How I went From Fashion Designer to Owning a Children’s Wear Brand and Teaching Creative Entrepreneurs How to Build a Career and Business They Love.
I was blessed to have wonderful parents who encouraged me to follow my passion for sewing and design. My Dad was a talented photographer and photo engraver who taught me how to paint and draw and my Mother was an avid seamstress who had a flair for fashion and provided endless amounts of fabric for my sewing projects.
When I discovered that I could make money sewing, I created the inventory and went door to door selling potholders and soap bottle covers. As an enterprising 10 year old I had big plans for my future.
I later attended a commercial (trade) high school where I majored in Apparel Design for three years before I attended and earned a scholarship to the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. After many years of working in New York City as a children’s wear designer my future vision was to design and manufacture better children’s wear under my own label.
That dream came true with hard work and determination when I launched my children’s brand “Bumpkins”. Before technology arrived in the garment industry, we built our brand with the help of sales reps, buyer presentations, print advertising and trade shows. It was rigorous and challenging, but worth the effort when we sold to major retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor and Bloomingdales.
At the time we were featured in Earnshaw’s Magazine after a Dallas Trade Show and we were “off and running”. Here are a few photos from the magazine cover and article:
Within a few years our business grew like a “Field of Dreams” almost overnight. We had the right concept, the right product, at the right price, at the right time; made in the right fabrics with unique features that our customers needed, wanted and loved! Today, I can teach you how to develop that magic combination and plan for success in the children’s wear industry. Whether you choose to manufacture a physical product line or a launch a PDF Pattern business…. the skills sets are the same and I can teach you how to get there.
After my dreams of owning a children’s wear business were achieved it was time to reassess our goals, take a break and focus on our family. Our two children, who are now adults, and a tribe of grandchildren are my greatest joys in life. For as long as I can remember, I focused on a “work-life balance” to pursue my passion, worked from home as a freelance designer and later helped entrepreneurs all across the country launch their sewn products and businesses. During those times I created a thriving consulting agency, Apparel Design Partners.
After 30 years of designing, mentoring, coaching and developing new sewn products, it was a natural progression for me to start teaching online. My first love was children’s wear design, where I found the most joy and I’m now combining all of my skills to share a lifetime of experiences, volumes of information and practical skills to an eager community of creatives and entrepreneurs…….and the Children’s Wear Design Academy was born!
The Children’s Wear Design Academy was also formed out of a need and desire of my customers who wanted ongoing access and to keep these concepts alive for a new generation of designers, pattern makers, apparel enthusiasts, educators, entrepreneurs and children’s wear business start-ups.
What makes the Children’s Wear Design Academy unique is Chris’ relaxed teaching style and her level of hands-on experience of every facet of children’s wear design; from product development, technical illustrating, garment specs and tech packs, wholesale fabric sourcing, pattern making, sample making, pre-production, domestic factory production, merchandising, and marketing. The content of her courses are packed with real-life scenarios, high value content, strategies and business building systems all delivered with a dose of humor. “Let me equip you with the knowledge, skills, tools and resources to create your sewn product.”
You can do this!
TRANSFORM YOUR SEWN PRODUCT IDEA INTO PROFITS…..
Start your journey now by downloading our FREE EBOOK where I will show you what’s in store when you take the Children’s Wear Design Academy course or The Introduction to Children’s Pattern Making and Grading course.
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE EBOOK HERE…