Yes Killers this fashion fabulous woman went to the beautiful country of China September 13-24, 2015! It was such an amazing experience filled with culture, fashion, and business. I will never forget these moments in my life.
My journey began in Beijing. Fresh off the plane I was greeted by our tour guide. Side note: never had someone waiting for me with a sign so that was uber cool :) We hustled to get our bags and walk through to customs and immigration and finally met our guide to get us on our way to the hotel. When I walked outside for the first time to get some air after being trapped on a plane for 17hrs, it smelled different! I heard rumors about the air quality and what not but now I actually seen and smelled it. It was a rustic type of smell, not quite the cleanest. And you can actually see the air, a light fog that covered the skyscrapers and filled the sky.
We make it through traffic and I see the various forms of transportation such as scooters, bikes, bikes with carts attached, motorcycles, etc. They were everywhere! Millions of people going to their destinations. Buses completely overcrowded, other shuttles carrying loads of tourists, and taxis at every turn. The driving skills of the Chinese reminds me of New York! Taxis constantly honking horns, people getting within millimeters of your car, cutting people off, driving on bumpers, and not one signal being used, crazy! We arrived at the Boyue Hotel after about an hour of fighting through traffic. The hotel was fabulous darling. My room was even better! The view was from the fourth floor and I knew this was going to be a great trip.
Beijing is a city filled with culture and remembrance of how the people and government came to be who they are. I visited the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and the magnificent Great Wall. At times the beauty of the landscape was overwhelming, especially at the Great Wall. I highly recommend you place the Great Wall on your bucket list.
Shopping was an experience all in itself! So besides restaurants and certain other businesses, prices are negotiable when you shop! Not being used to this, we tested the waters at the Silk Market in the inner perimeter of Beijing.
My entrepreneurial spirit is jumping in joy as I get to finally see textiles and accessories for my latest collection. My perception was a factory type of building with bolts and bolts of fabric everywhere and aisles of jewelry just glistening in the light. Well, when we walked in, it looked like a mall filled with tons of miniature stores of high quality and luxury goods. Hmmm, not really what I was expecting but I decided to mush on and look for some fabric and test my bargaining skills. The Silk Market is about 6 floors and filled with name brand clothing, pearls, jade, eyewear, and of course silk fabric and scarves. The beauty of shopping there is that you can bargain on the price. My first shop to visit had beautiful print scarves made from silk. I decided to test my negotiation skills. I asked in mandarin how much? 950 rmb she says. I immediately put it down and said that's too much. She said well give me a price. I said 300 rmb. She said that was too low. So I counted with 2 for 450 rmb. She still says no but by then I'm smiling and trying to walk away from those gorgeous scarves. I had a vision in my mind to make an amazing dress out of them and she knew it. A girl gets behind me and blocks me from leaving. I said no I'm leaving and the sales girls, yes two of them, now bargain 2 for 800 rmb. I stick to my guns and say 2 for 450 and they finally agree! I couldn't believe it! They finally let me go with my purchase and I couldn't believe I got two silk scarves for 450 rmb which equates to about $70 usd. I was hooked! The slew of silk fabric caught my eye but I came to China for something greater, an opportunity to actually supply my design sisters with other types of fabric like jersey knit, tulle, and polyester blends. Where are they???
Well Killers I found it! In the Bund of Shanghai is a fabric district, once again buildings six floors filled with fabric from top to bottom. Bolts of suiting, satin, silk, tulle you name it! There were purses and belts, buttons and ribbon, whatever your designer heart desires. But the price was not right. I hustled my ass off trying to get the best deals but after converting the amounts to usd, the fabric prices are actually cheaper at my favorite fabric store in Atlanta! They definitely cannot compete with the prices in New York. I couldn't believe it. I did however get a great deal on more scarves and trinkets for my family.
So in the end, I would say stick to your supplier that has a great deal and plan a trip to either GuanZhou China which is where all of the real deals are (6hrs from Shanghai) or Malaysia and Taiwan as they have taken the apparel manufacturing industry by storm with cheap labor and textiles.
