Tag Archive for: product development

Apparel Manufacturing: What You Need to Know

First, thank you so much for your support in spreading the word about The Clean Living Podcast last week!

I know most of you follow me because you’re looking for help in launching your sustainable fashion brand, so I really appreciate your patience as we paused “fashion related” content this past month.

But let’s get back to it, shall we?

I have three new YouTube videos for you below about product testing, legal protection and “Made in the USA” — pick your own adventure : )

 

Apparel Manufacturing[NEW] You spend years dreaming up the perfect apparel product. You spend months meticulously creating it. You tweak and stitch and hem and haw over it until… It’s perfect. But have you tested it to make sure it’s also perfect for your customer? In this episode, I’m sharing the two most important phases of product development.

Apparel Manufacturing

How do you move forward through the production process without your unique product being knocked off? There are the legal routes to help protect yourself, and then there are common sense precautions you can choose to implement. In this video, I’m sharing them with you.

Apparel ManufacturingHow do you create a sustainable fashion brand that’s made in the USA? While navigating the world of sewn manufacturing may be new and probably a little intimidating, there are ways to set yourself up so that you don’t come off as a “newbie.” I’m sharing five tips for creating a “made in the USA” apparel company. 

THIS WEEK ON THE PODCAST

Listen on Apple Podcasts here | Listen on Spotify here

CLEANING SUPPLIES Have you ever thought about the ingredients in your household cleaning products? Listen to this episode to detox your cleaning supplies.

LIPSTICK When I found out one of my favorite cosmetic products contains a neurotoxin, I was so tempted to turn a blind eye. Instead, I switched to these clean beauty brands… 

TOOTHPASTE Did you know there are ingredients in some of our most popular toothpastes that are actually banned in Europe? Here’s what I did to change my family’s oral care.

Have a great week and don’t forget to VOTE on Tuesday!

 

 

 

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Fashion Designers, Don’t Start Product Development Without This

How do you feel when you read the words: 

Product Development

Excitement? Anxiety? Confusion? Fear?

When I talk to designers about patternmaking and samplemaking, many people say they feel paralyzed.

The upfront costs for creating your first pattern and sample can look so intimidating that it becomes the most frequent point of giving up.

Especially if you don’t have the accountability of a program, peers or mentorship behind you.

So, when we reached this point in the Factory45 accelerator program this year, I brought in Lenese Calleea to talk to everyone about product development.

LC Apparel Consulting

Lenese is the owner of LC Apparel Consulting in New York City and her business is focused on educating new designers, specifically around product development.

Typically, these live classes are exclusive to the Factory45 program but I wanted to share one piece of Lenese’s wisdom because it’s such a common question that comes up.

And it’s the importance of reference samples.

Reference samples are example garments that you bring to your pattern/samplemaker to accompany your spec sheet or sketches.

Providing examples of seams or stitches or binding or pockets or sleeves or collars or whatever you have a vision for will help immensely in the communication with your product development team.

So often I find designers are afraid of “copying” existing garments when, if done correctly, this step is critical to your patterns and samples being developed the way you envisioned.

Should you bring in a pair of Lululemon leggings and tell your samplemaker to make an identical replica?

No.

But there are ways to combine elements of different garments so that you’re not starting product development from scratch.

Factory45 alumni mentor Hannah McDermott put together this screenshot of reference samples she used to develop her swimwear line.

Product Development

This is just one tidbit of advice that Lenese shared that I felt was imperative to shout from the rooftops for anyone about to go into product development.

It will save you so much time, money and frustration if you’re able to gather these reference samples in the beginning.

And your pattern and samplemaker will definitely thank you : )

 

 

 

P.S. If you’re interested in working with Lenese and her team, you can learn more about her services here. She also hosts a podcast called BlackNFashion that you can listen to here.

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Sew Shop Talk: Introducing the Carolina Textile District

This weekend I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit designers, sewers, project managers, and other industry professionals I’ve only before had a chance to speak with by phone or email.
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It never fails to amaze me how much goes into making our clothes, and I’m always grateful to get an inside look at the process. After a weekend exploring downtown Asheville, I started Monday morning bright and early in Burnsville, NC to meet designer Kristin Alexandra Tidwell of Be Well Designed.

Three Factory45’ers are working with Kristin on concept designs, samples and patterns, so it was a long overdue treat to meet in her studio. Kristin has an extensive background in design, patterning and samplemaking, and it was awesome to see where all of the magic happens.

carolina-3 copyFrom Burnsville, I headed to Morganton to visit Opportunity Threads, a worker-owned cut and sew facility that has been able to successfully change the traditional business model to one that is as empowering for the sewers as it is for the project managers.
carolina-4 copyMolly Hemstreet, who oversees Opportunity Threads, has been an amazing resource and connection for me throughout the past year, and it already felt like I knew her when I walked inside. She gave me a tour of the facility, shared their plans for expansion, and showed me some of the products they’re working on. OT has been able to steadily grow since they opened their doors in 2008 and are nearly busting at the seams six years later.
carolina-5 copyThere is a prominent Mayan population in Morganton and several of the skilled sewers have come into OT with factory experience from Guatemala. Through the Opportunity Threads model, they have autonomy to track their own output and have a direct stake in profit and losses. From an outsider’s perspective, this balance of independence, leadership and collaboration was something I hadn’t seen in similar facilities before and it was incredibly refreshing.
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Both Be Well Designed and Opportunity Threads are members of the Carolina Textile District, a network of textile manufacturers, sewers, printers and professionals that help entrepreneurs start made in the USA businesses when they’re ready to go into production. I was able to also meet with Tanya Wade and Dan St. Louis who are two of the key players in making The District a long-term solution.

At the Manufacturing Solutions Center in Conover, NC, Tanya gave me a tour of the facility where they test everything from furniture to fibers to baby products, and house two 3-D printers. MSC is a non-profit that also serves as an incubator to product-based entrepreneurs in both the textile and tech spaces.
manufacturing-solutions

Both Tanya and Dan are collaborating with community leaders in NC, like Kristin and Molly, to “reshore” jobs back to the States and further grow the Made in the USA movement. They are the incredibly hardworking people behind the scenes, moving forward everyday to bring jobs back home.

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So where does Factory45 fit into all of this? Based on conversations with Molly and Tanya, The District gets 5-8 emails a week from entrepreneurs looking for fabric suppliers and production partners. About 30-50 percent of those inquiries are from people who do not yet have a solid business plan, marketing strategy or brand vision.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Does a manufacturer really care if I have my marketing plan together?” the answer is is a resounding “YES.” Every project they take on is a personal investment, and The District does not take on entrepreneurs who do not have an initial business strategy in place.

With Factory45, I’m offering a solution for entrepreneurs to become “production-ready,” preparing them to work with resources like The District.

To learn more about the incredible people working in the Carolina Textile District, you can check out Be Well Designed, Opportunity Threads, Manufacturing Solutions Center & The District.

 

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Inside Factory45: The Making of the Bicycle Wrap Skirt

This is a guest post by Lara Neece, founder of Forest and Fin. You can read the original version here.

What happens when you love wearing skirts, love riding bikes, and like to make everything yourself? A Bicycle Wrap Skirt, of course – a skirt that’s dressy enough for the office or going out with with friends, but with a few simple adjustments, is ready to hop on a bike and be on the move in minutes. I spent years biking in skirts, and years trying to find the perfect skirt that I could wear just about anywhere without a second thought. My husband can tell you that there have been many, many days in which I’ve made him wait, while I changed clothes, just so we could bike to lunch or dinner or to the park because I didn’t want to worry about my skirt on the bike. The perfect skirt just didn’t exist.

forestandfinskirt2Forest and Fin began back in 2009, when I first started screen-printing, moved onto a sailboat, and decided to become an artist. Back then, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing (you could still argue that’s true now! ), but I had the passion and desire to learn. In the beginning, I screenprinted my drawings of plants and animals onto tshirts, and you can still purchase them in my shop today. But Forest and Fin is undergoing an evolution. It’s adapting and growing; my mission and goals are becoming clearer. I’m an artist and a designer, not just a screenprinter. My screenprinted designs and apparel were the starting point and a way for me to support myself while I developed my art and business, but now I am branching into new products that better embrace my mission, a mission to help people spend more time outside.

Over the past few years, in my search for blank items to print on, I ran into problems sourcing items that were both affordable and fit my aesthetic vision. In addition to being sustainable and earthy, I wanted my products to be functional, efficient (multi-use), and give back to the planet in some small way. I am focusing on a line of sustainably-made-in-the-USA everyday wear and household items, starting with a functional wrap skirt (the Bicycle Wrap Skirt) that includes bicycle friendly features and extra pockets. I am planning to dye the skirts blue or green and depending on the color will donate a small percentage of profits towards ocean (blue) or forest (green) conservation efforts.

forestandfinskirtWhile I’m still in the early phases of product development, I have a prototype that works (really!) and I plan to document the rest of the journey here. I hope that you’ll join this discussion and weigh in on features of the design to help me streamline the perfect skirt. This is going to be a staple in my wardrobe (and maybe yours too!), so it needs to be durable, high quality, sustainable, classy, fun, and above all functional. I’ve put together a short survey with questions about design features, colors, pricing, etc. and would love for you (yes, you!) to weigh in on the design while I am still in the development stage. Your input will be essential in shaping the final outcome.

Take the Bicycle Wrap Skirt Design Survey here.

For more about Forest and Fin, check it out here.

(Photo credit: Forest and Fin)

manufacturing checklist cat

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