Production
How We Create Our Dreamy, Fairytale Pieces
At Ivory Sheep, creating timeless, size-inclusive, statement-quality pieces that you can wear anytime and that will last a lifetime is what we love to do most. It's the main reason we got into this business—the fashion. But producing these pieces requires a lot of planning and teamwork.
Let's start with the team. It took us a long time to find the right manufacturers. As we grew, we knew what we needed, what we wanted to create, and where we wanted to take this business. Finding manufacturers who could align with all these aspects was our top priority!
Ivory Sheep’s manufacturers are incredibly talented and dedicated teams that pay extreme attention to detail and quality. They specialize in extended sizing and are as meticulous about the details as we are. The factory is sustainable and ethical, with BSCI, SEDEX, and Gold Wrap certifications. Ensuring our manufacturer’s ethics is our highest priority, and we chose them because they treat each worker fairly and pay a living wage.
The Design Process
The design process at Ivory Sheep is extensive, so we've broken it down into phases to explain how our fairytale pieces go from imagination to your closet.
Phase One: Inspiration
All of our collections start with Mackenzie and Michael in Ontario, Canada. We draw inspiration from music, movies, or characters that spark our creativity. We then build mood boards on Pinterest, capturing the tone and vibe we want to create.
Phase Two: Fabric and Print Selection
Next, we look at fabrics and create prints that reflect our inspiration. For example, during the creation of our "In Bloom" collection, we developed in-house prints and selected fabrics and colors that embodied new beginnings and sunshine.
Phase Three: Design Development
In Phase Three, we combine our chosen fabrics with our inspiration to shape our designs. This phase often sees a dynamic interplay between Phase Two and Three, where our fabric choices inspire our design vision, and vice versa.
Phase Four: Design Finalization
We put our designs on paper, finalize fabric choices, and decide on prints or colors. Over weeks, we tweak each design, considering how it fits different body types, its feel, and how to make it magical for everyone.
Phase Five: Sampling
Once happy with our designs, we submit detailed drawings to our production team for sample creation. This phase can take weeks or months, with several adjustments made to ensure the perfect fit across sizes.
Phase Six: Campaign Preparation
After receiving our samples, we prepare for the campaign shoot. We envision this during the inspiration phase, deciding on locations, styling, models, and hair and makeup.
Phase Seven: Admin and Teasing
Post-shoot, we work on product descriptions, pricing, and prepare for the launch, teasing the collection on social media.
Phase Eight: Launch
Launch day is both exciting and nerve-wracking. After months of hard work, we eagerly await your feedback on our new collection.
Creating a collection takes a lot. That’s why we don’t follow regular fashion seasons. Instead, we draw inspiration from creativity, not deadlines or trends. This approach also ties into our love for pre-orders, which you can learn more about here.
We meticulously critique every design detail to ensure perfection, with a strong commitment to size range, uniqueness, quality, and comfort. Our goal is for you to feel stunning in our pieces, and we spend months perfecting each one to meet our high standards.
The design and production process is long but thrilling. We hope you see the love and care in every garment and appreciate the meticulous detail we put into each piece! Which brings us to the Pre-Order Method.
Pre-Orders
At Ivory Sheep, we use a pre-order method. Why? It
helps us reduce waste and avoid dead stock. More importantly, pre-orders give
us a better idea of demand for each item, allowing us to produce exactly what
we need for each batch, with a little extra for backups. We like being able to
test products before producing them, and pre-orders are the perfect method for
this. This approach ensures our extreme quality control standards are met, so
you get the perfect piece every time. It also allows our manufacturers to take
their time, source the right materials, and hand-make the garments without
rushing like in fast fashion industries.
The pre-order model is perfect for a small-batch brand like us, especially since we
don't follow traditional fashion seasons. Instead, we create collections based
on inspiration, fabric, and stories, not the time of year.
As we shift into ready to ship items, we will still be utilizing pre-order methods
for different designs or collections, we’re all about testing and understanding
you and your feedback. Trying out ready to ship items is all about our process,
and allows us to really understand what you want to see more of!
Our Pre-Order Process
Since our products are mostly handmade with custom prints, they take time to produce and source the right materials. When you place a pre-order, you are essentially reserving the piece in your size. Production typically takes 45-60 business days, though this can be longer due to external factors like holidays, customs, fabric supplier issues, and the complexity of the handmade garment.
Please note that no cancellations or refunds will be given until the piece is produced and shipped to you. Once you receive your order, if you aren't satisfied for any reason, you have 7 days to request a full refund or exchange the piece if we have the next size available.
We understand this process can take time and may be frustrating, but the pieces that come from it are truly special. We ask for your patience and assure you that we will keep you updated on your pre-order every step of the way.