How do I find Distributors and shops for my clothing line?

A friend and me have been running our own Boardwear clothing line since 2002 and we have had some success locally considering our small budget. We have decided to take it one step further and would like to do this full time. we are currently selling our clothes through a single shop in our Town.

My questions is, how do we get as many sales as possible quickly? How do we find International distributors and shops in the UK? Should we just attend all major Tradeshows?

Also, any tips on getting funding (e.g. investors, loans: private or business loan?) are appreciated.

Definitely go for the trade shows and sales, but be a little weary of investors as they tend to want to manage the business and push you out. Personally I'd go it alone as you can find loads of good contacts at trade shows.

trade shows are good, but I have other tips

if you want, send me an email to remind me

faq000@yahoo.com

i'll explain better..now i'm lazy

Take the route that the designers of the FUBU line did. The got pre-orders for their line and that in turn allowed them to get the money they needed to produce the line and get their products in Macey's among other stores. I definitely agree with the first poster you want to borrow as less as you can from a potential investor so you can keep total control over your own product.

Another idea is to hold a fashion show, strangely enough here in Detroit they do fashion shows for up and coming designers a lot and believe it or not they are really successful.

I am with the tart. The people attending the trade shows are actively looking for product lines, this is where you need to focus your efforts.

if you pm me i will give you a brilliant advertising medium