VIEW Tuleh Tells: Designer Confidential ROD SkYornfoom for Ow %er York nrots I THE TEAM Bryan Bradley, left, and Josh Patner are still chasing the dream. Continued From Page I (aspiring designers be warned: learn to deal with a spread sheet) and talked with at least a dozen potential investors. One guy owned a bowling alley and thought that a fashion investment would increase his luck with the ladies. At times it seems as if half of our debt Is in glossy press kits, dispatched to any- one who might have an interest In a fledgling brand. We have turned down about half the deals, and been turned down in equal number. It is brutal out there for independ- ent designers. This is the era of the mega group: LVMH Moot Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci dom- inate the game. The business pages are filled with the financial woes of department stores. where customers loom trait for OW Me,. York Times A SETTING In 2001, Tuleh staged a show at Harry Winston. have conic to expect they can buy everything on sale. Even well-heeled shoppers are wary of overspending or seeming conspicuous. I will share some financial facts with you. I am not shy about it. When you are a designer trying to build a house, you get used to opening your books on demand. It becomes like dropping your pants at a checkup. Our first season we had $75,000 in orders, a figure that has nearly dou- bled with each season. But as of today, we have about $12,000 in the bank. There has never been any cash to support our growth. We don't even have a line of credit. How has Tulch survived? Bryan and I will it to sur- vive. Every day. We are owed about $200,000, which, God willing, will be collected over the next six weeks; our current debt is more than that. Manufacturing the runway samples for a collection (excluding payroll, insurance, rent. etc.) costs about 5175,000. To produce a fashion show in the group tents in Bryant Park requires a minimum of $40,000. Our