The AMB Designs Story

In mid 2003, Ana María Bartley, artist and decorator, mother of four daughters, with no previous apparel business experience, used her instincts and good artistic taste to identify an opportunity for sheer tops in the dance apparel industry, as a comfortable, flattering, colorful, layering piece. Based on her vision and persistence, in late 2003, Ana obtained some samples from an artisan manufacturer in her native Chile, and convinced nearby neighborhood dance retailer, to exhibit an initial sampling of colors in the basic sheer top style – on a consignment basis. The first sale occurred when the store owner called a couple of days later, asking for more styles and colors, signaling the launch of AMB (Ana Maria Bartley) Designs. After several sales to this store, Ana then offered her growing line to another dance store, where she not only received a very positive response, but also an introduction to a successful independent sales rep for the Florida dance apparel market. Upon viewing the line, he immediately signed on, enthusiastically introducing AMB to his dance apparel accounts. Based on his positive experience with AMB Designs, in terms of service, reliability and a growing product lineup, he then introduced sales rep colleagues in other states to AMB Designs, setting the stage for the snowballing of the company’s presence nationwide.

The excitement and energy of bringing this new, colorful category to the market was tangible! Store owners talked about a “breath of fresh air”, “breaking the mold” in a laid back market, “loving doing business with AMB”, and many other accolades. Though other vendors tried to copy some of AMB’s products, no one quite matched the products, approached the variety or reached the service levels --- this WAS (and continues to be) AMB’s core business – not a sideline.

During 06-07 AMB literally came out of the basement, and came of age in many other ways. Formal importing (instead of friends bringing merchandise with their luggage) and inventory management, a real business office-warehouse (instead of the home basement), full-time management, and industrial-grade systems and communications have given AMB the scale to continue growing. On the market side, state-of-art packaging, creative point of sale display pieces, advertising campaigns, trade show presence and first-class catalogs have given momentum to the line. Most importantly, the product line itself has grown to near 300 style-color-size combinations. Styles include sheer long sleeves, camis and tanks, shrugs, fishnet tops, capri leggings, and some specific “cut and sew” styles such as shorts, skirts, and jumpers. Color range covers up to 30 colors in some styles, and most are one-size, simplifying things for retailers and customers alike.

Today, 700 dance apparel stores, 300 sku’s, 50 styles, presence in 48 states, Canada, UK, Germany, Spain and Australia and tens of thousands of satisfied consumers are eloquent evidence of the power of Ana’s vision, and drive. Stay tuned…. AMB Designs is just getting started!