Deep Green for Fall 2010

Don't have a photo, however just got done working with fabric mills for Fall 2010 and there is an amazing Loden Green that is back in the fabric collections. It is the deep, dark green what they are then using Purple and Lavendar stripes that really create quite a color combination.

I am headed to Hong Kong for the next couple of weeks, however will try to get some fabrics scanned so you can see what you will be wearing a year from now!

Old School

We are deep in the process of working on 3 seasons, first the current season, Spring 2010 and Fall 2010. I am in Istanbul this week, then off to China for 2 weeks, then back to Istanbul for another week.

I thought is was a great photo of doing something the Old School Way!

We were very successful with a stretch fabric for Spring 2010 and we have been developing additional ideas with one of our fabric mills. Because we are using a Polyimide fiber to make the fabric even softer (the mill calls this fabric Heaven Stretch), this gentleman is testing the fabric to make sure that Polyimide is being used. He is doing this by lighting some of the yarns on fire, then based upon the smell, he can tell if Polyimide or Polyester is being used. Polyimide is the cashmere of synthetic yarns, so many times mills will try to use polyester yarns.

So much for technology!

Giant Vending Machine

A few years ago when we first started our stores, we talked about building a Giant Vending machine. Of course through the years we have had amazing people in the stores. However, we wanted to create an environment where we could literally have Self Check Out and someone at the door checking reciepts. Basically creating a Giant Vending Machine. If we had great people working in the store, this would be a bonus.

I don't think we ever got to that point. What is interesting, the hotel industry is figuring out this model. I am staying at one of the coolest hotels that I have ever stayed. Check out Citizen M in Amsterdam www.citizenm.com , it is a very cool environment.

The place is totally wired, the rooms are some of the smallest I have ever stayed in (think Hudson in NYC). They are maybe 10ft x 10ft and that includes the shower, toilet, sink and bed. However the design is spectacular! Check In and Check out is done by the guest and I think there are 2 Employees on the premise (one of them is a bartender, smart a tremendous revenue producer).

Garment Dyed/Washed Cotton Suit

Believe it or not, we have been working on perfecting the above garments for over a year. The photo on the right, is a cotton suit in it's "Greige" state, or "Ready for Garment Dying". The suit on the left is the final result.

We have not only Dyed the suit, we have also given the suit a light wash to give it a slight Patina or what the market place will call Vintage. We love this slightly disheveled look and this suit is now something that we live in and wear practically everyday.

I remember in the 1960's and 70's going every Spring with my Grandfather to get his new cotton suits. Of course he always and a tan, then would add olive, navy and stone. Then every so often, when he felt daring he would add a pincord or seersucker.

This is the modern version of this suit that my grandfather wore. The good news, it isn't just for Spring and Summer anymore. We will have it Chocolate and Navy (plus 5 other colors), with a great woven shirt and a fine gauge cashmere sweater will be perfect for this winter!

Final samples have arrived, now it is time to put production into work. Look for them on the web by Mid August. Also more professional photo's coming soon and wait until we show you what we have done with Cashmere in this same jacket! You will flip out.

Fall 2009

I was talking with a reporter from the retail industry this morning and she wanted to know if people were calling us crazy for relaunching a brand in the economic times that we are currently in. We also had a great discussion about Fall 2009.

In our discussion about Fall 2009, I mentioned the fact that it is well reported that Retail Inventories are down significantly. The question that everyone has, will the consumer not be inspired because they don't have the quantity to choose from? I posed the question, which is more important, will the consumer recognize a shift in the quality of products?

I say this, because it has also been well reported that most major apparel brands have been developing new opening price points for their retail partners. There has been a focus from the retailers to get their current brand/supply chain to come up with an new opening price point that will keep shoppers in the store. Some would call this "trading down", of course at retail we do not like this word and we have spun this as "not trading down", because the shopper is still buying the same brand.

What has not been reported is all the Margin Guarantee money that was supplied to retailers from their Wholesale partners last Fall, after the blood bath that everyone took. This meant a major shift in margins for the wholesale community. This, coupled with these new "Opening Price Points" mean only one thing, a major shift in the quality of products hitting the store shelves for Fall 2009.

If you think about this, manufacturing got killed last year by writing the checks back to the retailers for their margin guarantee, then for Fall 2009, the retailer has also asked for a lower price point. This can only mean one thing, the manufacturer has to take something out of the product to hit this lower price point, then they have to take out more, to make sure that if the same thing happens this year, that happened last year, they have the margin in the product to write the check to cover the margin guarantee.

So, you ask are we crazy for relaunching now, I would say absolutely not. We have focused all of our energy into making the BEST products, yet achieve Retail Price points that are attainable.

What do you think, do consumers get inspired by the mass quantities, or do they get inspired by GREAT PRODUCT. We are voting on the product.

What do you think?

Web up and Running

The new site is up and running! www.skuhlman.com

Fresh styles, done in the s.kuhlman way, we hope you enjoy. Remember that the site is in Beta, however we are working on it daily to add new and improved features.

In the coming weeks you will be able to add comments on the products and we look forward to what you think.

We are bringing to the market, products that we want to wear, that have the Anglo-Italian styling that we experience in Europe, however we add our American Twist! Happy shopping.

The Jacket

Although men have always had what we have called the Suit Jacket, Sportcoat or Blazer, this item has never been more prevalent. You would think that in a more casual world that the jacket, much as the tie/cravat would go away. We believe there has never been a more important time for men's jacket.

With all of our new electronics that have become so important to us, because the "Man Bag", as much as we like it has not take off, because a fanny pack is not someone we will even consider and wearing electronics on your belt should just not happen, the Jacket is not only the last resort, it is a great part of fashion when done correctly.

Jackets today should be soft, comfortable and as the picture shows, "to the body". In the past we have called these jackets sweater coats or shackets (not a shirt, not a jacket) and although we use many of the principles of the past, today's jacket is fully constructed and uses all types of fabric. From beautiful cashmere, to fine linens and cottons, the Jacket is now the key to a man's wardrobe.

When we moved into a more casual world, every man tried to take their suit coats and sportcoats and try to wear them with Denim. We would hesitate from doing this. The proper jacket to be worn in a more casual way has certain aesthetics that a coat constructed for a Suit or a dress sportcoat, simple does not have.

Now you will ask, what are these aesthetics. Typically it starts with the shoulder. This is a shoulder shape/look that is typical of Italy. We prefer the Neapolitan shoulder that even has slight puckering (this is another blog). This shoulder is soft and round. The jacket is also light and drappy, the armhole is high and the body should fit to your body. This should not be baggy and sloppy. When cut this way, the jacket will move with you.

The other key parts to this look are then the fine gauge sweater and the woven or knit. One of the key fashion ideas that we will also start to promote, is men starting to tuck their shirts back into their pants!

Look forward to more discussion on the jacket!

The Ensemble

Of course you all know that we love color. We will continue to use this, however it will be in ways that blend solid together. The lavender that you see above is what we see all over Italy. Lavender has always been a favorite of ours.

When you look at the outfit above, this is what you are going to see from us in the future seasons. This easy way of dressing is prevalent is Europe and we find this is the way that we want to look each day. A great denim or cotton bottom, cool shirt (look for some great knits), a sweater for layering and the piece that is missing from above, the Jacket.

Hang in there, the website is still under construction and we are putting the final details on new stores!

These new stores will go back to the roots of the brand....Great products at prices that are understandable from the day the product hits the floor. We will not price the product to "Put on Sale", it will simply always be "For Sale"!

My Favorite Place

I wanted to share with you Villa Teto. Also below is a paper that one of our daughters wrote for a class project. The beautiful part of this, the description that she writes about, Susan and I have never spoken about. We love the fact that our daughters "get" our love of Italy.

My Favorite Place

Italy is my wonderful, harmonious retreat. We travel to our countryside home several times a year and it's like mulitple Christmases for me. I love the feeling of solitude it has that is so different from Minneapolis. The sensation of all the unusual smells drifting up to my mind is one of a kind. The sound of quiet country soothes my city adapted ears. It's like being in a dreamland. Italy is my grassy heaven.

The sound of our funny looking Italian car moving across gravel tells me we are close. Close to my paradise, my heaven, my home. I roll down my window and take in teh wonderful perfume of rosemary and olives. The thousands of crooked, old olive trees look more like old men in the dark shadow cast across the land. My body shifts forward as we rumble down the slanting driveway. The front light is like a beacon guiding us back. Butterflies flutter in my stomach as the car slows to a stop. I grab the door handle and jolt out of the car as fast as I can. I taste a faint hint of salt in the wind blowing from teh west, carrying the sea to our doorstep. A hedge obsures my view of the neighboring vineyard, but i know its there by the smell of the sweet grapes. The gleam of the stars reflects off the pool. A wind comes again and teh strong smell of chlorine gusts up my nose. Coughing, I turn to the right and see a sight to beautiful for words. Hills roll on and on for miles. Flowers and trees of all kinds flourish across them and bring sweet, delicious aromas across the valley. Keys jingle as the door creaks open. A call comes to my ears for me to get inside. I difficultly pull myself away and walk to my bed.

The next morning the daylight brings a different scene. Birds I don't recognize sing tunes of beautiful sound. Wind blows across the hills and the miraculous, deep green cypress trees flutter in the breeze. I hear the splashes of water as my sister jumps in the pool. The water gleams like a crystal in the sun. I turn around and see a great square of orange. Our house shines like a second sun in the bright light. A buzz comes near me; I look around and see a huge wasp. It is the biggest I have ever seen. I swat it away not wanting to be stung. A movement on the wall of our house distracts me. I walk slowly over and hear a scuttle of little feet. A lizard moves slickly along the wall. It had brilliant stripes of orange and beady black eyes. I reach for it and feel a jolt in my stomach as i pull off its tail. The lizard seems not to notice and scurries off to find shelter from the giant that is me. I throw the tail in the grass. Sweat drips down my face in the scorching heat. I taste lliquid salt on my lips. I look up. Not one cloud is visible in teh pale blue sky. I walk across the gravel driveway to an old, wooden fence. I climb over it and fell the rough wood scratch my hand. The intense smell of ripe olives overwhelms me. I am encircled by thousands of trees. It's like a huge fairy forest. I pick a fig from the only different tree in the meadow. Sweet mush meets my mouth and my taste buds are in heaven. I walk on while finishing it. The knots in the ground make me stumble. I sit and feel the moist, mossy ground. If only I could stay there forever. Buy my moment of bliss finishes all too quickly. My mom calls me for lunch. Not the call, but the smeall of pasta draws me towards the house. As I walk, I truly fell content and really understand why I love Italy so much.

Ellen Kuhlman

Terzo Posto

We have just begun plans on the new Retail Concept, Terzo Posto, or the 3rd Place. In our last retail venture, our intent was to always evolve it into the 3rd Place, using an Americanized version of the Italian culture and products that we have come to love.

Of course this space will be filled with the kuhlman brand of products and many of them coming from the small Italian suppuliers that we love. Many of you have some of the product from over the years and hopefully you love it today, just as you must loved it when you purchased it.

Over the weekend, Susan and I were at the Minneapolis Italian Film Festival. We were please to see a young man wearing one of our favorite cashmere coats. (Fabric from our favorite mill Guabello)
Our intent is to build this same product.

The other aspect of Terzo Posto, will be the food element. During the summers in the small towns near our home, the church in each small town has a Sagra, or a festival. The food at the festival is ususally the food of the region.

We intend to take a little liberty with this idea and have a Saturday Morning Sagra. Each Saturday morning, we will invite a guest chef to serve 100 Breakfasts of his/her choosing. We also intend to invite groups that need to raise money, to come had serve during this breakfast and all the proceeds will go to their group. We look to bring the "Event" back to Saturday Retail!

Look for more in the coming months on the first Terzo Posto to open!

Garment Dyed Shirts

In the coming months we will be talking about garment dying and washing. We are really excited about this poplin fabric what has a little crunch to it.

We have build shirts with our signature contrast stitch, then garment dyed in more then 15 colors.

Garment dying is a great technique that we will be using on shirts, knitwear, jackets, trousers and sweaters.

One of the leading manufactures is wwww.boglioli.it they do amazing stuff. Hopefully we can achieve what Boglioli has done. Some of the best products will be for the Fall seasons, when you garment dye and wash a cashmere jacket, you achieve the epitome of the sweater coat!

Foulard Print Shirt

I wanted to give you a tease of what we are working on getting up on the web shortly!

Lots of great stuff! Get ready.

2008 Estate Olive Oil Label

We finally have the label done for our Estate olive oil. For those that have never tried "Estate" olive oil, you are in for a treat.

In the future we hope to expose items that we have found in our travels.

This oil is from our home in Lucca, Italy. Very shortly we will show you how to get your hands on this liquid gold.

Let the Blogging Begin!

I have been away from blogging for some time, however please know that we are back to writing about our favorite things!

In the coming days, take a look at some of the posts, I believe we will have some interesting news concerning our brands and the latest retail ventures.

I have also once again worked with my father-in-law to photograph some of the amazing product that will be coming to a store near you soon.

For all of those who have been emailing, asking where they can get the products, hang in there and we will provide information shortly.