My Kaftan Competition

Hi All!

I had the most wonderful experience last week when we ran a giveaway competition on our Facebook page where anyone who uploaded a picture of themselves in one of our kaftans would go into the draw to win one.

We had a great response, and received quite a few email entries as well.

The reason I ran this competition is because I wanted to meet my customers. Being an online business, I only ever get to see a name and an address when I make up a kaftan for someone and then I send it out, always wondering who will be wearing it and why.

I received a real insight into my customer base with this competition and it was fantastic.

We are really proud to be able to make kaftans for the young, the old, the thin, the petite, the curvy, the tall, the plus size, the short and all that's in between.
We don't have a specific age group or demographic that we go after, our only aim is to help you feel beautiful in what you wear.

Everyone brings their own style to our kaftans, we've sold the exact same kaftan to a very groovy grandma who was 86 and to a 16 year old girl for her formal, and it looked stunning on both ladies!

On the news last week I heard that the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch had said something along the lines of 'If you cant fit in our clothes (They go up to size 14) then you don't belong in them'.

I find that idea is the opposite of what we are about. If you are creating something beautiful, you should want everyone to be able to wear it, and that is what I want! I believe our garments have no barriers.

Now, back to the competition...
I was initially going to pick a winner based on my favourite photo, but every time a new photo was uploaded i wanted that one to win.... The list of my favourites got to about 20 before I realised this was not the way to choose!

So I have written down all of the names and I am about to draw one out of a bowl...


The winner of an Annalisa kaftan of their choice is:


TARA NORTON!

If this is not you, do not despair! I want to give anyone who entered 20% off any kaftan from our online store. (Just email me for your unique code! - Sorry I wasn't able to msg you all on Facebook)

Tara, please get in touch with me, and let me know which kaftan you would like!

Visit www.kaftansbyannalisa.com for the full kaftan range.

Thank you all so much for entering, and I look forward to running this competition again soon.



With Love,

Annalisa

I'm Back!

Wow ok, so its been a year since my last blog post.
I have to admit, that is very slack. I have had a baby since then and we had a crazy busy Summer period so I guess that is my excuse but still, it's a pretty poor effort!

So much has happened to us at Kaftans HQ in the last year. We have been featured by big name bloggers like Mrs Woog & Fat Mum Slim who are just amazing women, and you should all be following their blogs! I am really a complete amateur when it comes to blogging, but these women have inspired me to write, so here I am!

Another thing that has happened in the last year is that we have started designing our own fabrics! Since we first started in 2011, buying fabric in small amounts from retail stores, we have always dreamed about designing our own fabrics. As we slowly worked our way up the food chain, we always found it so difficult even at fabric wholesalers/importers to find what we really wanted. As you may know, our look is big, bold unique prints, which isn't easy to find!

So, late last year, we worked with a graphic designer, giving her examples of what we wanted and our ideas kept going back and forth with her until she had created something we wanted. Next step was to send it off to the fabric mills and a few weeks later, rolls and rolls of our newly designed fabric was on our doorstep! Here are a few that we designed:

Our 'Magic Garden' kaftan. A really feminine, floral design with watercolour artwork.
http://kaftansbyannalisa.com/magic-garden-kaftan-dress/

Our 'Rainbow' kaftan. A bold myriad of colour.
http://kaftansbyannalisa.com/rainbow-kaftan-dress/

We have a few more in the pipelines, so stay tuned!

The most recent event in our timeline is our new website!
http://kaftansbyannalisa.com
Same address but slightly new look.
I started our original website over a year ago, with no experience in web design, and a very small budget.
I did the best I could at the time, but it still wasn't great.
I finally decided it was time to take the next step and build a new website that was better looking and was easier to use.
I finished it last week, and it is now live. I would love some feedback if you have any!

So, we've achieved a fair bit in the last year. Annalisa and I both freaked out when we realised our business is still only 2 years old! All in all, we are really happy with our progress.

Over the coming months, we will be releasing a few new kaftans. Due to popular demand, we have started making long, silk kaftans, which we only used to make in tops and short dresses.

No.1 is called "Flower Shower". It is 100% satin silk.

No.2 is called "In Bloom". It is a silk/cotton blend.

No.3 is called "Birds of a Feather". It is a silky chiffon.

As we did last winter, we will soon have online a limited range of capes & vests made from soft faux fur and other warm fabrics, so stay tuned for those!

Ok, I am off to think up some more fabric designs. I will be back soon!



Chloe

Mum's the word!

Mum's the word this week her at Kaftans HQ. Not only are we working overtime to get our Mother's day orders out in time, we have just been featured in Cosmo Pregnancy magazine for one of our maternity kaftans! Check it out here.
Yes, that has also been keeping us on our toes! (Well its kept Annalisa chained to her sewing machine!)
If you've been down to see us at St Kilda market, you may have tried on one of our super warm capes. Well now that the weather has officially turned cold, its about time to get yourself one!

Standing out in the cold at the markets was always something I dreaded, but I am a proud owner of the Annalisa 'Huntress' Faux Fur cape (available here) . So now I can't wait for each Sunday to roll around! (Although I do wear it at the office during the week too!)

Annalisa has also just designed a new warm, neutral coloured cape with a faux fur collar, which looks sophisticated and elegant. I don't have photos just yet, as we sold out of them all on the weekend! 

Stay tuned for that one!

Now, back to Mothers! With Mother's day less than 2 weeks away, we have plenty of kaftans, capes and vests for you to buy mum this year. We also have a gift wrapping option on our website.

I have also just set up a Gift Certificate option online, which is perfect if you don't know what to get mum or as a cheaper option to buying something off the website. They are also great for Dads to buy as gifts from their children, as this week I had a few men step into our store with a puzzled look as they looked around for something to buy for their wife (too many choices!!).

So keep that in mind too!

I'm off to go buy more cape fabric as we are running very low after last week!

Keep warm!!

Chloe

Winter is coming!

What do you do when your entire 'going out' wardrobe becomes void due to the weather?
We all know that our winter outfits just don't cut it, and nobody wants to be stuck in the freezing cold in that little black dress!

Now I know its only March, but I am freezing right now, (you cant blame me, its 13 degrees outside!) and with my birthday coming up this week, I would have been dreading going out for drinks in any of the clothes that I would usually wear out.

But now, I'm actually very excited!! Kaftans By Annalisa (www.kaftansbyannalisa.com) have just launched their winter range (currently available exclusively at the markets, and soon to be released online- so stay tuned).

Included in the range are kaftan tops, to be worn over your leggings and boots, wool capes, faux fur vests and my favourite - which I'll be wearing out this weekend- the faux fur cape.

Yesterday was the first day that the public got a look at the faux fur capes (at the markets) and we sold out! They are warm, they look great, and the colours match almost everything! I don't have a photo just yet, we weren't expecting to sell out, so I will have pictures for you shortly.

Capes are definitely in this winter, with almost every celebrity being photographed in one in the US/Europe winter, we know the style is heading this way!

Our wool capes are also super warm, and with a range of different colours, there is something to suit everyone.

Well I wont tempt you any longer. I'm off to buy some more fabric so we can get the garments ready for a photo shoot and our online release.

Stay tuned!!