Hi guys!

I have a clothing line akinz.com that I have been working on for about 4 years now but have never tried to take it further than a hobby really. I really want to try to make it my business now and am trying to get it into shops, but am hitting a little bit of a roadblock. I need reps in different areas, but I don't really know where to start as far as what is an average commission for apparel retail, do I send them a set of samples for free and how many? How do I find good, reliable reps to begin with?

Also, what are the best ways to approach shops (besides going in and visiting if they aren't local) to get my line sheet in front of them? Phone, email, snail mail, etc?

Thanks!