Further Brand Development

As the deadline is now on my doorstep there is no more time for developing my FMP. There is however a lifetime of opportunities for brand development within Abbellita, especially as I plan to take this further and start it up as a business some day.

Personally, I have applied for and am hoping to attend a business bootcamp at university at the end of May to learn more about how to start up a business and what to expect, and I am really excited about this. It is amazing that I have the opportunity to attend this course free of charge, as if it goes well it really could be lifechanging.

As it stands there are a few areas in which I feel Abbellita needs to be improved either before launching it or shortly after.

• Coloured Collections

I have experimented with making the Abbellita pieces in coloured silicones, and in the future it would be amazing to launch these either alongside the core collection or as seasonal limited edition pieces. I need to test how different colours blend into the skin and see what the possibilities are with two tone colouring, neon colours or shimmers and glitter.

• Remake some molds- include borders

As I discussed after the Colour Gels shoot featuring the rose and chain pieces, the lack of borders made it more difficult to apply the pieces as the edges would fold up and stick to themselves, making an unsightly lump. I will remake these molds and include borders so the pieces can have them. I also need to remake the initial butterfly mold on flat plastic so that the mold will cast an effective silicone piece.

• Show on a wider range of skin tones

I have shown three different skin tones on my shop for the pieces, but I have not been able to show the pieces modelled on a darker skin tone. This is something I need to rectify as I really want Abbellita pieces to be universal and available for all skin tones. It seems outdated to not cater to all skin tones nowadays.

• Develop more sheets of small intricate pieces

I showed my friends and family my website with the Abbellita range and one thing they commented on was that they would like to see more sheets of small assorted designs, either to group with other pieces to make a larger design, or for a more subtle look for the less confident or adventurous make up wearer. I think this is a great idea and it is something I initially intended to do with some floral pieces, but as i developed my core designs these pieces got left behind unfortunately. I will definitely be revisiting those design ideas.

• Revisit chain designs and develop

Of all the designs I created for Abbellita, the chain designs are my least favourite. I think as they were the first pieces I made I really struggled and was too nervous to experiment with more intricate designs, and the designs I did make reflect that. It is hard to find the balance between delicate and easily overlooked, and I think I need to spend a bit of time experimenting more with this theme and create some more effective designs.

• Look at decorative scarification and tattoos for design inspiration

I looked at decorative scarification quite a bit when preparing for my FMP Proposal, but since then as I got locked on my nature/chains path with designs I stopped really looking to these for inspiration. I think it would be beneficial to look at decorative scarification and tattoos because there are lots of small delicate designs that are becoming popular, and people may want to achieve the appearance of these designs without the lifelong commitment of actually getting scarification or a tattoo. Also the benefit of the Abbellita pieces is that they can be placed anywhere on the body whereas scarification would not necessarily scar in the same way on the neck for example as it would on the chest.

I really look forward to developing this brand further and really pushing the boundaries to see what I am capable of achieving with Abbellita. Even if it doesn't start up as a business, I will continue developing it as a hobby.