. I Google everything and sometimes I get so lost in all the information that an hour will pass and I couldn't even tell you what I read.
 
With every hurdle I jump and challenge I face I make sure something positive comes from it. This past month I have experienced some pretty heavy duty challenges and although it wasn't an easy time in the life of my young business I can confidently say that WOW! has it made me a better business person. And I can also confidently say that I know I will face many more challenges along my way.
 
I have such a clearer view of the direction I am going to take BOBA in.  During the month of February there seemed to be a piece of the puzzle missing  and then during the first part of March my plate was so full I didn't have time to really think about it, then in one random moment at the end of March it came to me - I found the missing piece of the puzzle.  So big plans are in the making.
 
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