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The House of (DE-FI)ance is home of the world's first comprehensive interdisciplinary fashion co-working space and incubator, a business hub created by and for the fashion community. The House of (DE-FI)ance is a combination of professional and educational opportunities promoting community, competition, collaboration, and connection.  We are an innovative and groundbreaking one stop Fablab created to help you establish, develop, and grow your brand.  #ThisIsOurHouse 

Our vision is to create the leading and most effective business networking experience in the country for the fashion community.  From concept to retail and everything in between; our House was created to bring the entire fashion Industry under one roof including the often understated role of design outside of worn garments.  Our mission is to enrich the Miami Valley and Midwest regions through the business of fashion via economic growth, the strengthening of our garment district, education, community outreach, and fashion retail opportunities.   

The Disruption began in 2013 with (DE-FI), Miami Valley's best kept secret that has been hiding in plain site for nearly a decade.  When (DE-FI) first launched, they coined the term "The Fashion Experience" and were immediately told that fashion has no place in Dayton and that "people here don't look like that or dress like that."  Since then, (DE-FI) has worked to prove them wrong by not only promoting the talent in our city, they've also attracted talent from around the world that has traveled to the area to gain first hand knowledge and experience in the fashion industry. 

(DE-FI)'s international following has made them one of the most influential fashion organizations in the U.S. causing a shift in how regional fashion organizations around the country operate that has rippled around the globe.  As a result of the community focused work of (DE-FI), the Gem City is taking its place as the Fashion Capital of the Midwest bringing a piece of the $900 billion dollar a year fashion industry pie to the Miami Valley.

Realizing the significant impact fashion has on local economies from sewing lessons, to pop-up shops, boutiques, and fashion shows; (DE-FI) envisioned fashion as a driver for job creation, cultural growth, trade development, and tourism. (DE-FI) built a reputation for their in your face boldness, (DE-FI)ance of the status quo, and barrier removing  support for aspiring fashion professionals from around the country while building on Dayton's long manufacturing legacy.  

The thought leaders behind our fashion advancement program developed our space to serve as the connector between resources and opportunities to help aspiring, emerging, and established fashion talent build sustainable businesses that can compete in the global fashion industry.   

The Solution  

This fashion based maker-space brings the community together — cutting across ethnicity, race, class, gender, sexual orientation, geography, and age — to explore new creative possibilities. The House of (DE-FI)ance serves as a resource center that provides fashion and business of fashion talent with educational tools, research, assets, and programming to help further their growth and development.  

Our #FashionAdvancement program, backed by the Council of Fashion Designers of America CFDA's Connects program will take talent beyond just doing another show, we will provide you with essential tools to aid in your development as both creative artists and successful business owners. Additionally, our goal is to support paid internship programs in partnership with leading fashion design programs in Ohio, as well as hosting other public programming to promote and encourage fashion design education and foster public appreciation for all aspects of fashion, design, and history. 

Boldly Re-imagine Dayton by doing everything that "they" said couldn't be done here.   Are you ready to become a part of one of the newest economic engines in Dayton and reap the benefits?  Have you been dreaming of a career in fashion or design and don't know where to start?  Have you already started your brand and just need to build your team? Do you already have a team and just need a space to meet clients or sell your work?  Or are you facing one of a hundred other reasons and barriers "would be" fashion and design professionals fail to pursue their dreams? Are you ready to (DE-FI) all odds and be a little disruptive in the process?    

The House of (DE-FI)ance revises and broadens the mission of (DE-FI) by developing new and consistent programming that reflects the next level of growth and service needed for local and regional fashion, design, textile, retail, and creative communities.  This collaborative space is for aspiring, emerging, and established fashion talent, avid business professionals, and the occasional hobbyist.  We have what you need to create with exclusive opportunities for talent selected into the Designer Incubator.  

 "If you want to go quickly, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together" ~ African Proverb

Have an idea for a business...Now what? The idea. That’s where it starts. Now what do you do with the idea? Anyone can start a business  — but can you make it viable?  Have you ever thought about how you will navigate the following items that come with the territory? 

• Sacrifice     
• Supply Chain     
• Discouragement     
• Efficient Production     
• Time    
• R&D/Innovation     
• Funds     
• Customer Support     
• Failure     
• Legal Issues     
• Loss     
• Sales Reps     
• Hard work     
• Presentation    
• Rejection      
• Mistakes     
• Speeches     
• Internal Culture     
• Discipline     
• Human Resources     
• Criticism     
• Brand Values     
• Struggles     
• Training     
• Willingness     
• Quality     
• Regular meetings     
• Risk     
• Technology     
• Change     
• Business Process     
• Quality   

Our immersive Build-A-Brand Experiences are designed to help you navigate the unseen and often overlooked aspects of running a business.  This isn't your typical business class, we are not going to  waste your time going over items that you can Google or find free templates on all over the internet.  The Build-A-Brand Experience is a real time opportunity to keep you engaged by providing information, tips, exercises, and tools to help you think about and develop your business ideas, brand, and team while also managing the physical and mental toll we all pay on our journey to success.  Because cultural and diverse programs enrich our work-life experience; during our Build-A-Brand Experiences you will:  

• Discover how your business concept matches your personal vision.  
• Align your business concept with a real market opportunity.    
• Learn how to set realistic financial goals for your business.     
• Determine the unique features and benefits of your product/ service.    
• Find your target market and discover your competitive advantage.     
• (DE-FI)ne your company’s brand and marketing.     
• Learn how to manage business functions and develop an organizational culture.    
• Determine the steps to profitability.     
• Identify potential sources of funding for your business.     
• Launch your business.     
• Establish and improve healthy work/life balance.     
• Learn healthy ways of managing stress.     
• Learn how to meal prep and maintain a balanced diet.     
• Stay physically active on a hectic schedule.    
• and more! 

#ThisIsOurHouse   

Ugh! Not another networking event! (insert face palm) Let’s face it, networking can suck, especially if you’re an introvert; however, even extroverts find networking events to be tedious too. Everyone isn’t into self-promotion, some people just want to help by sharing ideas, participate in brainstorming exercises, and learn new ways of doing things. However, you can’t position yourself to do any of these things without the dreaded networking opportunities.  

Swapping business cards, meeting up for a quick drink during Happy Hour is the networking of yesterday. Sure, you might meet some new interesting people who by the time the event is over know a little bit more about the work that you do. Now ask yourself, how often do you find the person that you need for your team at a basic networking event? Did your business or brand grow as a result of that “basic” networking event?  

The fashion, design, textile, and retails industries are in a tailspin! People work too hard, invest a lot of time and much money, and need way more than the typical and dare we say shallow networking experience. After surviving a global pandemic, people need purposeful interactions and exercises that generate valuable conversations, and that lay the path for meaningful collaborative exchanges. Introducing A Brain Dating Networking Experience as only (DE-FI) can produce!  

So what is this Brain Dating thing that we speak of? First, take some deep breaths, it’s not a hookup event…well at least not in the traditional “dating” sense. However, we are using some “dating” concepts to help you build your brand and/or team. For example, when you’re dating, odds are you have specific list of attributes, characteristics, or shared interest that you are looking for in your significant other…now take that same concept and apply it to your business or brand; who are you looking for to fill that void in your brand or business? What skills do they possess? What characteristics will they have? Write down the answers to these questions and get ready to get your “Date On” sew to speak. Ok, so if you’re happily married or in a committed relationship and aren’t to comfortable with the term “Brain Dating” …how’s “Brain Dayton” WERKing out for you? See what we did there? But seriously, Brain Dayton is the name of the actual experience.

But seriously, think about it, what if at the next “networking” event you attended, you connected with the exact person who could ultimately help you think through whatever hurdle or barrier that is preventing you from reaching the next level? The House of (DE-FI)ance’s Brain Dayton Experience is all about knowledge sharing conversations. Our 45-minute Business-to-Business, Business-to-Customer, and Customer-to Business Brain Dayton Experiences are just as much about learning from the presenters as they are about learning from fellow attendees to build more relevant networks.  Are you ready for curated conversations? Who needs Google when you can Brain Date with (DE-FI)?   #ThisIsOurHouse

Dayton, OH, we love our city, we are the birthplace of the cash register, the self-starter, aviation and #sew many other innovative #Gems that are too numerous to mention.  We're not a fan of the word "but", so we're going to transition with "However"...those Gem City innovators weren't the first to try what ultimately made them famous.  Take the Wright Brothers for instance, they weren't the first to ever try to fly; in fact they had competition.  The race, desire, and attempts to fly date back to Greek  Mythology,  there were at least 11 different flying machines made by others before the Wright Brother's Wright B Flyer ever took flight...it was competition that fueled the Wright Brother's innovation.   

As much as we love our city, we also must address the unfortunate culture that brands competition a four letter word; we often hear "Collaboration over Competition" as a way of advancement. There's a tendency to revert into tribalism when someone or something new comes along and engages in the same creative and unique work as an established and/or popular entity or person.  You'll hear "what about (insert name or business)"  or  "why can't people do something more creative, why do they have to copy off of  (insert name or business)", this along with other fire extinguishing tactics that often leave the same people questioning why there's nothing to do in the city and/or why the exact same people are in charge of everything or have their hands in everything further alienating the masses.      

We (DE-FI)nitely know what it's like to gatekept, sabotaged, lied on and dismissed by others in the community doing similar, even at the hands of  governmental organizations who's sole purpose is to support/be a resource for small businesses like (DE-FI).  So when we hear the unjustified tearing down of other businesses and people trying to do their part, fulfill their purpose, make their mark, and provide opportunities and new experiences, we question why can't we successfully have collaboration and competition cohabitate here in Dayton?  

All are needed for any thriving market or industry...don't believe us?  Look no further than the Fashion Capital of the world New York City. We all know about New York Fashion Week  and the big tent events, HOWEVER, did you know that other organizations around the world were already using city names in conjunction with Fashion Week? New York wasn't the first, in fact , (4) major fashion markets emerged because of competition, Paris, Milan, London, and the then underdog New York.   

Today the New York Fashion Week umbrella has at least (6) major producers  IMG, The SOCIETY, FTL Moda, Art Hearts Fashion, Style, and ASC.  And there are hundreds of other smaller and lesser known producers that host runway experiences during the exact same time as the the major producers. In fact, the "big tent" events produced by IMG have been known to have multiple runway experiences taking place in different venues at the exact same time.  How's that for competition?  Models, HMUA's, attendees, media, buyers, photographers, and more importantly, investors were all forced to plan and decide what show to cover, participate, attend, and/or  invest. 

It's survival of the fittest, the designers had to step their game UP to become and remain relevant in the fashion industry.  That's what competition does. And to top it off,  the top (4) Fashion Weeks in the world New York Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week, and London Fashion Week collaborated to form what is known as Fashion Month which takes place twice a year in February and September kicking off in New York and moving on to London, Milan, and Paris.  

It's difficult enough to become relevant let alone stay relevant in a major market like New York where all of the resources can be found...hint hint and hence why The House of (DE-FI)ance is a much needed resource for regional fashion and design talent. (DE-FI) Global INC has always been adamant about the need for other fashion organizations to emerge and thrive in Dayton and have put our money where our mouth is by sponsoring, providing support and feedback, as well as promoting other regional fashion experiences that provide legitimate opportunities for fashion advancement...But don't get it twisted, we do not compromise with or support entities that conflict with our core values and ethics which doesn't make us super popular.   

We said all of that, to say this, aside from the co-working, shared space, Build-A-Brand, and other service experiences that are offered at Our House, we are excited to introduce The Collabetive Collabetation where fashion and design talent come together to collaborate, compete, and cohabitate under one roof. Don't fall for the okie doke, you need competition; ask any investor, one of the first questions they ask business owner seeking a financial investment is "who is your competition?" and "what separates you from your competition?"  Believe us when we say, if you come with, "I'm my own competition", "I'm staying in my lane", and "I don't have any competition" they'll close the door right in your face and assume one of three things about you: 

1)  You have a horrible business idea 

2)  You haven't done your research on the market 

3)  You're not coachable

In Our House, Collaboration is a valued necessity and COMPETITION is NOT a four letter word, it is a REQUIREMENT needed for any market to thrive. #CollabetiveCollabetation  #ThisIsOurHouse

(DE-FI) has been a force to be reckoned since our 2013 launch and has single-handedly influenced regional fashion organizations from around the world to shift gears and do more for their talent. Locally, (DE-FI) has inspired other fashion/retail business and concepts as well as incubator initiatives around the Gem City who have modeled themselves after our patterns by fusing community outreach as their corner stone to help to make dreams come true and address community needs.    

We cannot stress it enough the fashion industry is a business…you do not need a background and fashion or design to be a part of or successful at the House of (DE-FI)ance. Ask any creative that you know, one of the most difficult things about getting their brand off the ground is having support on the business side of the industry.   

Your business is our business and we are ready to help support your dreams by supplying the resources that you need to help you  turn your goals into reality. Whether you are just starting out, seeking impartial advice, or established and looking to refresh or restructure your business or brand, we've got you covered.   

Outside of the fashion co-working, networking, and makers experiences that we provide, our Dreamforce Business Consulting services are here to help you achieve your dreams without leaving Dayton for the opportunity to do so.   

Visualize, strategize, analyze, support, and execute. It’s time to create and build new relationships and not just new numbers. We’re here to help you thrive through shared experiences, knowledge and support…are you ready to make the most of every opportunity?    We are here to help you boost your bottom line, image, and brand recognition. Whether you're just starting out, looking to restructure your brand or business, ready to be recruited or scouted for your talent, or searching for the missing assets that you need to build your team; we have you covered!     

The House of (DE-FI)ance's Dreamforce offers in-house support in the following areas separate from our Build-A-Brand Experiences:   

Business Management- Our Business Management Consultants can assist you with your business creation, refreshing your business, goal setting, and developing your image. They can also assist by connecting you to other members who are providing the services that you need to help build and complete your team including technical support.     

Business Analyst- Our Business Analyst will help you with Business Evaluations, Business Planning, Consumer Segmentation, Consumer Market Knowledge, Pricing Strategies & Margins, and Value Experience.     

Accounting- We have C.P.A.’s in house to assist you with personal analysis, budgeting, goal setting, tax planning and learning how to pay yourself!     

Branding and Rebranding- Our in-house branding leaders will assist you with Strategic Marketing Support, Image Consulting, Commercial Creation/Rebranding     

Image Consulting-Updating your wardrobe, product photography and headshots. We even have an in-house  #GlamSquad team of Hair and Makeup Artist, estheticians, nail techs and wardrobe stylist to help you pull your updated look together.     

Social Media Marketing-Let’s face it, if you’re not present on Social Media…you’re not really present. Our Social Media experts are here to help you put your best foot forward with your email marketing campaigns, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube Management.     

Graphic Design-There’s a saying that the majority of communications is non-verbal, let our Graphic Designers tell your story via visual communication. What images and/or colors represent your ideas and message? Our Graphic Design Team can help you with advertisement, art direction, banners, billboards, book covers, brand identity, brochures, business cards, booklets, catalogs, flyers, magazine, newsletters, packaging design, printing, signage, vehicle wraps, web design and so much more.     

Photography- Yep, we even have a team of photographers to help you with professional headshots, commercials, editorials, events, fashion, lighting, Actor/Modeling Headshots, Product shoots, real estate, retouch, and weddings.     

Videography- Let us capture your moving images via electronic media for broadcasting, corporate commercials, documentaries, editing, film scoring, lighting, motion graphics, music, real estate, short films, and training.     

E-Commerce- In the age of COVID-19 more people are turning to buying and selling goods and services, transmitting funds or data electronically and over the internet. Whether it’s Business-to-Business, Business-to-Consumer, Consumer-to-Consumer, or Consumer-to-Business. We have E-Commerce experts here to help you reach them all.     

Writers- One of the single most requested services that we've received is writing support, whether it's for a website, telling the story of their brand, or simply write a blog or Press Release. Writing is probably the most under appreciated aspect of the fashion industry.     

Life Coaching- let's face it, we all get tired, discouraged, frustrated, and stuck at the fork in the road and need help getting back on track, inspired, and headed in the right direction.     

Mentors-Sometimes we just need somebody to talk to that you can trust advise us on the next big step.  You don't need to be stuck or discouraged, your cup could be running completely over and you simply just need someone to talk to to about life and stuff...or business, it's completely up to you.  Success, trials, errors, and achieving goals, all bring a new set of needs.  Why not reach out to someone whose been through it?    

Financial Planners- Does this really need a description? Money, money, money, you either don't have enough or if you have enough, not sure what to do with it...we've got you covered.  

#ThisIsOurHouse

The House of (DE-FI)ance: A Fashion & Design Co-working Experience is a public co-working + event studio established for fashion, design, and creative entrepreneurs as well as hobbyist.  However, by becoming a member, you'll have exclusive access to our Business Club and will enjoy additional perks and benefits, including:      

• Free admission to The House of (DE-FI)ance: A Fashion & Design Co-working Experience's Power Hub Happy Hour     
• Free admission to select Build-A-Brand Experiences      
• 25% off discounted admission to specialized Build-A-Brand Experiences   
• Access to exclusive operating hours             
• Free access to select Dayton Fashion Week Experiences     
• 25% off discounted rates to select Dayton Fashion Week Experiences      

Our members are integral to what we do for you and for others. We are committed to providing support for members and their growing businesses and brand by fostering an inclusive collective of like-minded individuals, and hosting specialized professionals in regular workshops, gatherings, and social events. You’re only as strong as your network, why not choose a space that is designed just for you, by you, and delivers the most for you, your brand, your business and overall experience?     

Because we understand the complexities that COVID-19 and inflation has played with finances we are offering an affordable membership rate at $25/mo +tax. So let's count all of the ways that we can make it work!