Kids' fashion: Mother knows best

It was a bold move for Janet Adams to drop out of college when she was only an 18-year old sophomore in her home province of Nueva Ecija. She was young, determined and knew exactly what she wanted: to “find her way early in the world.” In 2000, she moved to Manila where she learned the artistry of designing kids’ wear on her own.

Janet put up Katy Creations in late 2006 coming from her twin interests in life: children and design. “I am self-taught when it comes to design, knowledge of fabrics, and manufacturing know how, but I have learned a great deal from traveling and seeing young children all over the world. So, my teacher is “observation” while, in my life, children are “always in the picture.”

Her first business was a beauty salon, from which she gained a lot of business experience. Janet shares, “But such business did not seem to be the right field from my point of view. However, during that period, I was already designing some gowns for important events or functions.”

Upon the birth of her daughter Kate in November of 2003, she was inspired to put up a business designing and manufacturing girls’ apparel. She used to buy some fashion goods and accessories, and found that she had a talent for convincing people. She discovered that her taste in fashion was good, and that she had a knack for selling products for profit.

The key to Janet’s kind of business are both her designs and the fabrics she uses. Janet replies, “I purchase my material from a diverse set of sources: Philippines, Divisoria, and a few specialized suppliers who bring in fabric from Thailand and Korea, while I periodically visit Hong Kong, and acquire fabric that is made in China.”

Janet guarantees: “The girl’s dresses have short runs, and the risk of a kid being seen with the same dress as another child at a party is very slim, while the shoes from Colettee are both extremely comfortable, and, in my opinion, of the highest quality available in the Philippine market today. Once children have tried Colettee shoes, they won’t be happy with anything else!” Colettee is a strong line of children’s shoes, for both boys and girls from Singapore owned by Colleen Ong.

 “The price range of the main product line, girls’ dresses, varies from P400 to P1,300, depending on the type of dress and the materials, while the Colettee shoes are retailed from P700 to P1,100 per pair. I can assure you that, even if these prices may be a little higher than those of some brands in the market, they represent excellent and outstanding value. The ages of target users range from three months to ten years, and although my focus is on girls’ wear, my line is constantly expanding, so, boys, wait until I get around to covering your needs properly as well (which will certainly happen, especially now that Janet already has a son),” Janet says.

Presently, Katy Creations has outlets in Robinson’s Midtown Mall in Ermita and newly opened stores in 3rd Floor Robinson’s Galleria and Ground Floor, Mall of Asia. “My advice to young mothers who have a talent and want to start their own business is that they must be absolutely sure that is what they want to do in life, as the balancing of time between spouse and children on one end, and business, on the other. Such is indeed exacting!”

For Janet, “time management” has become a way of life. She wakes up early and sleeps late. She takes her kids to school early in the morning, before going to work in the afternoon. Her husband also has full time work, and is involved in a number of projects in South East Asia and Africa.