ArtfullyEquestrian

When Lizi Ruch enrolled at New York’s Parsons school of design in 1981, all she wanted was to find a new niche for her creative talents. Already a skilled ceramic sculptor and high school Art teacher, Ruch was ready to venture into a different territory – clothing design. After studying for three years at Parsons, she graduated with an idea for a colorful, playful line of Knitwear.

Ruch’s father guaranteed her bank loan by establishing a $50,000 line of credit. With this and an initial cash investment of $25,000 her sweater company Lizi Ruch Inc. was launched in New York City in 1986.
To make her first samples, Ruch sent an agent to China, where she found a factory that would hand-knit her designs.
She then fought traffic, heat and humidity to drag huge garment bags of sweaters to department stores around New York City.

Her determination paid off. Her first line sold to Saks fifth Avenue and lux department store Bonwit Teller.
Now a part of the New York’s designer leisurewear niche, Ruch’s hand-knit cotton sweaters brought a refreshing joie de vivre to the marketplace. Known for their handmade buttons, fine detail and broad color palettes, Ruch’s sweaters quickly gained popularity.

In 1990, Ruch formed a partnership with Edmond Fung, president of Lion Rock Inc. a wholesale clothing manufacturer in Gardena, California. Ruch now based in Gardena, supplied all the designs while Fung opened lines of credit and ensured the production, “We split all profits 50/50,” says Ruch.

Together, they’ve made some changes. To cut production costs, most of the line became machine loomed while still reflecting Ruch’s artistry. Lizi Ruch Designs graced department stores such as Neiman Marcus and boutiques from Manhattan to Malibu. The new strategy had proven profitable. Sales for 1990 were $500,000 and next year, with expectations to increase sales by 20% — no mean feat in the garment industry.

“Continual personnel changes, economic shifts … make the clothing business volatile,” Ruch explains. Her advice to other striving entrepreneurs: “be persistent!”

— article Barbara Rose Cirincione
— edited for online Marie Cobalt