Clementiny Clothing

May 14, 2010

Topic: Featured | Tags: buffalo, design, fashion

Written in collaboration with Buffalo Rising

On a Sunday afternoon in the sun, I found myself lucky to be sitting on a front porch off Elmwood with Kari Smistek, designer, seamstress and local business owner. Kari is an absolute joy to be around; genuine, talented and with plenty to say. Her clothing line, Clementiny, is a direct reflection of how she presents herself. The line is a whimsical array of vintage patterns and simple shapes, all lending themselves to the body type of any person who chooses to wear it.

Has this turned into a full time job for you?
Full time, like 7am to 11pm.

How long ago did you start?
I started last March when I started staying home with Clementine. Staying home, I thought, was a great idea, and it was, and I loved it, but I needed something to do. I’m not a sitter. I’ve always had a sewing machine but never really used it, just tooled around with my own stuff. Then my boyfriend’s grandfather got put into a nursing home. We went over to his house and realized his grandmother was a sewer. She had everything–all this retro fabric, books and lace–and we got it all.

Once your fabric supply runs out, where do you get more?
Right now I have a few vintage shops that I work with off Etsy and they’re awesome. They give me deals, they ship for free–so fun. And I go to Amvets. Everyone in Buffalo knows that our Amvets are awesome. The girl there knows me by name…embarrassing! She’ll say things like “small order today.”

Some of the clothing, especially the jackets, are so intricate. I’m impressed! Can you describe Clementiny Clothing for us?
It’s really important to me that I use recycled fabrics. Basically everything I use is vintage. I use a lot of bed sheets curtains, twenty times washed, obviously! But people really like that. What’s better than a sheet? They’re super comfortable, you sleep on them, and I use them as lining a lot. Recycling is a huge deal, plus the fabric is unique, so everything is one of a kind which my customers love. They feel like they have something special. The style? I like to be organic and natural as possible so there’s not a lot of detail. They’re comfortable. A simple fun, colorful thing to wear.

Do you wear a lot of the clothing or prefer to see it on your friends?
I do give things to my friends. I try to make things for myself, I just don’t have the time anymore. If we have a night out I’ll make myself a dress. I wish I had more for myself but truly, I have no time with the orders coming in.

Who is the woman wearing your clothes?
I have a lot of moms, all ages. I had thought this would be a 20 to early 30’s group but I get a lot of 50-year-olds, 13-year-olds that are going through their mom’s account. I’ve reached a lot of ages, which I think is great. And I thought that it would be more of an organic type of person, like us: your friends, my friends, tattooed people who shop at the Co-op and eat organic food…that’s who I imagined as my clientele.

How did you feel when you sold your first piece to a stranger?
Really nervous! It was a lady in England, which was crazy to me even to begin with. I mean, I started a website that wasn’t even my own website, it was part of Etsy and this woman was contacting me to make her something custom! It’s nerve-racking. Building it, I was sending her photos along the way so it turned out perfect and I shipped it off. I was a wreck waiting for her response. Maybe no news is good news? Then I saw an email with her name, and thought oh no, oh no! But everything was good and she was happy. I still get that way. Shipping out any piece and waiting to hear back is so nerve-racking for me.

And sometimes things need a tweak, it was really hard at first to hear that, take it in. I felt like I was failing if something didn’t fit, or they want to return it. But I’m starting to realize that stuff happens.

Didn’t you imagine doing children’s clothing when you first started?
I did and basically only did kids clothes, making things for Clementine and myself. Which is why I named it Clementiny. Funny, because quite a few of my customers are plus-size women and I am so glad the name is not a deterrent. But I realized quickly that my stuff was a bit quirky for most kids and there are so many laws about children’s clothing. Buttons are choking hazards, the materials can’t be flammable – well I don’t know exactly where most of my materials come from. So I decided not to focus so much on that. It seemed like a mess, everything had to have a disclaimer like, ‘not responsible for choking’.

I put the clothes that I did have up on the site with three items for women. And the women’s clothing just kept selling over and over and over. The kids stuff was just sitting there.

Congratulations on getting into Summer Studio in New Jersey recently! Have any local retailers picked up your line?
I do have some stuff at Anna Grace but I haven’t pushed it anywhere else yet. Anna Grace was actually my very first. Joanna was great, worked with me a lot because it was a learning experience. Having to make smalls, mediums, and larges is a lot different than custom. Normally I get someone’s measurements and I make the clothing to them. But it has worked out really well.

Did you have the freedom to choose which items she sold?
She picked out three styles and then asked for a shift dress. She gave me free rein with that one and she let me go with the fabrics. Because I’m using vintage fabrics, I don’t have enough of one to do multiple sizes in it. So I do one pattern a small, the medium would be different and the large would be another. It brought color to the shop.

What is your price range?
I’d say for a top it’s about $40 and my most expensive dress is $80. Clementiny is completely affordable and I plan to keep it that way. A lot of boutiques I’ve talked to tell me that they’d like to raise my prices; they like to sell. I’ve started to do wholesale which has been really great, but my prices are really low for places in comparison. I’m using vintage fabrics. I think it’s unique when something has a little blemish here or there but I can’t charge $150 for clothing that has a blemish on it.

Do your clothing tags speak to that statement?
Yes, I put that on every label.

You’ve built a great online following with your blog, Facebook and Etsy store. How do you do in person, do you have an elevator pitch?
I get really shy, immediately, and I never talk about it, even when people bring it up. I say I make clothes! My fiance tells me I need to talk to people when they tell me they like my dress or whatever I’m wearing. I just say thanks! It’s easier for me to hide behind a computer, but that’s who I am. I am trying to be more bold.

But you’re very busy as you’ve said.
I am! I’m at my capacity. I did have an intern from Buffalo State College. She actually won the (Buffalo State College) Runway 3.0 Saturday night. Tess Hinterbichler. I was so proud of her. She was a real help to me, but she has an internship in Boston.

What’s your plan for next season, or next year?
I think right now what I’m trying to do is get some help. Either someone to make our wholesale orders – it’s really important to not ship things out of the country.

I would still do all of my customs orders. I talk to those customers all the time, we email back and forth and I could never let go of that. I have a lot of repeat customers, I remember them and like to form a relationship with them. They tell me about their lives and we talk about my daughter, it’s not a click and add to your cart sort of thing. Also, I’m working on some new styles!

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